He reluctantly moved from focusing on civil rights to engaging in politics, ultimately becoming the first widely elected Black mayor in New England.
Thirman Milner, who made history in 1981 as the first Black mayor elected by popular vote in New England while serving Hartford, Connecticut, passed away on Friday at his home.
He was 91 years old.
His stepdaughter, Virginia Monteiro, the first vice chairwoman of the N.A.A.C.P.’s Connecticut and Greater Hartford branches, confirmed his death.
Mr. Milner was the sixth of seven children, raised by a widowed domestic worker who occasionally relied on public assistance. He left high school, joined the Air Force, earned an equivalency diploma, and was studying at New York University to pursue a career in pharmacy when he heard Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak in New York City. At that moment, he chose to become a civil rights activist.
He traveled to the South to protest racial segregation and then returned to Hartford, the state capital and one of the poorest cities in the country at that time. Determined to change this, he decided to enter politics, serving two terms in the State Legislature before challenging Mayor George A. Athanson, Hartford’s ostentatious incumbent, who had been in office since 1971 and was running for a sixth term.
Athanson narrowly won the 1981 Democratic mayoral primary by just 94 votes, but Milner alleged fraud, questioning the validity of absentee ballots and the delays in opening a polling place in a Black neighborhood. As a result, a court mandated a new election; and in the second contest, Milner secured the nomination with a significant lead, earning 9,167 votes compared to 6,258. He easily won the general election and, advocating for unity, was re-elected in both 1983 and 1985.
In a statement on Instagram, Governor Ned Lamont, a fellow Democrat, said that Milner “used his influence to enact positive change in Hartford, particularly focusing many of his efforts on the need to ensure that children – no matter their family’s income level or the neighborhood where they grew up – have access to a quality education.”
During his time in office, Milner pressed the Reagan administration to reallocate funds from military spending to support the nation’s disadvantaged populations and advocated for the redevelopment of Union Station in the city. Many saw him as a mentor to emerging Black political leaders, but during that time, Hartford’s City Charter placed more authority in the hands of the city manager and the City Council, overshadowing Milner’s powers. However, the leader of the Council majority elected in 1981 alongside Mr. Milner was the first Black Council member to hold that position and also served as deputy mayor. When Milner defeated Athanson in 1981, he remarked, “The proudest moment of my life wasn’t my own election as mayor, but the opportunity it provided for my mother to witness her youngest son become mayor of the city where she was raised.”
Thirman Leonard Milner was born on October 29, 1933, in Hartford, a descendant of enslaved Black and Native American ancestors, according to a profile of him written by The Associated Press in 2010 upon the release of his memoir Up from Slavery: A History from Slavery to City Hall in New England. When he was just three years old, his father, Henry Marshall Milner, was hospitalized and remained in care until his passing seven years later. He was raised by his mother, Grace (Stewart) Milner, and spent part of his childhood living with a relative who ran a summer camp in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Milner attended high school there but left before completing his junior year. After serving in the Air Force, he enrolled at New York University but did not finish his degree. Throughout his life, he held various jobs, including those as an insurance salesman, hospital orderly, drugstore clerk and buyer for a Black-owned heating oil company. He also contributed to a program aimed at combating poverty.
He ran for a spot in the Legislature in 1976 but narrowly lost in the primary. Two years later, he secured the nomination and won the election while also supporting Mayor Athanson’s re-election campaign. In the General Assembly, he led the Black caucus and was recognized as a calm yet effective legislator. He retired in 1987 at age 54 after doctors diagnosed him with prostate cancer and informed him he had just three months to live.
Both of Milner’s marriages, to Mary Rogers and Brenda Monteiro, ended in divorce. He is survived by his stepdaughter, Virginia Monteiro, as well as another stepdaughter, Theresa Rogers, and a stepson, Gary Rogers, from his first marriage. From his second marriage, he leaves behind two stepsons, Joseph and Raymond Monteiro Jr., along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sadly, another stepson, Manuel Monteiro, passed away this year.
“His tenure was marked by significant strides toward equity, justice, and empowerment for all,” the N.A.A.C.P. said in a statement reporting Milner’s passing. Shirley Surgeon, the president of the Hartford City Council, commended Mr. Milner for his determination and leadership approach, which she described to The Hartford Courant as “rooted in compassion and commitment.”
Surgeon also cited the former mayor’s remarks about the importance of collaboration in leadership.
He said, “If I walk down the street alone, people would call me a fool, but if I have the community supporting me, they will see me as a leader.”
Rest in power, Mr. Milner.
