The African American Mayors Association held its ninth annual conference April 19-21 in Washington, D.C. Under the conference theme “Our Mayors Our Cities: The Catalyst for Equitable and Inclusive Growth,” participants talked about the future of leadership, change, and growth in cities across America.
This year’s conference was historic because it, for the first time, brought together Black mayors who are now in control of the four largest cities in the United States — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, New York Mayor Eric Adams, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Chicago’s outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot (who is being replaced by Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson) were all in attendance for a “fireside chat” where they spoke about how they were able to guide their cities through the COVID-19 pandemic and have dealt with issues of crime and housing.
Mayors Bass, Adams, Turner, and Lightfoot are each members of the Democratic Party and each one was elected to manage the governmental services of a non-majority Black city.
The mayors attending the African American Mayors Association were also able to visit Vice-President Kamala Harris at the Vice-Presidential residence.