C. Virginia Fields
Clara Virginia Fields[1] | |
|---|---|
 C. Virginia Fields in 2015 | |
| 25th Borough President of Manhattan | |
| In office January 1, 1998 – December 31, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Ruth Messinger |
| Succeeded by | Scott M. Stringer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clara Virginia Clark August 6, 1945 (age 76) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Henry Fields
(m. 1971; div. 1985) |
| Alma mater | Knoxville College (1967) Indiana University (1969) |
Clara Virginia Fields better known as C. Virginia Fields (née Clark; born August 6, 1945)[2] is the former Borough President of Manhattan, elected in 1997 and reelected in 2001. Her second term expired at the end of 2005.
Early life and education[]
Clara Virginia Clark was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Peter and Lucille Clark. She received a B.A. in sociology from Knoxville College in Tennessee in 1967 and an M.S.W. from Indiana University Bloomington in 1969. She married Henry Fields in 1971; they divorced in 1985. [3][2]
In 1971, she moved to New York City and became a social worker. In the late 1970s and 1980s she worked in a variety of administrative positions in the social services field, while also becoming involved in community politics.
Fields is well known for her activism during the height of the civil rights movement in which she participated in a number of protests and marches, thus beginning her foray into social and political advocacy.
Fields is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the .
Political career[]
In 1989, Fields was elected to the New York City Council. In 1997, Fields was elected Manhattan Borough President, replacing Ruth Messinger who ran for Mayor, unsuccessfully, against Rudy Giuliani. Fields received acclaim for her support of cultural organizations such as the New York Shakespeare Festival and the West Side Arts Coalition. She was in office during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Some community groups throughout Manhattan, however, have a low opinion of Ms. Fields' record. They argue that she would not listen to community concerns regarding the noisy nightclubs and promoted outsized and ill-advised development projects. In 1999, Fields supported using eminent domain to seize a family-owned manufacturing plant in Harlem to be replaced by a Costco store.
In 2005, Fields was a Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City. In early polls, she placed second to Fernando Ferrer. She suffered criticism for her campaign's perceived lack of policy-based motivation, with some critics pointing to the term limits of her position at the time as the real impetus for her campaign. A small scandal emerged when it was discovered that her campaign literature included photographs doctored to create the impression of diversity in support. Fields never found traction and in the primary she finished third with 15.92% of the vote.[4] Fields finished behind former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer and Congressman Anthony Weiner, but ahead of City Council Speaker Gifford Miller.
In March 2006 it was reported that Fields would run for the State Senate seat representing Harlem and parts of Upper Manhattan, being vacated by Senate Minority Leader David Paterson. Paterson decided not to seek reelection to the Senate seat in order to run for lieutenant governor on a ticket with State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. On June 1, 2006, Fields announced that she was ending her Senate campaign, explaining that it was not the right time for her to run.
Post-political career[]
Fields has been the President and CEO of the non-profit organization, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLC), since 2008.[5]
See also[]
Bibliography[]
- Paterson, David Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity. New York, New York, 2020
- John C. Walker,The Harlem Fox: J. Raymond Jones at Tammany 1920:1970, New York: State University New York Press, 1989.
- David N. Dinkins, A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic, PublicAffairs Books, 2013
- Rangel, Charles B.; Wynter, Leon (2007). And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Baker Motley, Constance Equal Justice Under The Law: An Autobiography, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998.
- Howell, Ron Boss of Black Brooklyn: The Life and Times of Bertram L. Baker Fordham University Press Bronx, New York 2018
- Jack, Hulan Fifty Years a Democrat:The Autobiography of Hulan Jack New Benjamin Franklin House New York, NY 1983
- Clayton-Powell, Adam Adam by Adam:The Autobiography of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. New York, New York 1972
- Pritchett, Wendell E. Robert Clifton Weaver and the American City: The Life and Times of an Urban Reformer Chicago: University of Chicago Press 2008
- Davis, Benjamin Communist Councilman from Harlem:Autobiographical Notes Written in a Federal Penitentiary New York, New York 1969
References[]
- ^ Mechling, Lauren (May 16, 2005). "With C. Virginia Fields, 'Nice' is But Part of the Story". New York Sun.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Archibold, Randal C. (August 23, 2005). "Bringing Faith and Conciliation To a Mayoral Bid in New York". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- ^ "C. Virginia Fields's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2009-01-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "President & CEO". National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
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- 1945 births
- Living people
- African-American New York City Council members
- African-American women in politics
- Manhattan borough presidents
- New York City Council members
- New York (state) Democrats
- 2004 United States presidential electors
- Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama
- Women in New York (state) politics
- Knoxville College alumni
- Indiana University Bloomington alumni
- 21st-century American women politicians
- 21st-century American politicians
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 20th-century American politicians
- Women New York City Council members