View source for Charles Barbour

{{Infobox Officeholder
| name = Charles L. Barbour (D)
| photo =1970 Charles Barbour.JPG
| caption =Barbour in 1970
| office1= Mayor/Councilor<br/>[[Charlottesville City Council]]
| district1 = City Council (elected)
| term_start1 = 1974
| term_end1 = 1976
| preceded1 = [[Francis Fife]] (D)
| succeeded1 = [[Nancy O'Brien]] (D)

| office2=Councilor<br/>[[Charlottesville City Council]]
| district2 =At-large (elected)
| term_start2 =1970
| term_end2 =1974
| preceded2 = [[Gunther "Dutch" Vogt]] (R)
| succeeded2 = Charles Barbour (D)

| office3= Councilor<br/>[[Charlottesville City Council]]
| district3 = At-large (elected)
| term_start3 = 1974
| term_end3 = 1978
| preceded3 = Charles Barbour (D)
| succeeded3 =[[Thomas E. Albro]] (R)

| birth_date =
| date_of_death =
| birth_place =
| place_of_death =
| spouse = Mary
| children =
| residence = Charlottesville, VA
| alma_mater =
| profession = Licensed practical nurse (LPN)
| religion =
| website =
| vpapid = 96633
}}
'''Charles Barbour''' was the first African American to sit on Charlottesville's City Council (1970-1978) and Charlottesville’s first African American Mayor (1974-1976). <ref>City of Charlottesville "Mayors of Charlottesville" <https://www.charlottesville.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5579/Mayors-of-Charlottesville-1875-Present-PDF?bidId=>.</ref>. He is a retired Licensed practical nurse (LPN).

Elected in 1970, Barbour focused his efforts on revitalizing downtown. Along with his fellow Charlottesville City Council members – including [[Jill Rinehart]], the first female member of Charlottesville City Council – he supported the controversial process of constructing the [[Downtown Mall]]. Construction included closing [[Main Street]] to vehicles traffic and transform the former street area into a pedestrian mall. (Courtesy of Visual History Collection RG-31/1/10.011. Special Collections, University of Virginia) 

Barbour also supported a site within City limits for locating the [[Fashion Square Mall]], though the project was eventually built in [[Albemarle County]]. {{fact}}

==Biography==
Barbour attended [[Burley High School]], a segregated black school and got involved in politics in the early 1960's as a member of the local branch of the NAACP. A nurse by training, Barbour was courted as a candidate by the Democratic Party in 1970, with [[Francis Fife]] (D) as a running mate.  

As part of her "Firsts" series, local artist [[Frances Brand]] painted Charles Barbour for his role as the first Black mayor of Charlottesville.<ref>Branigan, Michelle Marie (December 1998). ''A Biography of Frances Brand, an American Painter and Social Activist'' (PhD). Indiana University.</ref> 


==1970 election==

{{Template:1970 election/CityCouncil}}

==Downtown Mall==
Barbour was only one of two votes during the [[March 18]], [[1974]] council vote that created the Charlottesville [[Downtown Mall]], as three of the five Councilors abstained to avoid an appearance of conflict of interest. <ref>{{cite web|title=Former Councilors share memories of early days of Downtown Mall|url=https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/former-councilors-share-memories-of-early-days-of/|author=Sean  Tubbs & Brian Wheeler|work=News Article|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=April 13, 2010|accessdate=July 3, 2020}}</ref>

Barbour presided over the opening of the [[Downtown Mall]] in 1976. [[Mitch Van Yahres]] called Barbour 'the father of the Downtown Mall.'<ref>{{cite-hook|title=Mayorsville: Here, everybody's a mayor|url=http://www.readthehook.net/79706/cover-mayorsville-here-everybodys-mayor|author=Lisa Provence|pageno=|printno=0532|printdate=August 10, 2006|publishdate=August 10, 2006|accessdate=January 28, 2023}}</ref> 

==Frances Brand portrait==
[[File:Charles Barbour21.jpg|thumb|left|Charles Barbour as depicted by [[Frances Brand]]]]
Barbour was a subject of local artist [[Frances Brand]] (1901-1990), whose most-celebrated work is a collection of portraits called "Firsts" - images of local people who were pioneers in a field or endeavor.

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==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbour, Charles}}
[[Category:Democratic party members]]
[[Category: Former City Councilors]]
[[Category: Former Charlottesville Mayors]]
[[Category: Charlottesville Mayors]]
[[Category: Firsts]]
[[Category: 1970 candidates]]
[[Category: Subject of a Frances Brand "Firsts" painting]]