Neil A. Butler
Neil A. Butler | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Gainesville | |
| In office 1974–1975 | |
| Preceded by | James G. Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Joseph W. Little |
| In office 1971 – February 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Perry McGriff |
| Succeeded by | T.E. "Ted" Williams |
| Member of the Gainesville City Commission | |
| In office 1972–1974 | |
| In office 1969–1971 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1927/1928 Orange Heights, Florida |
| Died | June 14, 1992 (age 64) Detroit, Michigan |
| Education | B.A. and M.A. University of Florida |
| Alma mater | Morris Brown College |
Neil A. Butler (1927/1928 – June 14, 1992) was an American politician who served as mayor of Gainesville, Florida, the first African-American to hold the office since Reconstruction.
Biography[edit]
Butler was raised in then-segregated Orange Heights, Florida.[1][2] He served in combat during World War II and after returning to the U.S., worked as a nurse[2] at Emory University Hospital while attending classes at Morris Brown College.[1] He then went on to earn and B.S. and M.S. in nursing at the University of Florida where he also served as a lecturer.[1] On March 19, 1969, he won election to the Gainesville City Commission,[2] a significant accomplishment as Gainesville was 80% White at the time.[3] In 1971, he was elected by the City Commission to serve as Gainesville's first African American mayor since Josiah T. Walls during Reconstruction.[1][2] While mayor, he started a minority recruiting program to increase the number of Black firefighters and policemen; he paved most of the dirt roads in Black neighborhoods; formed a Bi-Racial Committee to help foster improved interracial relations;[2] and consolidated the various city utilities into a single entity.[4]
He resigned in February 1972, three weeks before the end of his term, after The Gainesville Sun broke a story that he had pled guilty to a $9 mail embezzlement charge in 1959 (receiving probation) when he lived in Atlanta[1][2] and that he should not have run for office as his civil rights had not been restored.[4] He was replaced by former mayor T.E. "Ted" Williams who served the remaining 45 days of his term.[2][5] Soon after, the Florida Bureau of Pardons reviewed his case and restored his civil rights.[1] Despite the prior conviction, the electorate returned him to the City Commission in March 1972[2] where he served during the administrations of Richard T. Jones (1972–1973) and James G. Richardson (1973–1974).[5] Butler was grateful that his constituents were able to see that he had been a capable mayor and did not focus on a mistake he had made years in the past stating: "I had heard that some people were worried about what would happen if a black man became mayor, but I proved to them that I wouldn’t ruin the city."[2] In 1974, he was once-again elected by the City Commission to be mayor serving until 1975 when he was succeeded by his fellow commissioner Joseph W. Little.[2]
Butler remained active in local politics as director of the Gainesville utility system[6] until the 1980s, when he moved to Newark, New Jersey to work at a Veterans Affairs nursing home and hospital; he eventually became the hospital's head psychiatric nurse.[2]
On June 14, 1992, Butler died of a heart attack while attending a wedding in Detroit.[1][2] He was a brother in the Beta Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi.[7] He was a Methodist.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g "Neil Butler, Former Gainesville Mayor". The Palm Beach Post. June 15, 1992.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rausch, Paula (July 27, 2004). "Neil Butler, politician". The Gainesville Sun.
- ^ "Black Mayor In Florida Town". Ebony (magazine). August 1971. pp. 98–104.
- ^ a b "Gainesville Mayor Quits". The Tampa Tribune. February 8, 1972.
- ^ a b Martin, Doug (July 28, 2004). "Politics: "A different sort of beast"". The Gainesville Sun.
- ^ Little, Joe (March 21, 2012). "Joe Little: Remembering Neil A. Butler". The Gainesville Sun.
- ^ "Beta Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi". Beta Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi.
Bro. Neil A. Butler (deceased) became the first Chapter Basileus serving from 1972 to 1974.
- ^ Button, James (June 25, 1975). "Interview with Neil Butler - Samuel Proctor Oral History Program - African American Oral History". University of Florida George A. Smathers Library.
External sources[edit]
- Detwiler, Jack. "Florida Future #24 - Neil Butler - First Black Mayor of Gainesville". University of Florida George A. Smathers Library.