Voters in more than a half-dozen U.S. cities have elected or re-elected black mayors.
Tuesday's wins came a half-century after Carl Stokes was elected in Cleveland as the first black mayor of a large American city and could one day translate to new black leadership on the national political stage.
African American Mayors Association executive director Stephanie Mash Sykes says it also shows "regardless of demographics, black leaders are effective."
She says there are about 30 black mayors of U.S. cities with more than 100,000 residents. The 2010 Census lists more than 200 cities and regional areas that size.
The black mayors will include Wilmot Collins, who defeated an incumbent to take the mayor's office in Helena, Montana. In Flint, Michigan, Karen Weaver fended off a recall effort and beat several challengers to complete her term.
