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Mayor David Dinkins

Bertram Baker was a pioneer we must never forget. His voice still speaks to us from the first decades of black political power in New York City. He was a model in the New York State legislature for many of us who later went on to historic achievements of our own in New York City politics.

I followed Bert Baker into the State Legislature, as did Charlie Rangel, who became the most significant black Congressman New York City ever sent to Washington; and as did Percy Sutton, who preceded me as Manhattan Borough President; and as did Basil Paterson, who joined with Bert Baker in the 1960s to make the voices of Harlem and Bedford Stuyvesant residents heard throughout the city. Basil Paterson later became the first black Secretary of the State of New York. We were all youngsters when Bert Baker entered the political arena, and we all stood on his shoulders.

I have no doubt that when I became New York City’s first black mayor in 1990, Bertram Baker was smiling with satisfaction from heaven. I am certain that Bert Baker is still watching, and we still have much to accomplish.

A Day in Black Brooklyn History

  • BakerSwornInTHISisSMALL

    On Tues., Nov. 2, 1948, Baker became the first black elected to political office in Brooklyn. Wife Irene is here with him at his swearing-in.

The Boss (Now Long Deceased) Reflects on His Feat

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     Brief, edited clips from Baker's talk at the Historical Society over 40 years ago.

Deval Patrick Recalls His Grandad-in-Law: the Boss

  • DevalPatrickImageBainThe ex-Governor of Massachusetts, Patrick is talked-about as a 2020 presidential candidate in 2020. (Read more here about him and the Boss.)

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Baker was also the Boss of Black Tennis

  • Althea-GibsonAlthea Gibson was important in the life of Bertram Baker. He fought to get her into all-white tennis competitions. She then made history as the first black tennis champion. Yanick Rice Lamb, author of Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson, comments. Read her review here.

Last of the Bigtime Bosses

  • JudgeMortonTipsHatFuneral Bertram Baker was at the end of a line of bosses who named judges, based in good part on loyalty. Here NY Supreme Court Justice Franklin Morton tips his hat to Baker's coffin. Published in the New York Times, March 12, 1985. Photographer: Chester Higgins.

Fatherhood as a Cross Generational Theme

  •  DadAndSonUse

    Herbert Bias/Getty Images/Stock Photo

    Ron Howell, author of Boss of Black Brooklyn and grandson of the Boss, wrote in 2014 about the crisis of black fatherhood. (Read here.)

     

Scholar: Here's a Key to Understanding NY Politics

  • Clarence Taylor, Professor Emeritus, Baruch College, author of The Black Churches of Brooklyn and other books, wrote that Boss of Black Brooklyn is crucial reading for anyone interested in the twentieth century political history of New York. (Read review here.)

The Island of Nevis is in the Limelight

  • MapOfNevisUse4SiteFor centuries, Nevis has been among the world's most desired destinations. So tiny and lovely. Yet it was too tiny for big dreamers like Alexander Hamilton and Bertram Baker. The island's leaders are proud of its natural gifts and most of all its history. Everson W. Hull, Ph.D., and Ambassador from St. Kitts and Nevis to the Organization of the American States, says Baker's story is a gift to Nevis, Brooklyn and America. (Read here)

     

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