Remembering David Dinkins, New York City’s First Black Mayor

New York City’s first African-American mayor, David Dinkins, has died. He was 93. Dinkins broke barriers when he was elected to lead the city in 1989 but the Democrat’s calm and low-key demeanor was seen by critics as a flaw and Dinkins only served one term. The New York Police Department says initial indications were that he died of natural causes. Dinkins, a calm and courtly figure with a penchant for tennis and formal wear, was a dramatic shift from both his predecessor, Ed Koch, and his successor, Rudolph Giuliani _ two combative and often abrasive politicians in a city with a world-class reputation for impatience and rudeness.