David N Dinkins

David Dinkins, who broke barriers as New York City’s first African American mayor, but was doomed to a single term by a soaring murder rate, stubborn unemployment and his mishandling of a riot in Brooklyn, has died. He was 93. Dinkins’ death came just weeks after the death of his wife, Joyce, who died in October at the age of 89. Dinkins served in the New York State Assembly and as the New York City Board of Elections President, City Clerk and Manhattan Borough President before his 1989 election as the 106th Mayor of the City of New York. He is currently a professor in the School of International & Public Affairs at Columbia University, and the David N. Dinkins Professorship of Urban & Public Affairs has been established in his honor at the university. Dinkins received a B.S. in Mathematics from Howard University and an L.L.B. from Brooklyn Law School. He serves on the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Advisory Boards of Centers for Public Policy Studies at Howard University, the City College of New York, the College of Charleston (S.C.), the New School University (New York City) and the Taubman Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Dinkins is survived by his son, David Jr.; his daughter, Donna; and two grandchildren.