Former Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995 who was the first African American woman to serve as a mayor of a major U.S. city. Her tenure is often blamed for the city's larger deficit.
She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Howard University, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in political science.
She attempted to get D.C. to be declared a state but her plans backfired.
She had two children with her first husband Arrington Dixon.
She defeated Marion Barry in the 1990 mayoral elections.
