SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Former Savannah Mayor Floyd Adams Jr., the first African American elected to lead Georgia’s oldest city, has died at age 68.
Adams died Saturday afternoon at Candler Hospital, said hospital spokesman Scott Larson. He said the former mayor’s family did not authorize releasing any further details.
Adams was publisher of the Savannah Herald, a weekly newspaper covering the city’s black community, and a longtime city councilman when he was elected Savannah’s 63rd mayor in 1995.
Though he was the first African American to hold the job, Adams was openly uncomfortable with the distinction. He said in his inaugural address: “My race, or gender for that matter, has no bearing on how well I can lead Savannah.’’
Adams ran unopposed for a second term and stayed in office through 2003.
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