Last Friday night, the local chapter of the NAACP honored the people who overthrew the government in Chattanooga.

Twenty years ago, the old city commission looked very different then than the council we have today.

Back then, we elected commissioners to run different departments of city government, like fire & police or public works.

 When I was growing up, it seemed like Pat Rose, Jim Eberle, Paul Clark and John Franklin would be there forever.

Nothing ever changed.

But as the eighties came to a close, a group of civil rights "radicals" thought that change was long over due.

African Americans numbered more than 40% of the city's population, but they only got 20% representation on the commission.

So Dr. Tommie Brown, J.K. Brown, Maxine Cousins, Norma Crowder, Lorenzo Ervin, Johnny Holloway, George Key, Buford McElrath, Leamon Pierce, Annie Thomas, the Rev. Herbert H. Wright, & Bobby Ward went to court.

And they won!

I've dug up two stories for you from 1989, when the ruling came down.

In the first one, you can sense the nervousness (maybe even fear?) of the power structure when Mayor Roberts assures everyone that the city will be just fine.

Then in the second, we find the hope & pride in the black community with a visit to the Live & Let Live Barbershop.

Reporter Stephen Ruf has both stories.

We ended up with a system where we pick a council who represents districts and neighborhoods.

By the next summer, the very first Chattanooga city council was sworn into office.

Here is video of the swearing in & their first council meeting.

 So did the new council live up to those aspirations?

 It gave us the likes of William Cotton and Leamon Pierce.   Mae Belle Hurley and Marti Rutherford.  Yusef Hakeem and Manny Rico.

 Only two politicians survived the switch from the old to the new.

 Gene Roberts was elected Mayor again.

And public works commissioner Ron Littlefield made it onto the council to represent Missionary Ridge & Brainerd.  Eventually he became Mayor, himself.