Ben F. Gross (1921 – August 13, 2012) was an American politician, union leader, and civil right activist who was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

to serve as mayor of

Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...

and the first African-American mayor to lead a predominantly white city in California.

Biography

Gross was born in 1921 in

McGehee, Arkansas McGehee is a city in Desha County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,219 at the 2010 census. History The history of the city of McGehee and the history of the railroad through McGehee are intricately interwoven. The history of th ...

during the

Jim Crow era The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the So ...

. He is a graduate of Lake Village High School in

Lake Village, Arkansas Lake Village is a city in and the county seat of Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,575 at the 2010 census. It is located in the Arkansas Delta. Lake Village is named for its location on Lake Chicot, an oxbow lake for ...

where he helped to organize protests against segregation. In 1948, he joined the U.S. Army and in 1949, he moved to Richmond, California where he worked at the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

plant. In 1950, he became the first African American elected to local union's (local 560) bargaining committee. In 1954, he was named the union's housing committee chairman and after Ford moved the plant to Milpitas in 1955, he developed Sunnyhills, one of the earliest integrated communities in California. In 1961, he was elected to the Milpitas City Council and on April 19, 1966, he was appointed mayor, the first African-American to be elected to a predominantly white city in California (In 1960, Milpitas was 94% white). While mayor, he aggressively resisted efforts by neighboring San Jose to annex Milpitas. He served until April 16, 1968 when his successor, Robert E. Browne, was sworn in as mayor. He remained on the City Council until 1971. He was named chairman of Local 560’s civil rights committee and participated in the

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...

(1963), the

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...

(1965), and the Poor People's March to Washington (1969). In 1971, he moved to Detroit where he served as the Assistant Director of the Civil Rights Department for the UAW. He retired in 1986 but continued to serve as an arbitrator. Gross died in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

on August 13, 2012.

References

1921 births 2012 deaths African-American mayors in California 20th-century African-American people {{California-mayor-stub