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Marilyn Murrell shows saavy style at
National Mayors’ Conference

Marilyn Murrell, mayor of Arcadia, Oklahoma, graced the city of Houston by leading the 29th Annual National Conference of Black Mayors Inc. as its president. The theme of this year’s conference: “Black Mayors: Leadership That Makes A Difference.”
The convention brought together approximately 200-230 Black mayors from all across the country with the expressed desire to work together, share information and support one another as they deal with many issues facing their cities today.

“Our mayors are in the midst of many complex and serious situations that face our cities large and small: unfounded mandates, crime in our streets, economic development, not to mention international relations and safeguarding our cities,” Murrell says. “Our annual meetings and seminars give our member mayors the opportunity to work together seeking new solutions to problems for the good of our people.”
Murrell knows first hand the amount of work it takes to be successful. She has the distinction of being “the first” in many ways: the first woman and first African-American mayor of her city, and the first president of the National Conference of Black Mayors Inc. from her hometown of Arcadia, Oklahoma.
Murrell is a product of Arcadia; she was born and raised there. She is one of eight children and her parents instilled in her and her siblings the desire and tools to have a life full of achievement.
After graduating from Arcadia High School, Murrell started her career in business and economic development. She served for 19 years as manager/executive director of the Minority Business Development Center in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In 1998, she started M&M Business Consultants Inc.
Murrell has always been an advocate for small business. She served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business and attended meetings in 1993 and 1999 with then-President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

Prior to becoming mayor of Arcadia in 1988, Murrell lead a successful legal fight to re-establish Arcadia as an official town. It took four years and at that time, she was elected mayor. She has been re-elected three times and shows no sign of slowing down.
“Arcadia is my home. Being mayor of Arcadia is a labor of love,” Murrell says. “It’s easy for me to make sacrifices and commit time to a cause in which I really believe.”
Murrell is constantly learning more to enhance her abilities as Mayor. Every year she attends a one-week leadership institute for mayors and the Oklahoma Municipal League training seminars. Murrell completed the program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University in July 2001.
Arcadia has benefited immensely during Murrell’s tenure in office: she led the city in developing town ordinances, adopting a local sales tax, purchasing and renovating a town hall building, constructing a fire station, developing a police department and municipal court, and expanding the town’s economic development efforts through tourism.

“Tourism is an integral part of the growth and development of Arcadia,” Murrell says. “I have learned a great deal about the exciting contributions African Americans have made to Oklahoma, and look forward to sharing that information with the world.”
Murrell was elected president of the National Conference of Black Mayors Inc. in 2002. She was preceded as president by Denver Mayor Willington E. Webb. Murrell is only the second woman to be president of the conference. The first woman president was Unita Blackwell, a well-known legend in the civil rights movement. Blackwell was the first black female mayor of Mayersville, Mississippi.
“As the NCBM explores its theme, we anticipate that this will be a most productive and beneficial convention,” Murrell said as part of her opening remarks. “The agenda is full of events, initiatives, workshops and exhibits to educate and enlighten.”

One of the initiatives Murrell says the conference will emphasize seat belt safety to make sure young people survive the dangers of society. “The purpose of the campaign is to promote the importance of seatbelt and child-seat safety use in minority populations,” she says.
Murrell says the conference is a unifying force for the mayors who attend. “This convention provides an opportunity to bring together most of the nation’s 500 or so African-American mayors, representing 30 million people in this country, to address problems we all share: keeping our young people safe, economic development, delivery of healthcare services to African Americans,” Murrell says. “The conference gives us an opportunity to share ideas, make decisions and develop plans for our common good. It is a great time to forge and nurture relationships, to hone our skills and expand and knowledge base. It is also an occasion to recognize the collective importance and responsibility that Black Mayors hold in this nation.”

Murrell has not only fought the system in working to get Arcadia recognized as a town, she also has the job of being a black woman professional. She says there are times when she is the only woman in a meetings, and she uses her wit to “break the ice” in meetings.
“First, I introduce myself, and say, ‘By the way, I don’t take minutes, and I don’t make coffee,’ ” says Murrell. “If the men still persist in treating me differently, I correct them — but gently and with all due respect. This behavior between men and women is so ingrained in all of us. It’s been our culture. To make it a battleground doesn’t help,” Murrell says.

There are nearly 500 mayors who are members of the conference. Murrell says 143 are women. Murrell and other women elected officials are at the forefront of a trend that has an increasing number of women in leadership positions in government across the country.
One of the first conference events in which Murrell participated was a luncheon by the Black Women Mayors’ Caucus. The theme was “Leading Ladies with Hatitudes,” which featured ladies in their fancy hats.

The Black Women Mayors’ Caucus became an offshoot of the National Conference of Black Mayors in 1988. It has many roles, such as organizing workshops and events to help and support women mayors. It works with black sororities on many healthcare issues, such as a bone marrow donor program, and an organ donor program for African Americans. The goal is to take the appeal for donors nationwide. “We not only talk the talk, we walk the walk,” Murrell says of the women mayors’ group.
Murrell, along with Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown, shared the enthusiasm and excitement of the conference with all in attendance. They shared information on how to best work for their cities, and planned for the future.

Murrell says she and other black mayors are always prepared when asked about the need for a national mayors’ organization, especially since the country is “such a melting pot.”
“The fact is, we clearly recognize there are some things that confront black mayors that other mayors may not contend with: the mass exodus of the middle class, enormous social problems, and the list goes on,” Murrell says. “Many of these mayors inherit a nightmare no one wants. They have to bring cities back, jump start the economy, rebuild the infrastructure.”
Murrell adds there is also a need for a group to support Black female mayors, who often face issues their male counterparts do not.
“Women are called upon to juggle home and family and career,” Murrell says. “You don’t get any time off. There’s no one at home cooking your dinner.”