Ben West
| Raphael Benjamin West | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Tennessee Senate from the district |
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In office 1949–1951 |
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| 62nd Mayor of Nashville | |
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In office 1951–1963 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas L. Cummings, Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Beverly Briley |
| Vice Mayor of Nashville | |
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In office 1946–1949 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 March 1911 Columbia, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | 20 November 1974 (aged 63) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Resting place | Nashville City Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Humes Meadors |
| Children | Ben West Jr., Jay West |
| Alma mater | Cumberland Law School, Vanderbilt University |
Raphael Benjamin West (March 31, 1911 – November 20, 1974) was an attorney, politician, and mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1951 to 1963, and state senator from 1949 to 1951. While state senator, he supported a change from at-large to single-member district voting to the Nashville City Council. This broadened representation on the council, enabling the African-American minority to elect candidates of their choice; women also gained seats on the council.
West was born in 1911 in Columbia, the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee; he was the son of Martha Melissa (née Wilson) and her husband James Watt West. He moved to Nashville as a boy with his family. When he was three years old, his parents moved to a working-class neighborhood in Flat Rock, now known as the Woodbine district of Davidson County. Working his way through college, West attended Vanderbilt University and Cumberland Law School.
In 1934 West began work as an assistant district attorney in Nashville. He also became active in politics, joining the Democratic Party. The state had effectively disenfranchised most blacks since the turn of the century. This hollowed out the Republican Party in much of the state. Many elections, both local and state, were settled in the Democratic primaries, the true competitive contests.
In 1943, West ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Nashville. Three years later, in 1946, he won election as vice-mayor of Nashville.
In 1948, he was elected as state senator in the Tennessee Senate, serving one term to 1949. In the Senate, West introduced legislation that restored single-member district elections for the Nashville city council, replacing the citywide at-large election of each seat. This represented a major opportunity for African-American voters, as it enabled minorities whose votes were concentrated in a few wards to elect candidates of their choice. In the at-large elections, candidates supported by a minority had not been able to gain a majority and win election.
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