The NAACP Mourns the Passing of David N. Dinkins, New York City’s First and Only Black Mayor

Nov 24, 2020

The NAACP mourns the passing of David N. Dinkins, a lawyer, author, and the 106th Mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993.  

“The NAACP is saddened to learn of the passing of David N. Dinkins,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, NAACP. “Winning his election against all odds, he showed us what was possible at a time when opportunities were limited. 

During his tenure, Dinkins created an all-civilian structure of the Cilivan Complaint Review Board – a quasi-independent city agency that monitors and investigates complaints of police officer misconduct – and significantly strengthened its powers to combat abuses of power by the police. Though his tenure saw New York City’s highest-ever murder rate in 1990, it fell every successive year of his term, and overall major crime dropped throughout Dinkins’ final three years.

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