Henry L. Marsh III, Richmond’s First Black Mayor, 1970
Grade Level
Elementary, High, Middle
Time Period
1951-1999: Late 20th Century
Theme
African American History, Civil rights, Primary Source Analysis
Resource Type
Primary Source
Download Collections in the Classroom: Henry L. Marsh III (pdf)
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- What do you notice about this picture?
- What role does the mayor play in running a city?
CONTEXT
Henry L. Marsh III (1933-2025) was a pioneering civil rights attorney and Richmond’s first Black mayor. Born in Richmond, Virginia, he earned his law degree from Howard University in 1959 and co-founded the law firm of Hill, Tucker & Marsh. He fought against “Massive Resistance” to school desegregation and won landmark cases like Quarles v. Philip Morris, the first employment discrimination case in the United States. He was elected to Richmond City Council in 1966 and served as mayor from 1977 to 1982. In 1970, Marsh was the only Black council member out of nine councilmen, but by 1977 voters had elected five Black members to City Council, a voting majority. In 1991, he was elected to the Virginia State Senate in which he served until retiring in 2014.
