UDC Forum: Ron Dellums

Hello and welcome to another edition of UDC Forum. I'm Dr. Sandra Jowers-Barber, assistant professor of history at the University of the District of Columbia and your host. Ronald "Ron" Dellums--born November 24, 1935--served as Oakland's 45th (and third African-American) mayor. Between 1971 and 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Northern California's 9th Congressional District. Ron Dellums was born into a family of labor organizers, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps before serving on the Berkeley, California, City Council. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California and the first openly, Socialist, non-incumbent Congressional candidate, since World War II.