James R. Ford

James R. Ford

James R. Ford, accomplished educator, politician, businessman and , was born on December 1, 1925, in Leon County, Florida. He attended Florida A&M University, where he earned his B.S. in 1950 and his M.Ed. in 1959.

Ford served in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army. He worked in the Leon County public school system from 1950 to 1987 as a teacher and its first black administrator, presiding over the county's first integrated school staff.

In 1972, Ford became Tallahassee's first black mayor, the first black mayor of a state capital city. He was elected to subsequent terms as mayor in 1976 and 1982. In addition, he served fourteen consecutive years as a Tallahassee . In this office, he played a key role in establishing the , the and the , and worked to eliminate segregated practices in the city government and to secure employment for blacks.

Ford is also active in the business community. He built WAMN Radio Station, becoming Tallahassee's first black manager of a radio station. He owns and manages six businesses and acts as the president of . He has served as the president of and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternities, the and the Tallahassee Chapter of 100 Black Men, and as commander of the . He has sat on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, Meals on Wheels, the March of Dimes Big Bend Chapter, the American Red Cross's Tallahassee Chapter and the . He currently sits on the boards of the Tallahassee Memorial Regional Medical Center, the and . He and his wife, Clinita, have a son (James R. Ford jr.) and two daughters (Janita and JaKathryn).

References

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