Black Power: Gary Style

Book excerpt: Richard G. Hatcher became the first African American mayor of Gary, Indiana in 1968 after a bitter, hard-fought campaign. He ran without party support in a city that had overwhelmingly voted for George Wallace in the 1964 presidential primary. Along with Carl Stoke's election in Cleveland, it ushered in a new era of black political power. This book traces the growth of Hatcher as a young loayer from a southern migrant family. The author argues that this story represents a microcosm of the black political power struggle of the time.