Richard G. Hatcher

Richard Gordon Hatcher (born July 10, 1933, Michigan City, Indiana) became on January 1, 1968, the first African-American mayor of Gary, Indiana. He had won election the previous November as one of the first black mayors elected in a northern industrial city and the first in the state of Indiana.

Hatcher earned his B.S. from Indiana University in 1956 and his J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1959.

Hatcher was inaugurated mayor of Gary in 1967 and served until 1987. During his tenure as mayor, he became internationally known as a fervent and prolific civil rights spokesman. He often delivered speeches alongside Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and other historic proponents of the civil rights movement.

In the 1984 U.S. presidential election, Mayor Hatcher served as the chairman for the Rev. Jackson's campaign. He subsequently sought the position of Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Despite having the endorsement of the party's Black Caucus, he was passed over for the position, in favor of Illinois Comptroller Roland Burris.

Richard G. Hatcher is currently a senior research professor and special assistant to the dean at Valparaiso University School of Law.

External links

• Richard Hatcher biography at TheHistoryMakers.com
• Richard Hatcher Collection
• Dave's Den contains a complete political history of Gary, Indiana