meet the 7 newly elected black mayors in the u.s.

Tuesday was an election night of much history-making, and the wave of Black mayors that was swept in was no exception. Seven cities elected their first Black mayors, many of them in the South and against difficult odds. Two are also Black women.

The most newsworthy is probably the story of city administrator Vi Lyles, who was elected the first Black mayor of Charlotte, NC, beating Republican Kenny Smith. Lyles and Smith clashed over House Bill 2 repealing a city ordinance extending rights to LGBT people, and the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott last year.

Other first-time Black mayors include Mary Parham-Copelan of Milledgeville, GA; Booker Gainor of Cairo, GA; and Brendon Barber of Georgetown, SC.

Congratulations to them all!