David Black has passed away

Republican leader David Black passed away on Saturday. Black was a Republican State Executive Committee member from the Northwest corner of the state.

Democrats entirely dominated the Shoals area of the state for over a century and even after Republicans won supermajorities in both Houses of the Alabama Legislature.

No individual did more or worked harder to change that reality than Black who was a relentless GOP organizer. Black has hosted Republican breakfasts on the first Saturday of the month for decades. It wasn't easy but the Shoals area is now overwhelmingly Republican.

Black had an academic background. He was an instructor of economics at the University of North Alabama. He was the former director of Small Business Development Center at the University of North Alabama. Black previously was a former instructor of economics at The University of Alabama. He worked at Bob Jones High School. Worked at T. C. Williams High School. Was a former Special Assistant to the Chairman at U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Black was a former staff member at the White House.

Black studied for a Masters of Education at Alabama A&M University. He attended George Mason University in 1990 and 1991. He studied at Southern Methodist University from 1982 to 1984. Black studied for his doctorate in education at The University of Alabama. He studied marketing and management at the University of North Alabama. He went to Muscle Shoals High School where he lived to the present. Black was also heavily involved in the Shoals symphony.

Former State Rep. Perry O. Hooper Jr. (R-Montgomery) served with Black on the Alabama Republican State Executive Committee.

"David was a good friend, he will be missed," Hooper told the Alabama Gazette.