RICHMOND, VA — Hundreds of people, including elected and community leaders, gathered on Saturday for funeral services honoring Henry L. Marsh III, a civil rights leader and the first Black mayor of Richmond.
Marsh died on Jan. 23 at age 91.
Marsh was born Dec. 10, 1933 in Richmond during Jim Crow segregation. Richmond, Virginia is the former capital of the Confederacy. Marsh committed much of his early life, and later career as an attorney, to challenging structural racism in Virginia such as segregation.
“He saw injustice and he did something about it,” U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, (D-Va.), said during the service, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Former Vice Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was also in attendance.
Marsh attended Virginia Union University, during which time he testified before state lawmakers about the impact of racial segregation. After graduating, he attended Howard University law school.
Marsh was elected to the Richmond City Council in 1966. In 1977, he was appointed mayor by the city council, making Marsh the Richmond’s first Black mayor. After serving one term as mayor, he was elected to the Virginia state Senate in 1991 for 22 years. He resigned from the Senate in 2014.
More on the funeral service and legacy of Henry L. Marsh III.