Clarence Harmon

Clarence Harmon
Clarence Harmon
44thMayor of St. Louis
	In office; April 15, 1997 – April 17, 2001
Preceded by	Freeman Bosley Jr.
Succeeded by	Francis Slay
30thCommissioner of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
	In office; January 1992 – January 1995
Appointed by	Vincent C. Schoemehl
Preceded by	Robert Scheetz
Succeeded by	Ron Henderson
Personal details
Born	1940 (age 83–84); St. Louis,Missouri,U.S.
Spouse	Janet Kelley
Children	4
Alma mater	Webster University; Truman State University
Profession	Politician, police chief

Clarence Harmon(born 1940) was the 44thMayor of St. Louis(from 1997 to 2001), and the city's second African-American mayor.

Early life and education

Harmon was born to a Baptist family, and the only boy out of three children. His father was acookon a railway, while his mother was a nurse. As a boy, Harmon was converted toCatholicismin order to attend the McBride High School, a boys-only institution. After graduating from it, he served in theUS Armyin the101st Airborne Divisionand then got enrolled into Northeast Missouri State University (nowTruman State University).^[1]

Career

Prior to serving as Mayor, Harmon had served asMetropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis's 30thCommissioner of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Departmentbetween the years 1991 and 1995, becoming the first African American to do so.^[2]During the time as Police Commissioner his duty was to patrolFox Park, St. Louis,which was crime infested, but in 30 days time, the city's crime dropped 47%.^[1]

He defeated incumbent MayorFreeman Bosley Jr.in theDemocraticPrimary in1997and went on to win election by a wide margin in thegeneral election.^[3]Following his victory, Harmon shouted "Tear down the walls of isolation, St. Louis!", calling for the unity and racial healing.^[4]Harmon was defeated for re-election in the2001 Democratic Primary.^[5]

References

^^a ^bJeannette Cooperman (November 29, 2012)."A Conversation with Clarence Harmon".St. Louis Magazine.
^"ST LOUIS POLICE VETERan's HISTORICAL PHOTO EARLY BLACK HISTORY SAINT LOUIS of the ST LOUIS POLICE DEPARTMENT MISSOURI".slpva.Archived fromthe originalon 5 August 2010.Retrieved12 January2022.
^"Former Police Chief Elected St. Louis Mayor".The New York Times.Associated Press.April 3, 1997. p. 22.
^Jo Mannies (April 16, 1997)."Harmon Urges Unity Speech Calls for Regional, Racial Healing".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.^{[dead link]}
^D.J. Wilson (January 3, 2001)."The New Wisdom of Boz".Riverfront Times.RetrievedSeptember 13,2019.

St. Louis Public Library
Schlinkmann, Mark (April 18, 2001). "Slay Is Sworn in as St. Louis' 45th Mayor".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.p. A1.

Political offices
Preceded by Robert Scheetz	Metropolitan Police Commissioner 1991–1995	Succeeded by Ron Henderson
Preceded by Freeman Bosley Jr.	Mayor of St. Louis 1997–2001	Succeeded by Francis Slay

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[stlmag-1] Jeannette Cooperman (November 29, 2012)."A Conversation with Clarence Harmon".St. Louis Magazine.

[2] "ST LOUIS POLICE VETERan's HISTORICAL PHOTO EARLY BLACK HISTORY SAINT LOUIS of the ST LOUIS POLICE DEPARTMENT MISSOURI".slpva.Archived fromthe originalon 5 August 2010.Retrieved12 January2022.

[3] "Former Police Chief Elected St. Louis Mayor".The New York Times.Associated Press.April 3, 1997. p. 22.

[4] Jo Mannies (April 16, 1997)."Harmon Urges Unity Speech Calls for Regional, Racial Healing".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.^{[dead link]}

[5] D.J. Wilson (January 3, 2001)."The New Wisdom of Boz".Riverfront Times.RetrievedSeptember 13,2019.

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