DENVER — Several candidates vying for Denver's mayoral seat hope to break barriers and become the first from their community to serve in that position. But 32 years ago, Wellington and Wilma Webb broke one such barrier by becoming the first Black mayor and first lady of the Mile High City.
The Webb’s public service is well documented, but the couple admits there are some things Denver newcomers may not know.
The beginning
“I was born at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. As a kid, I developed asthma at an early age and tried to tough it out, but the humidity, the pollen, and everything in Chicago was too difficult for me. And so I moved to Denver for seventh grade,” Wellington said.
For Wilma, her story begins in Colorado.
“I'm one of the few who is a native of Denver, Colorado. I was born here. I was born at what was called, at that time, Denver General Hospital, which is now Denver Health Medical Center. My mother and my dad were very, very instrumental in our staying here. My dad was in the service at the time, during World War II. Mother used to joke every time he'd come home for leave then she would get pregnant. So I was born in Denver General Hospital here in Denver, and I've lived here all my life,” Wilma said.
While growing up in Denver, Wilma excelled in school.
“Wilma was one of those students — and we all know them from our school days — sixth grade president, seventh grade president, eighth grade president, tenth grade president, Honorary Cadets, ROTC… The honor code written for Cole Middle School was written by Wilma. She was active in the church. She played the organ and the piano for New Hope Baptist Church. And as a matter of fact, she played the organ when Coretta Scott King was there,” Wellington said.
While Wilma played piano, Wellington played basketball, but eventually found ways to get more involved in the community.
“I guess you could say I became active when I became enlightened and stopped playing ball. I wanted to make a difference,” Wellington said.
Community activism
“I actually began getting more involved in the community and in doing things for people around 1968. Of course, that was the year that Dr. (Martin Luther) King was assassinated,” Wilma said. “The 60s were a decade when African Americans really, really got to be very, very active in their communities and really began to accept their worth to the community, to the city, the state, and the country. I belonged to a little organization called CoGo, Committee on Greater Opportunity, and we were concerned about the Denver Public Schools, which had been segregated in a de facto way. And so we went to all of the school board meetings. Mrs. Rachel Noel, who was the first African American to be on the Denver Public School board, was there. And in the wake of the assassination of Dr. King, she introduced a resolution to desegregate the Denver Public Schools. And so, I was one of those young people, young mothers and fathers actually, who was going to the school board meeting to make sure that our voices were heard and that we were supportive of Mrs. Noel’s resolution.”
After Wilma helped desegregate DPS, Wellington was rejected for a job in the district when district leaders determined he wasn’t passionate enough about teaching.
“My grandmother, she sent me to see the Mayor Currigan, which was totally embarrassing because I didn't know Mayor Currigan. But I saw Currigan on a Tuesday, had a contract to teach for DPS on Friday. And I told my grandma, "Must be something to some of this politics.' But I did not take the job for DPS,” Wellington said.
Instead, Wellington taught children at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan. He credits that time with setting him up for a career in politics.
Wellington and Wilma become a couple
Wellington and Wilma said they always knew of each other while growing up in Denver, but didn’t start dating until a few years later.
“I called her up for lunch one day and said, 'Let's go have lunch.' And things kind of took off from there,” Wellington said. “Wilma and I got married in 1971. We bought this house in 1971. I ran for office in 1971. We didn't have hardly any money. I was silly enough, totally honest. Like they say, 'How can you survive on a salary $7,600 a year?' I said, 'My wife works.'”
Wellington and Wilma run for office
In 1972, Wellington was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. In 1980, Wilma became a state representative, as well.
In 1987, Wellington became city auditor. A few years later, he decided to run for mayor.
“Me and Wilma sat on the couch, and (the research team) said they'd just done a poll, and the district attorney was at 67% and I was at 7%. And everyone advised me that I should not run for mayor. But Wilma never believed the poll,” Wellington said.
“At some point in time, a group decided that it would be great for him to walk the city,” Wilma said.
Wellington spent the next few weeks walking 320 miles through every neighborhood in the city. When Wilma finished her day at the state legislature, she would go find Wellington in different parts of the city.
“We were in Hilltop and we’d have lox and bagels and cream cheese. And then went to another neighborhood and we're eating green chili and burritos. And we're in another neighborhood and we're eating pork chops and grits,” Wellington said.
Wellington said food represented the culture in each neighborhood. He recalled one woman who reassured him of his decision to run for mayor.
“I still see her. This woman stopped me and said, ‘I only have $1 to give, and that's all I have.' I tried to give it back to her, but she wouldn't take it. And I said, 'There's no way in hell we're going to lose this race,'” Wellington said.
While Wellington ran for mayor, Wilma continued serving in the House.
“I was the first one to carry full-day kindergarten in modern times because it was ended during World War II. They needed the men to go to the war, and they needed women to take the jobs that the men weren't doing. And so, they discontinued full-day kindergarten. And so many states had readopted it later on. But I was the first one in modern times to reintroduce full-day kindergarten in Colorado,” Wilma said.
In 1991, Wellington Webb became the first Black mayor of Denver, and Wilma Webb became the first Black first lady. Wilma created anti-drug abuse programs and other curriculum addressing youth and family issues. Her efforts to promote the arts resulted in the creation of the Denver Art, Culture, and Film Foundation in 1994.
Philanthropy
Long after couple's terms ended, they continued giving back to their community.
The Webbs have personally donated thousands to various causes including:
- The arts — Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
- The city — Denver Public Library Foundation, Metro Caring, Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., Struggle of Love Foundation, Friends of the Denver Fire Department, Friends of Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, Odom Memorial Community Drug Bust
- Education — Friends of Manual High School, Kids Above Everything, Girls Athletic League
- Fraternities and sororities — Delta Eta Boule Fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta Research and Education Foundation, The White Rose Foundation
- Leadership — Colorado Urban Leadership Foundation
- National organizations — The Carter Center, Inc.
- Medical entities — The Denver Health and Hospitals Foundation, Center for African American Health
- Religious organizations — Zion Baptist Church, Central Baptist Church of Denver, Scott United Methodist Church, St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church, Congregation Emanuel
- Sports organizations — Northeastern Junior College Foundation, Montbello High School, Community Athletic Soccer Academy, American Youth Football, Inc., Simmons Foundation for Youth and Change, Inc.
- State organizations — Historical Society of Colorado, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Colorado Restaurant Association Education Fund, Food Bank of the Rockies, Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation, Martin Luther Ling Jr., Scholarships
The Wellington Webb Endowment Fund for Denver Health has raised nearly $1.4 million alone.
“I give because there's still so much more to do. And we've come a long way in all ways, but still, there's so much so much more to do,” Wilma said.
Wellington said he could not serve his community authentically without a willingness to donate.
“Hopefully it will inspire some others to give,” Wellington said.
