Ben West
Encyclopedia
Raphael Benjamin West was mayor
of Nashville, Tennessee
from 1951-1963. West was born on March 31, 1911, in Columbia
, Maury County, Tennessee
the son of Martha Melissa (née Wilson) and her husband James Watt West.
. Working his way through school, he attended Cumberland Law School and Vanderbilt University
. In 1934 he began work as an assistant district attorney in Nashville. On August 31, 1935, West married Mary Humes Meadors. They were parents of two sons, Jay and Ben Jr. Jay West later became vice mayor of Nashville and Ben West Jr. is a democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
.
. In the Senate West introduced legislation that brought back single-member district elections, replacing the citywide election of Nashville's city council. This represented a major breakthrough for the rebirth of black voting power in city politics because it allowed minorities whose votes were concentrated in a few wards to carry elections they could not hope to win in citywide contests. This reform was also the key to West's political future, as he would depend heavily on the reemerging black voter whose political power, with the repeal of the poll tax and other voting restrictions and the movement of white voters to the suburbs, was increasing.
, by which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the “one man, one vote” principle. This ruling forced reapportionment of state legislatures and shifted power to woefully underrepresented cities. While mayor of Nashville, West presided over the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Project, which replaced a squalid slum and vice district surrounding the state capitol building with a green belt, parking lots, and new state office buildings. West's strong alliance with Nashville's black community also helped improve race relations and prepare the city for the challenge of the Civil Rights movement. At one critical moment during the sit-in demonstrations of 1960
protest marchers challenged West to take a stand against segregation. He did so, and the Nashville business community quickly agreed to desegregate
department store lunch counters, making Nashville the first southern city to desegregate public facilities. With his base in the old inner city, West opposed the consolidation of city and county
government in 1958 and 1963. He lost reelection as mayor of the new Metropolitan government in his 1963 contest with Beverly Briley
. West retired to private life and died on November 20, 1974. He is buried in Nashville City Cemetery.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
from 1951-1963. West was born on March 31, 1911, in Columbia
Columbia, Tennessee
Columbia is a city in Maury County, Tennessee, United States. The 2008 population was 34,402 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. It is the county seat of Maury County....
, Maury County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
the son of Martha Melissa (née Wilson) and her husband James Watt West.
Biography
West came to Nashville as a boy, 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 CountyDavidson County, Tennessee
Davidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 626,681. Its county seat is Nashville.In 1963, the City of Nashville and the Davidson County government merged, so the county government is now known as the "Metropolitan Government of Nashville and...
. Working his way through school, he attended Cumberland Law School and Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. In 1934 he began work as an assistant district attorney in Nashville. On August 31, 1935, West married Mary Humes Meadors. They were parents of two sons, Jay and Ben Jr. Jay West later became vice mayor of Nashville and Ben West Jr. is a democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...
.
State senate
In 1943, West ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Nashville. Three years later, in 1946, he won election as vice-mayor of Nashville and then, in 1949, as state senator in the Tennessee SenateTennessee Senate
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the Tennessee state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.The Tennessee Senate, according to the state constitution of 1870, is composed of 33 members, one-third the size of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Senators...
. In the Senate West introduced legislation that brought back single-member district elections, replacing the citywide election of Nashville's city council. This represented a major breakthrough for the rebirth of black voting power in city politics because it allowed minorities whose votes were concentrated in a few wards to carry elections they could not hope to win in citywide contests. This reform was also the key to West's political future, as he would depend heavily on the reemerging black voter whose political power, with the repeal of the poll tax and other voting restrictions and the movement of white voters to the suburbs, was increasing.
Mayor of Nashville
In 1951 West won election as mayor of Nashville, along with the first two African American councilmen in forty years. As mayor of Nashville West supported other voting reforms, particularly a campaign to reapportion rural and urban voting districts. West championed the cause of reapportionment in the landmark case Baker v. CarrBaker v. Carr
Baker v. Carr, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that retreated from the Court's political question doctrine, deciding that redistricting issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases...
, by which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the “one man, one vote” principle. This ruling forced reapportionment of state legislatures and shifted power to woefully underrepresented cities. While mayor of Nashville, West presided over the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Project, which replaced a squalid slum and vice district surrounding the state capitol building with a green belt, parking lots, and new state office buildings. West's strong alliance with Nashville's black community also helped improve race relations and prepare the city for the challenge of the Civil Rights movement. At one critical moment during the sit-in demonstrations of 1960
Nashville sit-ins
The Nashville sit-ins, which lasted from February 13 to May 10, 1960, were part of a nonviolent direct action campaign to end racial segregation at lunch counters in downtown Nashville, Tennessee...
protest marchers challenged West to take a stand against segregation. He did so, and the Nashville business community quickly agreed to desegregate
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
department store lunch counters, making Nashville the first southern city to desegregate public facilities. With his base in the old inner city, West opposed the consolidation of city and county
Consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city–county is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation, and a county, which is an administrative division of a state...
government in 1958 and 1963. He lost reelection as mayor of the new Metropolitan government in his 1963 contest with Beverly Briley
Beverly Briley
Clifton Beverly Briley was the first mayor of the newly consolidated metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County. A Democrat, he served from 1963 to 1975.-Biography:...
. West retired to private life and died on November 20, 1974. He is buried in Nashville City Cemetery.
External links
- Ben West via Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture