Last updated on November 22nd, 2025 at 01:56 am
LELIA FOLEY
Born on November 7, 1942, Foley is the first Black woman elected as the Mayor of a city in the United States. On April 3, 1973, the all-Black town of Taft, Oklahoma (population 600) put the divorced mother of 5, living on welfare, in charge.
This was after Foley raised $200 following a failed run for a spot on the school board that same year. In 1974, Oklahoma named Lelia Foley, Outstanding Woman of the Year. In the 1980s she lost her Mayoral post only to regain it again in 2000.
