Q: Who was the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city?
A: Sharon Pratt became the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major U.S. when she became mayor of Washington, D.C. in 1991. A D.C. native, Pratt initially wanted pursue an acting career. But after graduating from Howard University’s School of Law, she became an associate at her father’s law firm. She went on to become the first woman and first African American to hold the Vice President of Public Policy position at PEPCO. Pratt was an active member of the Democratic National Committee and became the first woman to be named Treasurer in the DNC.
Her first foray into public office was when she ran for mayor of D.C. with the campaign slogan “Clean House.”
Pratt currently owns Pratt Consulting, LLC, a management and technology consulting firm.
