Editing James H. McGee

{{Short description|American politician (1918–2006)}}
{{Other people|James McGee}}
{{Infobox officeholder
 | honorific-prefix   = 
 | name               = James Howell McGee 
 | native_name        = 
 | native_name_lang   = 
 | honorific-suffix   = 
 | image              = 
 | alt                = 
 | caption            =
 | birth_date          = {{birth date|1918|11|8}}
 | birth_place         = [[Berryburg, West Virginia]], U.S.
 | death_date         = {{death date and age|2006|3|4|1918|11|8}}
 |death_place         = [[Trotwood, Ohio]], U.S.
| order              = 
 | office             = Mayor of Dayton, Ohio
 | term_start         = July 15, 1970
 | term_end           = January 2, 1982
 | alongside          = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district.  (e.g. United States Senators.)-->
 | monarch            = 
 | president          = 
 | governor_general   = 
 | primeminister      = 
 | taoiseach          = 
 | chancellor         = 
 | governor           = 
 | vicepresident      = 
 | viceprimeminister  = 
 | deputy             = 
 | lieutenant         = 
 | succeeding         = <!--For President-elect or equivalent-->
 | constituency       = 
 | majority           = 
 | predecessor        = [[Dave Hall (Dayton mayor)|Dave Hall]]
 | successor          = [[Paul Leonard (politician)|Paul Leonard]]
 | prior_term         =
}}

'''James Howell McGee''' (November 8, 1918 – March 4, 2006) was an [[United States of America|American]] politician of the [[Ohio]] [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic party]]. He served as the first black mayor of [[Dayton, Ohio]]. He was also the city’s longest-tenured mayor to date.<ref>{{cite web 
  | title = MS-322 James H. McGee Papers
  | work = Special Collections & Archives
  | publisher = Wright State University
  | date = 20 October 2005
  | url = https://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/collectionguides/files/ms322.pdf 
  | format = Web
  | doi =
  }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web
  | last = Cummings
  | first = James
  | title = Former mayor McGee dies; First black to hold post was Dayton's longest-serving mayor
  | work = News Article
  | publisher = Dayton Daily News
  | date = March 5, 2006
  | url = http://alacarte.lexisnexis.com/partners/int/google/landingpage.asp?id=10015608&mtid=1&ws=9j0hDk1UboE=&ws_pub=Dayton%20Daily%20News%20(Ohio)&ws_date=March%205,%202006&ws_len=208&ws_lni=4JFD-7J10-TWV2-52JJ-00000-00&ws_title=Former%20mayor%20McGee%20dies&ws_refer=http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=Former+Mayor+McGee+dies&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Search+Archives
  | format = Web
  | doi = 
  }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Biography==
McGee was born in [[Berryburg, West Virginia|Berryberg]], [[West Virginia]], and was raised in [[Steubenville, Ohio]]. He graduated from [[Wilberforce University]] in 1937. After serving in the [[United States Army]], he received a [[law degree]] from [[The Ohio State University]] in 1948.<ref name=Wright>{{cite web |url= https://www.libraries.wright.edu/community/outofthebox/2015/02/19/james-h-mcgee-daytons-first-african-american-mayor/ |title= James H. McGee, Dayton's First African-American Mayor |publisher=Wright State University |date=2015-02-19}}</ref>

He moved to Dayton to practice law and worked with the [[NAACP]] in civil rights cases. He filed one of the first segregation cases after the landmark ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' decision.<ref name=First>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/16/archives/first-black-mayor-of-dayton-ohio-james-howell-mcgee.html |title= First Black Mayor of Dayton, Ohio |newspaper=New York Times |date=1970-07-16}}</ref> In 1959, he became the 23rd president of the Dayton Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [[NAACP]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/dayton-naacp-celebrates-100-years// |title= Dayton NAACP celebrates 100 years |newspaper= Dayton Daily News |date= 2019-05-09 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

McGee entered politics as an assistant to Rep. [[Rodney M. Love]] of Ohio working on the [[War on Poverty]].<ref name=Wright/> in 1967, Dayton City Commissioner Don Crawford resigned to become the Dayton City Clerk and McGee was selected to fill his term.<ref name=Wright/> McGee won re-election to the seat in 1969.<ref name=First/>

In May 1970, Mayor [[Dave Hall (Dayton mayor)|Dave Hall]] resigned for health reasons. The City Commission deadlocked for two months with tie votes of 2-2 with McGee and Michael Liskany each receiving the vote of another commissioner. Liskany ultimately announced that he would drop out, allowing McGee to become mayor.<ref name=Mayor>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/13/archives/dayton-ohio-to-get-a-negro-as-mayor-after-a-long-fight.html |title= Dayton, Ohio, to Get A Negro as Mayor After a Long Fight |newspaper=New York Times |date=1970-07-13}}</ref>

McGee was re-elected in 1973 and 1977 before stepping down. After leaving politics, he continued with his legal practice.

==Personal life==
He met his wife, Elizabeth while he was in law school. They had two daughters, Annette and Frances.  Both of the daughters followed their father, and went into practicing law.

He was a [[Prince Hall Freemasonry|Prince Hall Freemason]], holding membership in Ancient Square Lodge No. 40 of Dayton, Ohio,<ref>{{cite book|title=Proceedings of the 157th Communication of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio F&AM|year=2006|publisher=Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio|location=Columbus|pages=17}}</ref>  and was also a member of [[Alpha Phi Alpha]] fraternity.

James McGee died on March 4, 2006, in [[Trotwood, Ohio]].<ref name=Wright/>

==Legacy==
In 1988, a major boulevard in Dayton was named for McGee. Formerly known as Western Avenue, in West Dayton, the road is now known as James H. McGee Boulevard from Germantown Street to Little Richmond Road.<ref name=Shadow>{{cite news |url= https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/holiday/mayor-still-casts-impressive-shadow/Qt7v3zeiwWgpPemqGyElxM/ |title=Ex-mayor Still Casts and Impressive Shadow |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |date=2013-02-22}}</ref>

== References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070822190953/http://www.preservationdayton.com/important-daytonians.cfm Preservation Dayton: List of important Daytonians]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[List of mayors of Dayton, Ohio|Mayor of Dayton, Ohio]] | before=[[Dave Hall (mayor of Dayton, Ohio)|Dave Hall]]| years=1970-1981| after=[[Paul Leonard (politician)|Paul Leonard]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, James H.}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Mayors of Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:People from Barbour County, West Virginia]]
[[Category:Wilberforce University alumni]]
[[Category:Ohio Democrats]]
[[Category:American civil rights lawyers]]
[[Category:African-American mayors in Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American politicians]]


{{Ohio-mayor-stub}}