Dennis Archer
Encyclopedia
Dennis Wayne Archer is an American lawyer
and politician
from Michigan
. A Democrat
, Archer served on the Michigan Supreme Court
and as mayor of Detroit
. He later served as president of the American Bar Association
, becoming the first African-American president of the organization which, until 1943, had barred African-American laywers from membership.
. He earned his Bachelor of Science
degree
in education
from Western Michigan University
. He taught learning-disabled
children in Detroit Public Schools
from 1965 to 1970. Archer earned his J.D.
from the Detroit College of Law
in 1970.
Archer served as mayor of Detroit from 1993 to 2001. As mayor, Archer worked to repair the city's relations with the Detroit suburbs
and the local business community through cooperation with suburban business leaders on their redevelopment plans for the city, reducing tensions.
Archer was a strong supporter of numerous construction projects in downtown Detroit, including two new stadiums, Ford Field
for the Detroit Lions
and Comerica Park
for the Detroit Tigers
. Archer also became president of the National League of Cities
during his last year as mayor.
As mayor Archer was never popular with loyalists of his predecessor, Coleman Young
. Young favored Sharon McPhail
, a former member of the Detroit City Council
, and wished for her to succeed him. In the 1993 race to succeed Young, Archer (who is black) did not win a majority of the black vote. Archer was re-elected by a large margin in 1997, but was subject to a recall campaign
in his second term, launched by many of his original opponents. Archer declined to run for re-election in 2001.
Dickinson Wright
, and the board of directors of Compuware.
He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.
In 2004, he was appointed to an eight-year term ending December 31, 2012 on the board of trustees of the Western Michigan University
by Michigan Governor
Jennifer Granholm
. He was appointed legal guardian
for famous civil rights activist Rosa Parks
in October 2004.
In February 2008, Archer announced that he was considering running for governor of Michigan
in 2010
, but ultimately decided not to enter the race the following November.
Archer serves as a co-chair of the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center
.
and of Geometry Lodge #49, F&AM PHA, Prince Hall Freemasonry
.
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. A Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Archer served on the Michigan Supreme Court
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...
and as mayor of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He later served as president of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, becoming the first African-American president of the organization which, until 1943, had barred African-American laywers from membership.
Early life and education
Archer was born in Detroit, but raised in CassopolisCassopolis, Michigan
Cassopolis is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 14,275. It is the county seat of Cass County. The village and county are named after statesman Lewis Cass, a New Hampshire native and a prominent U.S...
. He earned his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
. He taught learning-disabled
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
children in Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The student population of the Detroit Public Schools is about 65,971 , which is down about 9.7% from the previous school year. Detroit Public Charter Schools educate an additional 56,000...
from 1965 to 1970. Archer earned his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the Detroit College of Law
Michigan State University College of Law
The Michigan State University College of Law is a private law school located in East Lansing, Michigan which is affiliated with Michigan State University...
in 1970.
Service on the Michigan Supreme Court and as Detroit mayor
Archer served as a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court from 1986 to 1990. In his last year as a Michigan Supreme Court justice, he was named "most respected judge in Michigan" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.Archer served as mayor of Detroit from 1993 to 2001. As mayor, Archer worked to repair the city's relations with the Detroit suburbs
Metro Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...
and the local business community through cooperation with suburban business leaders on their redevelopment plans for the city, reducing tensions.
Archer was a strong supporter of numerous construction projects in downtown Detroit, including two new stadiums, Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
and Comerica Park
Comerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
for the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. Archer also became president of the National League of Cities
National League of Cities
The National League of Cities is an American advocacy organization representing 19,000 cities, towns, and villages, and encompassing 49 state municipal leagues....
during his last year as mayor.
As mayor Archer was never popular with loyalists of his predecessor, Coleman Young
Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young served as mayor of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan from 1974 to 1993. Young became the first African-American mayor of Detroit in the same week that Maynard Jackson became the first African-American mayor of Atlanta.-Pre-Mayoral career:Young was born in Tuscaloosa,...
. Young favored Sharon McPhail
Sharon McPhail
Sharon McPhail was the general counsel for the City of Detroit. McPhail served on the Detroit City Council from 2002 until 2006. McPhail was a candidate for mayor in the 1993 and 2005 Detroit elections...
, a former member of the Detroit City Council
Detroit City Council
The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The City Council consists of nine members elected for a four-year term in a single election conducted on an at-large and non-partisan basis...
, and wished for her to succeed him. In the 1993 race to succeed Young, Archer (who is black) did not win a majority of the black vote. Archer was re-elected by a large margin in 1997, but was subject to a recall campaign
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
in his second term, launched by many of his original opponents. Archer declined to run for re-election in 2001.
Post-mayoralty
Upon leaving office as Mayor of Detroit in January 2002, Archer was appointed as chairman of Detroit-based law firmLaw firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
Dickinson Wright
Dickinson Wright
Dickinson Wright PLLC , is a law firm based in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the city's oldest firms, having been founded in 1878....
, and the board of directors of Compuware.
He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.
In 2004, he was appointed to an eight-year term ending December 31, 2012 on the board of trustees of the Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
by Michigan Governor
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
. He was appointed legal guardian
Legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability...
for famous civil rights activist Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
in October 2004.
In February 2008, Archer announced that he was considering running for governor of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in 2010
Michigan gubernatorial election, 2010
The Michigan gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, was prohibited by the state's Constitution from seeking a third term. This resulted in a large pool of candidates which was whittled down, when the May 11 filing deadline passed, to two...
, but ultimately decided not to enter the race the following November.
Archer serves as a co-chair of the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center
Bipartisan Policy Center
The is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
.
Personal life
Archer is a member of Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
and of Geometry Lodge #49, F&AM PHA, Prince Hall Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry derives from historical events which led to a tradition of separate predominantly African-American Freemasonry in North America...
.
External links
- Attorney Profile of Dennis Archer
- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Gildon_Dissertation.pdf