Black women mayors a rising force in U.S. cities

By Melissa Nann Burke, MediaNews Group

The chant that greeted Mary Sheffield on Detroit’s primary election night rang true Tuesday: “First female mayor! First female mayor!”

Detroit ― one of the country’s Blackest cities ― finally joined Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and others in elevating its first Black woman to be mayor, with Sheffield defeating Solomon Kinloch 77%-22.5% in Tuesday’s election, according to the unofficial returns.

“I don’t take for granted that I stand on the shoulders of so many warrior women who have prayed, who have sacrificed, just for us to be here in this moment, a torch carried from one generation to the next,” Sheffield said Tuesday night after her win.

“And so I say to every little girl watching tonight and to every child in this city, never d