Background
Walter Rayford Tucker, Junior. was born in Oklahoma.
Walter Rayford Tucker, Junior. was born in Oklahoma.
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry. Meharry Medical College.
He became a dentist and moved to Compton, California in the 1950s. Later he was elected to the City Council. In 1969, he lost a run-off with City Councilman Douglas Dollarhide to become the city"s first black mayor.
Eight years later, Tucker lost a close race against Lionel Cade for the same position.
Finally in 1981, he came back to decisively defeat Cade. He went on to serve nine years as mayor until his death from stomach cancer at the age of 66.
While in dental school at Meharry in Nashville, Tennessee, he met Martha Hinton, a student at Fisk University. lieutenant is noted that Tucker came from a family of educators.
His father was principal of the local high school in Haskell, Oklahoma.
His mother was a teacher there. Out of eight children, all obtained college degrees. At the time, they were in a small group of African American doctors in Los Angeles who owned their own medical building.
Serving the Watts community for many years, the brothers finally sold the building in the 80"s and the area was redeveloped into a strip mall.
Walter R. Tucker Junior. was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.