Originally founded June 19, 2011 by the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Black Mayors and partnering nations,
these visionary leaders united to establish a platform on education, empowerment and economic development with its foundation
of mayoral leadership dating back to 1965. Leveraging trust, trade, training and tourism to propel the growth of municipalities, the
indomitable spirit of every Member Mayor reinforces the longevity of our vision. The Conference of Black Mayors is an organization
with over 47 years of commitment to the unification and empowerment of black Mayors. The Conference of Black Mayors has
remained a leader in the redevelopment of our most vulnerable communities working towards the empowerment of leadership on
the local level. Present day, CBM provides technical and management assistance through cutting-edge research, best practices
and partnerships that enable its mayors to challenge and overcome grappling issues that erode the vitality and sustainability of
our nation’s cities.
With regional headquarters in Haiti, Nigeria, Jamaica and the Republic of Colombia, CBM has established itself as a viable conduit
in connecting the talent and resources of the African Diaspora through the Office of The Mayor. Our broad and vibrant international
reach extends through 32,000 mayors of African lineage across the globe, resulting in influential partnerships between mayoral
associations, presidents and heads of state throughout North America, Africa, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and China.
CBM’s work in recent years has served as a conduit for connecting its membership with the key individuals that have the
ability to affect the sustainability of their communities. Annual events such as the Annual Convention and Legislative Policy
Summit provide an opportunity for members to capitalize on the dissemination of information that enables innovative thinking and
a heightened resource toolbox such as policy awareness and funding forums. These events are designed to be resource driven
and provide mayors with knowledge-based opportunities that ensure growth and empowerment through leadership development.
CBM’s work within its World Summit of Mayors trainings has earned the organization the title of Goodwill Ambassador as CBM
mayors have traveled worldwide, making CBM’s mission of “redeveloping our most vulnerable” a reality throughout the African
Diaspora. As a result of these partnerships, international development has been spurred through the exchange of information,
technical assistance, critical resource building and training.
The Conference of Black Mayors has been an organization grounded in the understanding that in order to empower our
communities: we must first enhance the executive management capacity of those who hold office. We will continue to serve as
the impetus that our mayoral membership uses to rally support towards tackling issues that corrode the vitality and
sustainability of communities worldwide. The organization will continue to serve as a conduit for Black Mayors worldwide.
Thirteen Black mayors, newly elected in the South, were the visionaries who founded the Southern Conference of Black Mayors (SCBM) in 1974. They were elected following enactment of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965.Passage of this landmark legislation dramatically increased the number of African Americans elected to public office within a short time, especially at the local level in the South where the number of mayors multiplied fivefold. A small group of Black mayors from several southern states met informally in Fayette, Mississippi in 1972 where they discussed the possible development of a program of mutual benefit to their respective communities. A year after meeting in Fayette, a second meeting of 15 Black mayors was held in Tuskegee, Alabama. Their discussions led to the founding of SCBM. In 1974, 20 Black mayors gathered in Santee, South Carolina and voted to officially incorporate the organization. The group hired its first executive director and opened a headquarters office that year in Atlanta, Georgia. By the occasion of its first annual convention in 1975 in Grambling, Louisiana, SCBM had identified various funding sources, performed several economic development and water system studies, and developed an extensive technical assistance program.
In 1976, at the second annual convention in Atlanta, at the promoting of mayors from the Midwest who attended the meeting, the mayors voted to expand the organization’s scope by changing the name to the National Conference of Black Mayors. The same
year, NCBM obtained tax- exempt status as a 501© 3
organization from the Internal Revenue Service, developed and presented a series of municipal management clinics in local communities, and produced a myriad of proposals that led to a significant increase of public support to member communities.
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