Black political leadership rises
2021 saw the election of Eric Adams, who is now the second Black American to become the mayor of America’s largest city. Adams soundly defeated Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and on January 1, 2022, he was inaugurated as the 110th Mayor of New York City.
The 2021 mayoral election once again shows the strength and power of the Black vote, and for the first time in the history of New York, the city has a Black Mayor, a Black Speaker of the City Council, a Black Public Advocate, and New York County also elected its first Black District Attorney. New York State also has 4 key Black leaders in the 6 top spots, which include Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Assembly Speaker, and the leader of the Senate.
During the Democratic primary in the 2021 mayoral race, Adams gained over 288,000 votes in the first round, followed by another Black candidate, Maya Wiley, with about 200,000 votes. The two top White male candidates only received about 75,000 votes combined. While the top four Black candidates garnered about 540,000 votes, the top three White candidates, including Kathryn Garcia, had about 260,000 votes. In the general election, Adams walked away with some 70% (753,800) of the votes and Sliwa garnered about 27%.
