James L. Usry
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.
[Seal of the] City of Atlantic City, Incorporated March 1854.
Marker is at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and No. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, on the right when traveling west on Atlantic Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
