Theodore Moody Berry (November 8, 1905 – October 15, 2000) was an American politician of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio and was the first African-American mayor of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Early life and education

Born in poverty in

Maysville, Kentucky Maysville is a "Home rule in the United States, home rule" class city in Mason County, Kentucky, Mason County, Kentucky, United States, and is the county seat of Mason County. The population was 8,873 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, on November 8, 1905, Ted Berry overcame great obstacles to achieve personal success and gain a national reputation as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He graduated from Woodward High School in 1924 and served as class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

, the first African American to hold that honor in Cincinnati. In his senior year, he won an essay contest with an entry submitted under the pseudonym Thomas Playfair after an all-white panel had rejected his initial entry. Berry worked at steel mills in Newport, Kentucky, to pay tuition at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and then at its law school.

Legal career

Berry was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1932. He served as president of the Cincinnati branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

from 1932 to 1946. In 1938 he was appointed the first black assistant prosecuting attorney for Hamilton County.

Military service

During World War II, Berry worked in the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

as a morale officer. The job took him to Washington, D.C., and also caused him to change his political affiliation from Republican to Democrat. In 1945, Berry defended three black Army Air Force officers, members of the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...

, who had protested a segregated officer's club in Indiana. He won acquittal for two of the men. In 1995, the Air Force pardoned the third who had been convicted.

NAACP service

From 1947 to 1961, Berry served on the NAACP Ohio Committee for Civil Rights Legislation where he worked on equal employment and fair housing issues. He was also involved with the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati.

Political career

He began his Cincinnati political career in 1947 when he ran for City Council. He lost that year but won in 1949. He was chairman of the finance committee in 1953 and led a controversial battle to create a city income tax. In 1955 he was elected vice mayor. His 1963 political campaign to return to Cincinnati's City Council was chaired by Rev. L. Venchael Booth. His creation of the Community Action Commission in Cincinnati caught the attention of

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. He was a member of the Shriver family by birth, and a member of the Kennedy family through his marriage to Eunice Kennedy. ...

. In 1965 President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

appointed Berry to head the

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 a ...

's Community Action Programs that included Head Start, the

Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young people ages 16 to 24.

and

Legal Services A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

. Berry returned to Cincinnati in 1969 and was appointed to City Council in 1971. He was elected mayor in 1972 and served for four years—Cincinnati's first African-American mayor. In the 1980s and 1990s, Berry struggled to return proportional representation to Cincinnati because he firmly believed that it gave a fair share of power to Black voters.

Death and legacy

Berry died at the age of 94 on October 15, 2000. Other prominent black Cincinnatians such as

Marian Spencer Marian Regelia Alexander Spencer (June 28, 1920 – July 9, 2019) was an American politician who served as Vice Mayor of the Cincinnati City Council in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the first African American woman to be elected to the Council. Th ...

and Judge

Nathaniel R. Jones Nathaniel Raphael Jones (May 12, 1926 – January 26, 2020) was an American attorney, judge, and law professor. As general counsel of the NAACP, Jones fought to end school segregation, including in the northern United States. From 1979 until 199 ...

considered Ted Berry a role model. The city of Cincinnati has named both a street and a park after Berry.

Associations and awards

Mayor Berry was a

Prince Hall Freemason Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry created for African Americans, founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest (300,000+ initiated members) predominantly African-A ...

and a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity, Alpha Alpha chapter. He was one of the founders that helped charter Alpha Rho Lambda chapter, December 21, 1929, in Columbus, Ohio. In 1979, the

honored Berry by awarding him the

William Robert Ming Advocacy Award William Robert Ming Jr. (May 7, 1911June 30, 1973) was an American lawyer, attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and law professor at University of Chicago Law School and Howard University School of L ...

for the spirit of financial and personal sacrifice displayed in his legal work.

References

External links

Finding Aid for Theodore M. Berry papers
Archives and Rare Books Library, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Theodore M. 1905 births 2000 deaths Mayors of Cincinnati NAACP activists Ohio lawyers University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni American civil rights lawyers Charter Party politicians People from Maysville, Kentucky African-American mayors in Ohio People of the United States Office of War Information Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century Ohio politicians