David Dinkins is the son of a barber and a domestic. After leaving the Marine Corps, he attended Howard University on the GI Bill, graduated cum laude, then earned a law degree while working nights. In 1989 he was elected the 106th mayor of the city of New York. Among his many accomplishments, it was during his tenure that the city’s historic drop in crime began. You can read about this and more in his memoir, A Mayor’s Life: Governing New York’s Gorgeous Mosaic, and listen to him speak eloquently about power, politics, and New York City right here.
PERSON: Nelson Mandela
PLACE: Carver Democratic Club of Harlem (now merged)
THING: Arthur Ashe Tennis Center
RANDY’S PERSON: a rookie NYC Parks Police officer (not this one)