Henry Leander Marsh III (December 10, 1933 – January 23, 2025) was an American civil rights lawyer and politician. A Democrat , Marsh was elected by the city council as the first African-American mayor of Richmond, Virginia in 1977.

Apr 14, 2009 · Henry Marsh is a prominent political figure, black activist, and lawyer in Richmond, Virginia. He was born on December 10, 1933 in Richmond but when his mother died at age five, he was sent to live with relatives in rural Virginia.

Jan 23, 2025 · Henry Levander Marsh, III — civil rights attorney, longtime state senator and Richmond’s first African-American mayor — completed his incredible life journey on January 23, 2025, after 91 years, including seven decades of dedicated public service.

Henry L. Marsh III, Richmond’s first Black mayor and a towering figure in Virginia’s civil rights and political history, leaves behind a lasting legacy of advocacy, public service, and leadership.

Jan 29, 2025 · Henry L. Marsh III, civil rights attorney, longtime state senator, and Richmond's first African-American mayor, completed his extraordinary life journey Thursday evening at the age of 91.

Feb 10, 2025 · RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Current and former Virginia elected leaders speaking at this weekend’s service for the first Black mayor of Richmond recalled Henry L. Marsh III’s trailblazing career and his lifetime commitment to civil rights.

Nov 18, 2003 · Civil rights attorney Henry L. Marsh III was born December 10, 1933, in Richmond, Virginia. He attended Moonfield and George Mason Elementary Schools and graduated with honors from Maggie L. Walker High School in 1952.

Feb 6, 2025 · Marsh not only helped bury the lie of “separate but equal” in the middle years of the 20th century, he had endured disparate levels of public school funding: first-rate facilities, plentiful faculty and brand new textbooks for all-white schools; leaky, substandard buildings where Black children and teachers using textbooks cast off from ...

He talks at length about his early career as a civil rights lawyer in Richmond, particularly his work on 55 school desegregation and busing cases, his early years at the Tucker & Marsh law firm, and his involvement in the lengthy court battle over the desegregation of Norfolk schools.

As an attorney, Marsh focused on employment discrimination and school segregation cases. Marsh was elected mayor of Richmond in 1977 and Virginia State Senator in 1991. He was the first African American elected mayor of Richmond. Marsh served in the army from 1959 to 1961.