Election of the first black mayor |
Election of the first black mayor
Daily Mail
1913-11-10
Source: mytimemachine.co.uk
Coloured Mayor—Majority of One at Battersea—Dramatic Speech
For the first time in the history of this country a man of colour has been elected mayor of a borough. The honour has fallen to Mr. John Richard Archer, a photographer, of Battersea Park-Road, who by thirty votes to twenty-nine was last night elected Mayor of Battersea by the Progressive Party. His opponent was Mr W G Moore, a West End tailor.
Mr Archer has hitherto kept secret the place of his birth. Last night, on donning his chain of office, he revealed the secret in a dramatic speech. He said:
“I am a man of colour. Many things have been said about me which are absolutely untrue. I think you ought to show the same respect for me as you would a white man. I am the son of a man who was born in the West Indies. I was born in a little, obscure village in England that you may never have heard of–Liverpool. I am a Lancastrian born and bred.”
“MY MOTHER WAS IRISH”
“My mother [here Mr Archer spoke with great emotion] was just my mother. She was not born in Burma , as some newspapers stated. She was not born at Rangoon . My mother was Irish.”…
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Tags: Battersea, England, John Archer, John Richard Archer