For the first time in its history, the small town of Philadelphia, Mississippi has elected an African American mayor. James Young won the mayoral election by 46 votes.
Philadelphia is 55 percent white and about 40 percent African American. The city has a violent history of Ku Klux Klan racism against the African American community.
In 1964, Philadelphia was the site of the murders of three civil rights activists—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner—who were organizing for African American voting rights. The police force, run by the KKK, covered up the crime. No one was convicted of the murders until 2005, over 40 years later.
The election of Young is the result of decades of struggle by the African American community of Philadelphia and their allies. It is yet another example that racism can be overcome, even in the United States where it is so deeply entrenched.
