Sharon Pratt Kelly

ABOUT SHARON PRATT KELLY

Former Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995 who was the first African American woman to serve as a mayor of a major U.S. city. Her tenure is often blamed for the city's larger deficit.

She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Howard University, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in political science.

She attempted to get D.C. to be declared a state but her plans backfired.

She had two children with her first husband Arrington Dixon.

She defeated Marion Barry in the 1990 mayoral elections.