Wilfred Ussery

Wilfred T. Ussery (born October 11, 1928)[1] is the former third National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the United States, having served from June 1968 to May 1969.[2][3]

Wilfred Ussery
3rd National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality
In office
1968–1969
Preceded byFloyd McKissick
Succeeded byRoy Innis
Personal details
Born (1928-10-11) October 11, 1928

Ussery is trained as an Architectural Draftsman.[4]

Racial Justice Career

Ussery also served as the Chairman of the San Francisco CORE.[4] He was also the president of Black Urban Systems, a firm that consulted African Americans on getting control of services, institutions, and resources in their communities.[5]

Ussery helped organize non-violent sit-ins across San Francisco, including the 1963 Mel's Drive-in demonstration and the 1964 Automobile Row demonstration.[4]

BART Leadership

Later in life, Ussery served as an elected Director of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District Board.[4]

In 1987, Ussery suggested that BART introduce drinking trains after a rise in fairs caused a 10% drop in ridership. The move would have added club cars to trains to encourage patronage, with sponsorship from major brands like Marriott or Seagram's. In 1993, Ussery brought up the idea again, proposing BART add extra long trains with a bar on each end.[6][7]

Ussery resigned in June 1996 amid an FBI investigation. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from a contractor to award them a contract, and he admitted to voting for and attempting to influence BART directors to award the contract.[8]

References
  1. "Wilfred T. Ussery Turns 90 | Post News Group". postnewsgroup.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-29.
  2. "Wilfred T. Ussery". core-online.org.
  3. "Wilfred Ussery Celebrated his 94th birthday this week at Geoffrey's Inner Circle Jazz Performance | BlackPressUSA". Black Press USA. 2022-10-16. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  4. Gillette, Frankie (2018-10-19). "Wilfred T. Ussery Turns 90 | Post News Group". Post News Group. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  5. "CORE Leadership". thecongressofracialequality.org.
  6. Hartlaub, Peter (November 6, 2019). "A cocktail lounge on BART? Here's the man who tried to make it happen". Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. Batey, Eve (2019-11-08). "When Ridership Fell, BART Considered Adding a Bar Car". Eater SF. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  8. "Ex-BART Chief Pleads Guilty In Bribe Case / Wilfred Ussery was accused of payoffs from contractor". SF Gate. November 19, 1999. Retrieved July 29, 2023.


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