David Dinkins, New York City's first African American mayor, has died at the age of 93. His death came just weeks after the death of his wife, Joyce, who died in October at the age of 89. Initial indications were that he died of natural causes.
He was elected mayor of New York City in 1990. He raised taxes to hire thousands of police officers and spent billions of dollars revitalizing neglected housing.
After leaving office, Dinkins was a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
"The example Mayor David Dinkins set for all of us shines brighter than the most powerful lighthouse imaginable," said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who herself shattered barriers as the state's first Black woman elected to statewide office.
