Richard Hatcher, Gary Indiana, and the Rise of Black Political Leadership
Back in the 1960s, a new generation of leaders was emerging in the U.S. Civil Rights movement. During this era, Americans would discover a powerful path forward to greater racial equity through the vision of a soft-spoken attorney from Gary, Indiana: Richard Hatcher.
“It wasn't just civil rights for Black people. For him, it was civil rights for everyone. Whatever it was that was going to help us move forward, that's what he was there for,” says Ragen Hatcher, Indiana State Representative of District 3, and Richard Hatcher’s daughter.
Richard Gordon Hatcher was born in 1933 in Michigan City, Indiana, the son of a Georgia sharecropper and one of 13 children.
Ragen explains, “He grew up very poor. He's the one that got out of that poverty cycle. His father was a sharecropper in Georgia, so he was kind of first generation out of the sharecropper slave hold that so many Black families come from.”
Despite their meager savings, Hatcher’s parents sparked his vision to excel in school. He attended Indiana University on an athletic scholarship. After earning his law degree at Valparaiso University, Hatcher served as deputy prosecutor before being elected to the Gary City Council in 1963.
“When he got on the city council—that's where he started in 1963—that was the goal: what can I do to make things better?” states Ragen.
Gary, Indiana and U.S. Steel’s Political Influence
Jelks says, “U.S. Steel founded Gary and was Gary. Even the smaller business, tool and die businesses, all through Gary depended on this one giant: U.S. Steel.”
Established in 1906, just southeast of Chicago, Gary, Indiana was founded by U.S. Steel and its corporate interests. By the 1960s, a large Democratic political machine had risen to power. A history of corporate corruption cast a long shadow over the city. Richard Hatcher envisioned a city free from graft and deceit and decided to take on the powers that ran the city government as a candidate for mayor in 1967.
“He represented a real beacon of light, a real beacon of hope, of what the possibilities are, and they’re realistic and pragmatic that we can actually win,” says historian Jakobi Williams.
Hatcher hoped to clean up Gary. But to do so, the young activist would have to confront racist attitudes, a corrupt city government, the Chicago Mafia, and powerful business interests.
“He was not going to be told who to hire,” Ragen states. “He was not going to be told who to put in what position. He was not going to be bought. You were not going to bribe [him]. The decisions that he made were going to be the best ones for the city of Gary.”
Hatcher was no stranger to the fight for civil rights. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he helped to stage sit-ins to desegregate restaurants in Indiana, and he formed alliances with many cultural and political leaders, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson, President Lyndon Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
The 1967 Gary Mayoral Election
“He got help in terms of money from people out east. He certainly had the support of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society,” explains historian James Lane.
The Democratic Party machine in Gary initially supported Hatcher, but when the candidate refused to appoint machine-backed officials to his administration, he lost the support of many in the Party, including the local party boss, who then came out in support of his Republican opponent.
In what was to be one of the most controversial moves of his campaign, Hatcher boldly took his case to the nation. He spent a huge portion of his campaign dollars on a single full-page advertisement in The New York Times. In it was a clarion call to all citizens—Black and white—who believe in equal rights: “For God's sake, let's get ourselves together.”
“Dad was always talking about unity. It was always about unity. Let's come together and figure out how we move forward as a people,” Ragen recalls.
“He's looking around, and he's trying to get together all of these different factions,” Jelks explains. “Can there be some common agreement? Can there be some common consent?”
Just days before the election in November 1967, the federal government was tipped off to a scheme that would effectively purge many registered voters from Black neighborhoods in Gary. The FBI and the National Guard were sent in to help prevent voter fraud and ensure a free and fair election. When the final numbers were tallied, Hatcher prevailed by less than 2,000 votes.
“There was a huge crowd at his storefront headquarters. The crowd was so eager to see him and so boisterous and so huge,” Lane describes. “It was a real celebration. He was looked on as a liberator.”
On November 5, 1967, the citizens of Gary, Indiana elected the first Black mayor of a major American city.
“That sends us a huge signal to those in national politics. How can we emulate what took place in Gary and other spaces? Folks are using leverage at the national stage by fostering connections with Mayor Hatcher, but he's also using leverage to get what the city of Gary needs as well,” says Williams.
The Legacy of Richard Hatcher
In the years that followed, Hatcher raised millions to create advanced housing and job programs for local residents. He also devised a roadmap to allow other Black candidates to run for local, regional, and national offices.
In March 1972, Hatcher helped coordinate the National Black Political Convention in Gary. The vision was to help guide both major political parties to adopt more inclusive policies and to encourage more Black citizens to run for elected office.
The convention in Gary attracted many of the nation's top names in entertainment, politics and sports. The effects of the National Black Political Convention were profound. Within 20 years, there would be more than 300 Black mayors in the United States.
“He’s bringing in as many elected officials as can be. They are state legislators, they are city council people. His genius to get to the office—to try to bring every resource he could to make Gary an important place and space in Indiana—can't be denied,” Jelks explains. “There is no Barack Obama if there's no Richard Hatcher. Period.”
Richard Hatcher served as mayor of Gary for 20 years. He was an advisor to President Jimmy Carter and worked with TransAfrica to end apartheid in South Africa, even helping to negotiate the release of Nelson Mandela from a South African prison in 1990.
“He told us we could do anything, we could be anything. And I don't think that was just us; I think he told people that they could be whatever they wanted to be. And I think that spark of inspiration or that confidence was enough to move many people on their way,” concludes Ragen.
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The above video is a clip from Journey Indiana from WTIU. You can watch more segments and full episodes at pbs.org/show/journey-indiana/
