An ongoing illustrative history study
This piece originally posted 6/18/2021
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"I faced it the entire time. It wasn't overt but it was there. I am proud of the citizens of our city who looked beyond the surface and asked 'is this person qualified?'"
Born in 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, Ron Oden originally pursued a career in family counselling (holds two Masters' degrees; one in Theology from Andrews University, and one in Ethnic Studies from the State University of New York in Albany). He also became an ordained minister in the Seventh-Day Adventist church. However after moving to Palm Springs, California to teach Sociology at College Of The Desert, he became more actively involved with social issues and in 1995 was elected to the Palm Springs City Council.
Oden relates a childhood tale about a visit to his grandfather's farm in Clanton, Ala., where he first learned about racism and discrimination. He describes how one night his grandfather left the house with a gun, as he and his family hid under the kitchen table. At six years old, he had never encountered anything like it. "I tried to whisper because I didn't know whether to be afraid or what, and my cousin, who was younger than I but very savvy in the ways of the South, she leans over toward me, and she says, 'It's the Klu Klux.'"
In 2003 Oden was elected mayor of Palm Springs, making history by becoming the first openly gay African-American man ever to be elected mayor of an American city. Although Blacks comprise only 3% of that city's population, the gay and lesbian population accounts for an estimated 30% of the total, making it (proportionately) one of the largest of any California city. Today the city is ranked first in the state (and third in the nation) among cities with the most same-sex couples per 1,000 households, according to U.S. census data.
Oden served as mayor until 2007, promoting the city not only as a resort destination, but also pushing greater respect for diversity and inclusion. In recognition of his role as a humanitarian and civic leader, Oden was honored with the 300th golden star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Oden again ran for mayor of Palm Springs in 2015 but lost to Rob Moon, also a gay man. In December 2017, the Palm Springs City Council again made history by becoming America's first all-LGBTQ city council. Oden still lives in Palm Springs and continues as adjunct faculty at his beloved College Of The Desert.
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