Happy Birthday To Peekskill’s Richard Ernest Jackson, Jr.

Richard Ernest Jackson, Jr., former mayor of the city of Peekskil, turns 69 on Friday.

Jackson, Jr. was born July 18, 1945. He was a politician and mathematics teacher who made black history in 1984 when he became mayor of the city of Peekskill. It was the first city in all of New York State to have an African-American mayor, as reported by both The New York Times and Ebony magazine.

After serving eight years as mayor, Jackson became a member of Gov. Pataki’s gubernatorial cabinet in 1995, when he was appointed as New York State's Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Jackson served as commissioner from 1995 to 2000.

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