Douglas Wicks

Douglas M. Wicks is a politician in Mobile County, Alabama. Elected to the Mobile County Commission in 1980, he was the first African American to hold that position since Reconstruction. He would go on to be removed from office for ethics violations. He was found guilty in 1987 of four counts of extorting money from people doing business with the county. He received a 15-year prison sentence and was released in 1992. He lost a comeback bid for his old seat in 2000 to Sam Jones, who later served eight years as Mobile's mayor. His successor, Sam Jones, would go on to serve 18 years in office, and was elected as the first African American mayor of Mobile in 2005. In 1974, Wicks was King of MAMGA, the African American organization which elects a Mardi Gras King to preside over the city each year. His queen was future Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman.