David Dinkins, first Black mayor of New York City, dead at age 93

NEW YORK — David Dinkins, the first Black man to serve as mayor of New York City, has died at age 93, multiple news outlets are reporting.

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According to The Associated Press, the New York Police Department said Dinkins died Monday in his Manhattan home, apparently from natural causes.

The news came shortly over a month after his wife, Joyce, died, the New York Times reported. She was 89.

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Dawn Wells FILE PHOTO: Actress Dawn Wells attends the 2015 TV Land Awards at Saban Theatre on April 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Wells died Wednesday of illness related to COVID-19. She was 82. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Dinkins, a former Marine and graduate of Howard University and Brooklyn Law School, served as a member of the state Assembly and New York City Board of Elections president before taking office as president of the city’s Manhattan borough from 1986 to 1989, according to the news agency. In 1989, Dinkins, a Democrat, defeated then-Mayor Ed Koch in the primary and Republican Rudy Giuliani in the general election to become New York’s first Black mayor from 1990 to 1993, the AP reported. In 1993, he lost his re-election bid to Giuliani, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2001.

Dinkins’ survivors include a son and daughter, as well as two grandchildren, according to the AP.

Politicians, celebrities and other public figures took to social media overnight to pay tribute to Dinkins. Here’s what they were saying:

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– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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