Bruce Riley Watkins (March 20, 1924, Parkville, Missouri - September 13, 1980 Kansas City, Missouri) and his stepfather Theron B. Watkins (1877–1950) were prominent political and social activists in Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri. The younger Watkins was the first African-American elected to Kansas City's City Council, in 1963; the first African-American elected to office in that county's administration, in 1966; and the first African-American to nearly win election as Kansas City Mayor, in April 1979. Watkins was a Republican and served as Chair of the Jackson County Democratic Committee. Watkins and his close friend Leon Jordan established the political club "Freedom, Inc." in 1962.
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Bruce Riley Watkins (March 20, 1924, Parkville, Missouri - September 13, 1980 Kansas City, Missouri) and his stepfather Theron B. Watkins (1877–1950) were prominent political and social activists in Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri. The younger Watkins was the first African-American elected to Kansas City's City Council, in 1963; the first African-American elected to office in that county's administration, in 1966; and the first African-American to nearly win election as Kansas City Mayor, in April 1979. Watkins was a Republican and served as Chair of the Jackson County Democratic Committee. Watkins and his close friend Leon Jordan established the political club "Freedom, Inc." in 1962.
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