First Black Tennessee Mayor Lonnie Norman Dies From Coronavirus

Today city officials announced that Mayor Lonnie Norman of Manchester, Tenn. has died from the coronavirus.

In a Facebook post they wrote, “With a deep sense of sadness and loss, we announce the passing of Mayor Lonnie Norman after being hospitalized for COVID-19 on October 1, 2020.” They added, “Mayor Norman passed away in the early hours of Monday, October 12, 2020, after a valiant fight against COVID-19.”

According to the local public radio station WPLN, in 1991 Norman became the first black mayor of Manchester, a town 65 miles southeast of Nashville, which had about 10,000 people.