ican American Council Members
City of Charleston, South Carolina
The 1783 charter of the City of Charleston provided for a form of government that generally existed in cities during the colonial era. From 1783 to 1808, the city was divided into thirteen wards, each represented by a warden elected annually; the intendant was elected from the wardens. The city elected wardens and intendants until 1836. The city elected a mayor and aldermen from 1836 through 1975. The city has elected a mayor and council members from 1975 to the present.
1868: Military appointments made by Major Edward Camby
Reverend Ennals J. Adams
Reverend Richard H. Cain
Richard Dereef
Robert Howard
William McKinlay
Edward P. Wall
William Weston
November 1868 Election
William McKinlay
Robert Howard, Sr.
Richard Holloway
William R. Hampton
Launcelot F. Wall
Philip Thorne
Malcom Brown
Edward P. Wall
Thomas Small
1871 Election. No African American aldermen from 1871-73.[i]
1873 Election
W. J. McKinlay
S. B. Garrett
A. B. Mitchell
W. G. Fields
John A. Godfrey
B. Moncrief
George Shrewsbury
John Gordon
R. N. Gregorie
1877 Election. No African American city council representatives for 90 years.
St. Julian Devine, 1967-1975. Mayor Pro Tem in 1975. First black alderman in 90 years.[ii]
Frank McKenzie, 1971-75
David S. Hill, 1971-1975
Jerome Kinloch, 1975-1998
Daniel L. Richardson, 1975-1992
Hilda Jefferson, 1975-1998 (female)
Arthur Christopher, 1975-1992
Brenda Scott, 1975-1998 (female)
Robert Ford, 1975-1992
Ligure Ellington, 1992-1996
Maurice Washington, 1992-2000
Louis Waring, 1994-2012
James Lewis, Jr., 1996-2019
Kwado Campbell, 1998-2004
Robert Mitchell, 1998-2002, 2006-present
Wendell J. Gilliard, 1998-2008
Jimmy S. Gallant, 2000-2012
William Dudley Gregorie, 2009-present
Perry K. Waring, 2012-present
Rodney Williams, 2014-2017
[i] Bernard E. Powers, Jr., Black Charlestonians: A Social History (Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 1994), 228.
[ii] Robert Behre, “Charleston’s City Council Draws Outside the Lines of Race,” Post and Courier, 28 February 1993.