Ronald Blackwood
Ronald Alexander Blackwood was a Jamaican-born American politician who served as the Mayor of Mount Vernon, New York, for eleven years from 1985 until 1996. On January 25, 1985, Blackwood became the first black Mayor of Mount Vernon, as well as the first black person elected mayor of any municipality in New York state.
Blackwood was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica, on January 19, 1926. He immigrated from Jamaica to the United States when he was 28-years old and settled in the New York City suburb of Mount Vernon, New York. He received his bachelor's degree in management from Iona College. Professionally, Blackwood worked for the Honeywell corporation's medical electronics division in Pleasantville, New York, for more than thirty years.
Before becoming mayor, Blackwood served as a member of the Westchester County Board of Supervisors and the Mount Vernon city council for four terms.
Blackwood died from complications of Parkinson's disease at his home in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on February 22, 2017, at the age of 91. He was survived by his wife of 38 years, Ann Griffin Blackwood, and daughter, Helen Blackwood.
