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Montgomery, Alabama, elects its first black mayor

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Montgomery, Alabama, elected its first African American mayor in its nearly 200-year history.

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Steven L. Reed, a probate judge, garnered about 67% of the vote in the nonpartisan runoff election, according to unofficial results released by the city, the New York Times reported. He defeated David Woods, a white TV station owner. Reed will be sworn in Nov. 12.

"Today is about the vision," AL.com quoted Reed as saying. "The vision we have for people far beyond this room. Some of the people who could not be here. But it encompasses and it connects all of them. And that's what we have been saying and that's what we want to make sure we continue tomorrow, and the next day and the next day. Because that is what is going to define this city. And that's what's going to define this election.

“It’s not going to be about the first. It’s not even going to be about the best. It’s going to be about the impact that we make on the lives of others."

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin was quick to congratulate Reed, an alumnus of Atlanta's Morehouse College.

Reed also played football at the Atlanta HBCU, where he was a member of Omega Psi Phi through the Theta Alpha Chapter.

Congratulations and support for the mayor-elect came from numerous sources who saw Reed’s victory as a win for civil rights.