Died January 12, 2003 | Role Politician Name Clarence Burns | |
 | ||
Born September 13, 1918Baltimore, Maryland ( 1918-09-13 ) | ||
Clarence H. "Du" Burns (September 13, 1918 – January 12, 2003) was a Democratic politician and first African American mayor of Baltimore, Maryland in 1987.
Du Burns was first elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1971. In 1986, the then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer resigned after being elected Governor of Maryland. As City Council president, Burns was elevated to mayor in January 1987, becoming the first black mayor in the city's history.
In the 1987 city elections, Burns ran for a full term but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Kurt Schmoke. He ran again in 1991 with the same result.
In 1991 a new arena on the waterfront near Canton was named for "Du" Burns.
References
Clarence H. Burns Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA