Unita Blackwell

Politician And Activist, Unita Blackwell, Was Born March 18, 1933, In Lula, Mississippi. Ms. Blackwell Has The Distinction Of Being The First Black Female Mayor In The State Of Mississippi.

Ms. Blackwell Began Her Formal Education By Attending School In West Helena, Arkansas, Due To The Limited Educational Opportunities In Mississippi At The Time. At Age 14, She Completed The Eighth Grade And Then Joined Her Parents As Sharecroppers For $3 Per Day.
She Later Received A Master’s Degree In Regional Planning From The University Of Massachusetts-Amherst.


During The 1960's Ms. Blackwell Became Involved With The Civil Rights Movement. In June 1964, She Worked With Two Activists From The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Registering Blacks To Vote. Also That Year, She Served As A Delegate Of The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Which Went To The Democratic National Convention In Atlantic City, New Jersey.

From The Late 1960's And Into The Early 1970’s, Unita Blackwell Served As A Community Development Specialist With The National Council Of Negro Women. After Becoming Mississippi's First Black Female Mayor In 1976, She Served The Issaquena County Community of Mayersville In That Capacity, For 25 Years . In 1979, She Participated In President Jimmy Carter’s Energy Summit At Camp David.

Ms. Blackwell Has Risen As A Prominent Speaker On Rural Housing And Development. She Is The Founder Of The United States China Peoples Friendship Association, A Group Dedicated To Promoting Cultural Exchange Between The United States And China. She Has Also Served On The Democratic National Committee And As Co-chairman Of The Mississippi Democratic Party. Her Autobiography, Barefootin', Chronicles Her Activism.

In 1992 She Received The MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Sadly, Mayor Blackwell Has Recently Been Diagnosed With Dementia.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.