Goode, Wilson

Goode, (Willie) Wilson (1938–  ) mayor; born in Seaboard, N.C. The son of a sharecropper, he earned a B.A. from Morgan State College and an M.P.A. from the Wharton School. He worked as a probation officer, a building supervisor, and an insurance claims adjustor. He became the first African-American mayor of Philadelphia (1985–91). A meticulous, sober man, he was much criticized for allowing police to bomb the headquarters of MOVE, an armed radical group. During the last part of his tenure, the city suffered serious financial troubles.