Last week, Horace Johnson, Hillsborough’s first Black mayor, who served from 1989 to 2001, reached his 95th birthday. The former community activist celebrated the milestone with family members. Johnson was born in southeast Alabama, near Mobile. He joined the military, met his future wife, came to Hillsborough in 1954 for what was supposed to be a two-week stay. He’s called the town home ever since. Before becoming Mayor of Hillsborough, Johnson served on the Hillsborough’s Town Board of Commissioners from 1977 to 1989.
“The man I defeated (for mayor) was kind of like a king,” Johnson said. “Whatever he said, the Town Board went along with it. I decided we needed justice and honest government. There were a lot of people who felt the same way I did. They were white and they said, ‘You campaign in our neighborhood and we’ve got you covered.’ Like Cassius Clay said, ‘I shook up the world.’”
After his victory in 1989, Johnson said he never stopped running and trying to win over voters…