Steve Benjamin

In 2010 Steve Benjamin was elected the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, the first African American to hold that office. At the time about 52 percent of the city's population of 129,000 was white, and 42 percent was black. Benjamin, a lawyer, used his penchant for networking, unity building, and fundraising to win the mayoral office at age 40. He overcame lingering racial divisiveness in the community by focusing his campaign on core issues, such as education and public safety, that are important to voters of all races. Nevertheless he acknowledges the historical significance of his achievement. Benjamin told WIS TV, "I certainly recognize that I only have this opportunity because I stand on the shoulders of giants, men and women who struggled and risked their lives so that, one day, someone like me might become the first black mayor of Columbia."

Benjamin was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in 1969, but he grew up in Queens, New York. He returned to his home state in the late 1980s to attend the University of South Carolina, where he was mentored by fellow student Charles White, later the national field operations director of the NAACP. Benjamin joined the student chapter of the NAACP and became an active member. He also participated in student government and was elected student body president as an undergraduate and as president of the student bar association while in law school.

After graduating he served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Columbia Urban League and SisterCare Inc., a services program for women victimized by domestic violence. He was a member of the City of Columbia Planning Commission and worked as a lobbyist for the McNair Law Firm. It was there that Benjamin caught the attention of South Carolina Representative Jim Hodges, a Democrat, the state's future governor. In 1999 Governor Hodges appointed Benjamin as director of the state's Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, the first black person to hold that position. Hodges would later tell Noelle Phillips of The State newspaper that he recognized the young man's political potential, noting "Fifteen minutes after you meet Steve Benjamin, you realize he's got real star power."

In 1999 Ebony named Benjamin one of its "30 Leaders of the Future." He became increasingly active in politics and served for three years as chairman of the Richland County Democratic Party. In 2001 he resigned his appointed post and ran for state attorney general. He did not win but garnered 44 percent of the vote and raised more than $1 million--both records for a black politician seeking a statewide office according to The State. He founded the Benjamin Law Firm and continued to serve on numerous boards and commissions where he met and impressed influential people in business and politics. In 2005 his firm won the South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Award for providing free wills to senior citizens at several churches in Columbia. In Millennium Magazine Benjamin stated that the project was prompted by his "strong commitment to generating and preserving wealth in the Black community."

In 2007 Benjamin left his own practice to join a large Columbia law firm, McAngus, Goudelock and Courie, where he focused on business and governmental law. In October of 2009 he gained notoriety for representing black radio talk show host Tom Joyner in his successful quest to gain posthumous pardons for two great uncles wrongly executed in 1913 in South Carolina. The black men had been falsely accused of killing an elderly white man. According to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, these were the first ever posthumous pardons granted by the state in a capital murder case.

In August of 2009 Benjamin announced plans to run for mayor of Columbia. Later that year the issue of race took center stage in the election when a racist graffiti message was found spray painted on the Columbia city hall. Local leaders condemned the act, and Benjamin released a public statement noting, "This incident was clearly designed to frighten and intimidate, but it has had the opposite result. This is exactly why we need a new leader who can unify all of us behind a new vision for Columbia, and I am now more than ever dedicated to that cause."

Benjamin proved to be a very effective fund raiser. Only a few months into the campaign Phillips reported that Benjamin had raised in excess of $200,000, more than any of the other mayoral candidates. In the April of 2010 general election Benjamin garnered 35 percent of the votes, forcing a run-off with the next closest contender, a white Columbia city councilman with 32 percent of the votes. Two weeks later Benjamin won the run-off election with 56 percent of the votes. In a victory speech reported in The State Benjamin said, "We made history today, not because of race. We made history because people responded to a message of unity, hope and promise. We are one city. One Columbia."

In September of 2011 the online magazine The Root ranked Benjamin 46th in The Root 100--a compendium of the 100 African Americans aged 25 to 45 believed to be most influential in their fields. As of 2012 Benjamin was continuing to practice law, because Columbia's mayoral position is a part-time job that pays $17,500 annually. He has opted to take half that amount so the extra funds can be devoted to other purposes. The post has historically been considered mostly ceremonial, because a city manager hired by the mayor and city council actually runs the city's day-to-day operations. Benjamin hopes to transform the mayor's role in Columbia. He told Brian McConchie of the local news source Midlands Connect, "You don't have to have a strong mayor form of government to have a strong mayor. You can lead with some great ideas, great policy, [and] great vision."