David Dinkins, New York City’s first African American mayor, has died at the age of 93.
Dinkins died on Monday evening, November 23, at his residence on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) told CNN.
The department had received a call from Dinkins’s residence regarding an unconscious person having difficulty breathing, according to the NYPD.
Bill de Blasio, the current mayor of New York City confirmed Dinkins’s death to The New York Times. It came less than two months after the death of Mr. Dinkins’s wife, Joyce, who died in October at the age of 89.
Dinkins served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993, according to his bio on the city’s website.
He defeated Rudolph Giuliani in 1990 with the narrowest electoral margin in New York City’s history.
During his inauguration speech, Dinkins “vowed to be ‘mayor of all the people of New York,’ and declared: ‘We are all foot soldiers on the march to freedom,'” according to the bio.
He also spoke on oppression, human rights, and the need for equality during the speech.
Dinkins ran for reelection in 1993 but was defeated by Rudolph Giuliani.
On Tuesday morning, Giuliani expressed his condolences on Twitter, saying of Dinkins, “He gave a great deal of his life in service to our great City. That service is respected and honored by all.”
I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mayor David Dinkins, and to the many New Yorkers who loved and supported him. He gave a great deal of his life in service to our great City. That service is respected and honored by all.
