Sharon Pratt Kelly
| Sharon Pratt Kelly | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 3rd Mayor of the District of Columbia | |
|
In office January 2, 1991 – January 2, 1995 |
|
| Preceded by | Marion Barry |
| Succeeded by | Marion Barry |
| Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee | |
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In office February 2, 1985 – February 10, 1989 |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Kirk |
| Succeeded by | Robert Farmer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sharon Pratt January 30, 1944 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
Arrington Dixon (1967–1982) James Kelly (1991–1999) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Howard University |
| Website | Official website |
Sharon Pratt Kelly (born January 30, 1944), formerly Sharon Pratt Dixon and now known as Sharon Pratt, was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995. Pratt was the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city.
Though she campaigned and was elected and inaugurated mayor as Sharon Pratt Dixon, on December 7, 1991, she married James R. Kelly III, a New York businessman, and changed her name to Sharon Pratt Kelly. After their 1999 divorce, she resumed her maiden name, Sharon Pratt.
She was born to D.C. Superior Court judge Carlisle Edward Pratt and Mildred "Peggy" (Petticord) Pratt. Three years later, a sister, Benaree, was born. After she lost her mother to breast cancer at an early age, her grandmother, Hazel Pratt, and aunt, Aimee Elizabeth Pratt, helped raise the girls.
Pratt attended D.C. Public Schools Gage ES, Rudolph ES, MacFarland Junior High School, and Roosevelt HS (1961, with honors). She excelled at baseball but deemphasized that in adolescence. At Howard University she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (1964), and earned a B.A. in political science (1965). She received J.D. degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1968. She met and dated her future husband there.
She married Arrington Dixon (1966) and bore daughters in 1968 and 1970. They divorced after sixteen years.
Initially her political energies were drawn to national rather than local politics. She was a member of the Democratic National Committee from the District of Columbia (1977–1990), the first female to hold that position. She was DNC Treasurer (1985–1989).
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Wikipedia