13 Facts About Wilson Goode

Wilson Goode served from 1984 to 1992, a period which included the controversial MOVE police action and house bombing in 1985.

Wilson Goode was born into a family of tenant farmers near Seaboard, North Carolina.

Wilson Goode's family arrived in Philadelphia in 1953 and lived in the Paschall neighborhood in Southwest Philadelphia.

Wilson Goode was an honors student at John Bartram High School and then he graduated from Morgan State University in 1961.

Wilson Goode was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps while attending Morgan State and entered the US Army as a First Lieutenant in the military police.

Wilson Goode returned to Philadelphia and briefly worked as a manager at a building maintenance firm and as an insurance adjuster before he was hired by the Philadelphia Council for Community Development in 1967.

Wilson Goode was elevated to the chairmanship of the PUC, where he continued his pro-consumer policies but worked to limit PUC expenditures.

Green kept his promise by appointing Wilson Goode as managing director at the urging of key members of the black community.

Wilson Goode went on to win the general election over former Green fund-raiser and Philadelphia Stock Exchange Chairman John Egan, the Republican Party nominee.

In 1987 Wilson Goode ran for reelection, winning the Democratic primary before facing off in the general election against former mayor Frank Rizzo, who had converted to the Republican Party after losing the 1983 Democratic primary to Wilson Goode.

Wilson Goode earned a Doctor of Ministry at Palmer Theological Seminary, and became a minister and professor at Eastern University, as well as a leader of advocacy for faith-based initiatives.

Wilson Goode is CEO of Amachi, a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents.

Wilson Goode was awarded the Purpose Prize, a $100,000 award given to exceptional individuals over age 60 who are working to address critical social problems.