NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The mayor of Newport News has been named the new president of the African American Mayors Association.

Mayor McKinley Price was sworn into the position on Tuesday. He is taking over for the outgoing AAMA president, Mayor Hardie Davis of Augusta, Ga.

The AAMA represents more than 500 African American mayors across the country. The group equips mayors with the tools they need to lead and a platform to share best management practices.

A Newport News native, Price was first elected to mayor in July 2010. He is the first African American person to be elected to the position in Newport News, according to an AAMA news release.

Price graduated from Hampton Institute — now Hampton University — in 1971. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and then earned a doctor of dental surgery degree from Howard University. He owns and operates a dental practice in Newport News, the release states.

Price said that the coronavirus pandemic has “exposed injustices and disparities in the systems” that are supposed to take care of Americans. He plans to use his AAMA presidency to address the impact COVID-19 has had on communities. He wants to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities with the hopes of increasing minority work opportunities. He also wants to develop better public and private partnerships, according to the release.

“To combat health and economic disparities, we need more black professionals in the spaces where black people navigate,” Price said. “We also need to make sure our next generation becomes the leaders at decision-making tables preparing for future emergencies. Their ability to become the leaders we will need depends heavily on policies that members of the AAMA make now. Our work must be intentionally and unapologetically focused on the health of our communities, today and beyond.” 

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