The city of Montgomery, Alabama, has elected the first Black mayor in the city's 200-year history.

Steven Reed won the historic election after taking home 67% of the votes Tuesday, defeating TV station owner David Woods.

According to the New York Times, Reed and Woods battled for the mayor's seat after advancing from a 12-candidate election in August.

“This election has never been about me,” Reed said in his victory speech. “This election has never been about just my ideas. It’s been about all the hopes and dreams that we have as individuals and collectively in this city.”


According to The Washington Post, Reed had already made history as Montgomery County’s first Black probate judge.

In Montgomery, which is considered as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, 60% of the population is Black, The Post reported. 

"If there is any doubt about what we can do when we come together," Reed said after his victory. "Let the records show what we can do when we come together in this city and we build around positivity, opportunity, all the things that tie us together."

According to the mayor-elect's campaign website, his political career has centered on mental healthcare reform, solidifying election integrity and advocating for same-sex marriage.

Reed was the first probate judge in Alabama to perform same sex marriages after dissension over a federal court ruling.

Karen Baynes-Dunning, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said it's a historic day for the nation.

"The election of Steven Reed, the first black mayor of Montgomery, AL, symbolizes the new inclusive and forward thinking South that so many have worked to achieve," Baynes-Dunning wrote on Twitter.

"Let the records show what we can do as a community, as a city," Reed said Tuesday. "Let this go far beyond Montgomery. Let it go far beyond Alabama. Let it go far beyond this nation. We made a statement here tonight."

Black-historyBlack-MayorsMontgomery, ALSteven Reed