Leaders To Know: Meet Former Mayor Coral Evans
During Black History Month, you might find yourself inspired by the leaders of the past who moved the needle on creating a more just and equitable nation. You would be equally remiss to skip learning about Black leaders who are shaping Arizona today and tirelessly working to build a stronger, more vibrant place we are proud to call home. One such leader is Coral Evans; the first black mayor for the city of Flagstaff and who currently serves as Northern Arizona Director for Senator Mark Kelly. Get to know her below and read about what gives her hope for the future.
Who is Coral Evans?
Coral Evans is a social and public policy entrepreneur. She believes that individuals, neighborhoods, and communities should be able to thrive, something she focused on heavily as the mayor of Flagstaff. She believes in a balanced approach to the stewardship of community resources and is passionate about creating opportunities that allow for civic engagement, civil discourse, community revitalization, and genuine sustainability and advancement of all people.
She is the third generation of her family to live in Flagstaff. Her family (the Dorsey family) has been an active part of the Flagstaff and greater Northern Arizona community since the early 1900s. Evans currently lives in the same family home that her grandfather built in 1942 in Flagstaff's historic Southside neighborhood.
Evans has over 25 years of experience in the field of community redevelopment and investment. In addition to serving on the Flagstaff City Council for almost 13 years, she is the Executive Director of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association of Flagstaff, Inc., a resident-driven social nonprofit organization and is a co-producer of the Lived Black Experience Project.
As Mayor she was recognized by the Arizona Business Magazine as one of Arizona's "Most Influential Women in Business" in 2018 she also received the Arizona Community Action Association's Margie Frost Champion Against Poverty Award, Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council Cesar E Chavez Community Award and the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Athena Award.
What can you tell us about the black experience in Northern AZ? How have you seen the area benefit from Black leadership?
Northern Arizona has benefited from Black Leadership since at least the early 1800s’. According to Flagstaff’s Lived Black Experience Strategic Plan (adopted by the Flagstaff City Council in December 2020) African Americans first made their way into Arizonan history with the enumeration of two freed Blacks in an Arizona Territory census recorded in the early 1860s, and from this period onward worked towards the betterment of their communities as business owners, laborers, tradesmen and women, entrepreneurs, and elected officials.
As a third-generation Arizonan, I am immensely proud to come from this legacy, in 2008 I became the first Black woman elected to the Flagstaff City Council and in 2016 the first Black woman ever elected Mayor in the State of Arizona.
What is the significance of Black History month for you? Who is one black leader — living or dead — who has impacted you / your home?
I believe the significance of Black History month is its annual reminder to all of us that Black History / African Diaspora History is America’s history.
A black leader that I wish to mention is my aunt, Joan Dorsey. She was the first black flight attendant for American Airlines (and first for a transcontinental airline). Not only was she the first black flight attendant for American, but also the first in a supervisory role with the company. Her job took her around the world. To Vietnam, flying with soldiers, to Kenya—one of her favorite places—and across the United States. One job had her working on the charter flight for Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon Johnson’s vice president-to-be, for an entire campaign season.
What is something happening in your community that gives you hope?
It is hard to point and say that there is one thing that is happening in my community that gives me hope. Every day there are individuals and groups working on improving the quality of life for all in our community.
One project I would like to call attention to is the Lived Black Experience (LBE) Project.
The LBE started in the summer of 2020 and is a special initiative of the historic Murdoch Community Center, located on the site of the old Dunbar Elementary School. Dunbar was desegregated almost two years prior to Brown v. The Board of Education and the school system here was held up by the NAACP nationally as a model for education.
The LBE is dedicated to fully engaging the community in all aspects of the Lived Black Experience and facilitating community dialogues that lead to mutual understanding, respect and reconciliation. They stream 4+ community dialogues each month from the Murdoch Community Center’s Facebook page and currently has viewership from all over the United States as well as Mexico, Canada, England, and the US Virgin Islands.
Here are a few links to prior LBE CommUnity Dialogues so that readers can get a sense of the work that the LBE project is doing:
All previous LBE CommUnity Dialogue sessions can be viewed by on the Murdoch CommUnity Center’s YouTube Channel.
If you want to be more engaged in being an ally or learning about the Black experience, I would encourage readers to subscribe to the channel.