Emmanuel W. Onunwor, was the first African-born American politician to be elected mayor of an American city when he in 1997 was elected mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio. Onunwor was born on May 24, 1954, in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He was the son of an Ikwerre regional ruler and began his early and secondary academic training in his hometown of Port Harcourt. He moved to the United States in 1980 with his wife, Diane Onunwor, who became a Cleveland Metropolitan School Nurse. Onunwor enrolled at Cleveland State University at the age of twenty-six and while there earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies in 1985 and a Master of Arts in 1992.
In the 1980s the couple moved to East Cleveland, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland which was undergoing significant demographic change. In 1960 the city was 98% white but became 59% Black in 1970 and 94% Black in 1990. Once known for its stately mansions including the home of John D. Rockefeller, the now predominately Black city currently has a population of 13,792, down significantly from its high point of 40,047 in 1950.
After serving as Director of Community Development in the City of East Cleveland and executive director of the Community Development and Neighborhood Center, Onunwor in 1997 entered politics. He ran for mayor of East Cleveland in a non-partisan contest and defeated incumbent mayor Wallace D. Davis by garnering 63% of the vote. When his term began on January 1, 1997, Onunwor made history as the first African-born Black mayor in the United States.
The new mayor had an immediate challenge upon taking office. At that time East Cleveland had a major drug problem. Despite calls for him to do so, Onunwor did not call for the National Guard to patrol East Cleveland’s streets. Instead, he hired more police officers. He also worked hard to raise the morale of the people in his beleaguered city by walking the streets, sometimes alone, sometimes with police or regular citizens, and talking directly to drug pushers and other people he suspected were engaged in criminal behavior. He also attempted to address high unemployment and homelessness through programs like the Urban League’s job placement and training programs.
In 2001, Onunwor ran as a Republican and was re-elected with 71% of the vote, defeating Democrat Eric J. Brewer. His career took a turn however in 2004 when he resigned upon being found guilty by a jury of twenty-two counts of extortion, mail fraud, racketeering, and tax evasion. He was found guilty of accepting kickbacks from businesspeople in exchange for promising contractors’ business while in office. The following year, in 2005, Onunwor was sentenced to nine years in prison. The conviction ended his political career.
While in prison, his son, Clifton Onunwor, was convicted and sentenced to prison for murdering his ex-wife. Emmanuel W. Onunwor was released to a halfway house in 2012. He continues to live in East Cleveland.
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“Disbelief: Friends, Family Shocked Over Murder Of Former Mayor’s Ex-Wife,” https://www.cleveland19.com/story/9041042/disbelief-friends-family-shocked-over-murder-of-former-mayors-ex-wife/; Kevin Freeman, “Exclusive: Former East Cleveland Mayor Speaks for First Time,” https://fox8.com/news/exclusive-former-east-cleveland-mayor-speaks-for-first-time/; “Onunwor, Emmanuel,” https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=95333.
