January 21, 2011

In 1987, Lottie Shackelford, a graduate of Philander Smith College in Little Rock (Pulaski County), became the first woman and the first African American elected mayor of Little Rock. Active in local and national politics, she has served on the Little Rock Board of Directors; is a former secretary, vice chair, and chair of the Arkansas State Democratic Committee; and was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 to the board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. For many years, she served as a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee.