Jessie Menifield Rattley (May 4, 1929 – March 2, 2001) served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Newport News, Virginia from 1986 to 1990, the first woman and first African-American to hold the mayorship.

Life and career

Jessie M. Rattley was born to the late Alonzo and Altona Menifield, on May 4, 1929, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. She attended schools in and graduated from Fairfield High School in 1947, after which she entered

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association aft ...

in Hampton, Virginia, graduating with honors in 1951. That same year Mrs. Rattley began her teaching career at Huntington High School in Newport News, Virginia, where she established the business department. On June 9, 1952, Mrs. Rattley founded the Peninsula Business College, which provided an opportunity for youth and adults to be trained for careers in business. In seeking employment opportunities for her students, she began her lifelong commitment to

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

and political involvement. Rattley obtained a degree from

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school

La Salle Extension University La Salle Extension University (LSEUDe Sola, Ralph (1981). ''Abbreviations dictionary.'' Elsevier, ), also styled as LaSalle Extension University,The university styled its name as both "La Salle" and "LaSalle" in print mediahttp://aycu21.webshots.c ...

.Doris Funnye Innis, Juliana Wu, Joyce Duren (1976). ''Profiles in Black: biographical sketches of 100 living Black unsung heroes.'' CORE Publications, She was the first African-American to be elected to the Newport News City Council in 1970. Her election was seen as a major turning point in the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

for residents in Newport News. Her presence on the City Council led to residents of the city's Southeast community (most of them

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 ...

) seeing funding for their schools and city services increased. She was elected vice-mayor in 1976 and mayor in 1986, the first woman and first African-American to hold each of those offices. During her tenure as mayor, she received some criticism from residents due to her controversial plan to expand

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and federally subsidized low-income

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into what was the more recently upscale sections of the city, such as Denbigh. On August 9, 2005, the Newport News City Hall and the government buildings immediately surrounding it were rededicated the Jessie Menifield Rattley Municipal Center in her honor.

References

* 1929 births 2001 deaths Mayors of Newport News, Virginia African-American women in politics African-American mayors in Virginia Women mayors of places in Virginia Virginia Democrats La Salle Extension University alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Virginia city council members Women city councillors in Virginia Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama Hampton University alumni 20th-century American educators Educators from Alabama Educators from Virginia 20th-century American women educators African-American city council members 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American politicians {{Virginia-mayor-stub