page_title: Unita Blackwell
hierarchical_section_title: Unita Blackwell
caption_attribution_description: Unita Blackwell was the first Black female mayor of Mississippi.
context_page_description: Unita Zelma Blackwell was an American civil rights activist and politician. She was the first African American woman, and the tenth African American, to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi. She served as mayor of Mayersville, Mississippi from 1976 to 2001. She was a project director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She was also a founder of the US–China Peoples Friendship Association. Her autobiography, Barefootin', was published in 2006.
  Blackwell was born in Lula, Mississippi. She was married to Jeremiah Blackwell. The couple had a son, Jeremiah Blackwell Jr.
  Blackwell had dementia in her final years. She died on May 13, 2019 in Biloxi, Mississippi. She was 86.
context_section_description: Unita Zelma Blackwell (née Brown; March 18, 1933 – May 13, 2019) was an American civil rights activist and politician. She was the first African American woman, and the tenth African American, to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi. She served as mayor of Mayersville, Mississippi from 1976 to 2001. She was a project director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She was also a founder of the US–China Peoples Friendship Association. Her autobiography, Barefootin', was published in 2006.
  Blackwell was born in Lula, Mississippi. She was married to Jeremiah Blackwell. The couple had a son, Jeremiah Blackwell Jr. (born 1957).
  Blackwell had dementia in her final years. She died on May 13, 2019 in Biloxi, Mississippi. She was 86.
caption: Unita Blackwell
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