Ben West
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Raphael Benjamin West (March 31, 1911 – November 20, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as mayor of
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
from 1951 to 1963, and as a Tennessee state senator from 1949 to 1951. While a state senator, he supported a change from
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
to
single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...
voting to the Nashville City Council. This broadened representation on the council, enabling the
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
minority to elect candidates of their choice; women also gained seats on the council.


Early life and education

West was born in 1911 in Columbia, the county seat of Maury County,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
; he was the son of Martha Melissa (née Wilson) and her husband James Watt West. He moved to
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
as a boy with his family. When he was three years old, his parents moved to a working-class neighborhood in Flat Rock, now known as the Woodbine district of Davidson County. Working his way through college, West attended
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
and Cumberland Law School.


Career

In 1934 West began work as an
assistant district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...
in Nashville. He also became active in politics, joining the Democratic Party. The state had effectively disenfranchised most blacks since the turn of the century. This hollowed out the Republican Party in much of the state. Many elections, both local and state, were settled in the Democratic primaries, the true competitive contests.


State senate

In 1943, West ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Nashville. Three years later, in 1946, he won election as vice-mayor of Nashville. In 1948, he was elected as state senator in the
Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...
, serving one term to 1949. In the Senate, West introduced legislation that restored
single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...
elections for the Nashville city council, replacing the citywide
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
election of each seat. This represented a major opportunity for African-American voters, as it enabled minorities whose votes were concentrated in a few wards to elect candidates of their choice. In the at-large elections, candidates supported by a minority had not been able to gain a majority and win election. In addition to being a voting rights reform, this change proved important to West's political future. He would build a political base on the reemerging black voter. State repeal of such voter registration restrictions as the
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
enabled voters to exercise their constitutional rights again. As highways were built and white voters moved to the suburbs in the postwar years, African-American voters gained more political power in the city.


Mayor of Nashville

In 1951 West won election as mayor of Nashville, along with the first two African-American councilmen in 40 years. All three men were attorneys. As mayor of Nashville, West supported other voting rights reforms, particularly a state campaign to reapportion rural and urban voting districts in the state legislature to reflect demographic changes. West championed the cause of reapportionment in the landmark case '' Baker v. Carr'' (1962), by which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the "
one man, one vote "One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like ...
" principle. This ruling forced reapportionment of state legislatures across the country; as a result, there was a shift of political power to the more densely populated urban districts and cities. West provided leadership in the desegregation of Nashville public schools. After a school was bombed, he and the Board of Education obtained a federal court injunction to help protect the schools, students and parents. While mayor of Nashville, West was concerned about urban issues and civil rights. He served as president of the American Municipal Association (now the
National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization provi ...
). He presided over the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Project. This replaced a slum and vice district surrounding the state capitol building with a green belt, new state office buildings, and parking lots. The East Nashville Urban Renewal Project began during his administration, and infrastructure projects were completed for an $11 million sewage treatment plant and $2 million in street lighting. West's strong alliance with Nashville's black community helped improve race relations and prepare the city for the challenges of the activist years of the Civil Rights Movement. At a critical moment during the sit-in demonstrations of 1960, following the bombing of the home of Z. Alexander Looby, city councilman and defense attorney for the students, 2500 protesters marched to city hall and challenged West to take a stand against segregation."Timeline: The Civil Rights Movement in America"
, '' "This Honorable Body:" African American Legislators in 19th Century Tennessee'', 2013, Tennessee Department of State. Note: Diane Nash asked him, "Do you feel it is wrong to discriminate against a person solely on the basis of their race or color?" West said "yes,' later explaining, "It was a moral question – one that a man had to answer, not a politician."
West appointed a biracial commission, and the Nashville business community quickly agreed to desegregate department store lunch counters. Nashville was the first southern city to desegregate public facilities. With an interest in improving services, West supported the consolidation of the city government with that of Davidson County proposed in 1958 and 1963. After the measure passed a referendum, West ran to become mayor of the new Metropolitan government in 1963, but finished third behind Davidson County Assessor Clifford Allen and Davidson County Judge Beverly Briley. He ran again in 1966, losing to Briley. West retired to private life. He died in Nashville on November 20, 1974. He is buried in Nashville City Cemetery.


References

;Inline citations ;General references
Staff report (November 22, 1974). "BEN WEST IS DEAD; NASHVILLE MAYOR; Served From 1951 to 1963—Enforced Integration"
''
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''


External links


Ben West
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Ben 1911 births 1974 deaths People from Columbia, Tennessee Cumberland School of Law alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Tennessee lawyers Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century mayors of places in Tennessee 20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly