James L. Usry
Atlantic City, United States
<br><br>Born in Athens, Georgia, this educator, mayor, professional athlete and longtime Atlantic City resident was affectionately known as “Big Jim.” He was a 6' 6" giant of a man who never raised his voice. Jim was a classroom teacher and school principal, rising to the position of Assistant Superintendent of the Atlantic City public schools, and a visionary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. School Complex. Usry graduated from Lincoln University in 1946 with a B.A. and received a Masters Degree in 1971 from Glassboro State College (Rowan University). A U.S. Army Military Policeman, he was one of the first African-American professional basketball players to don the uniform of the Harlem Renaissance. Later, he became Atlantic City’s first African-American mayor and the President of the National Association of Black Mayors. Above all, he was a positive role model for three generations of Atlantic City children who knew him as “Pop Pop” Usry. <br><br>[Seal of the] City of Atlantic City, Incorporated March 1854.