Abe E. Pierce, III
| Abe Edward Pierce, III | |
|---|---|
|
Mayor of Monroe, Ouachita Parish Louisiana, USA |
|
|
In office July 1, 1996 – July 3, 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert E. "Bob" Powell |
| Succeeded by | Melvin Rambin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 28, 1934 Monroe, Louisiana |
| Nationality | African American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Richard-Pierce (married 1955) |
| Children |
Including: |
| Alma mater | Southern University |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Religion | Baptist |
Including:
Abe Edward Pierce, III (born October 28, 1934), is a retired educator in his native Monroe, Louisiana, who is the first African American to have served as mayor of his city. A Democrat, Pierce held the position for one term from 1996 to 2000, when he was unseated by the Republican candidate, Melvin Rambin.
A graduate of the former Monroe Colored High School prior to desegregation and the historically black Southern University in Baton Rouge, Pierce was thereafter a classroom teacher of biology, chemistry, and physics for ten years at Richwood High School in Monroe, where he was also briefly the principal before he was elevated into school administration, as supervisor of secondary education and then as an assistant superintendent. He recalls his first teacher salary as $240 per month. His wife, Dorothy Richard-Pierce, a native of Opelousas, was also a teacher; Pierce first thought that they could save her monthly salary. Of all his jobs for the Ouachita Parish School Board, Pierce said that teaching had been the most personally satisfying. Pierce also operated with his friend, Mackie Freeze, a small business in Monroe, Pierce's Dairy Delight.
Prior to his mayoral tenure, Pierce served for twenty-six years as a member of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body. He was the first African American to serve on the police jury and the first to be named president of the police jury. Pierce had been the president of the youth council of the Monroe branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and was active in the civil rights movement. Pierce said that his political involvement began at his home church, the New Tabernacle Baptist Church in Monroe under the long-term pastor Roosevelt Wright.
...
Wikipedia