Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. Previously, served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing California's 9th congressional district from 1971 to 1998, after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Before that, he was on the Berkeley City Council from 1967 to 1970. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Born into a family of labor organizers, Dellums was a psychiatric social worker and political activist in the African-American community before being elected to public office. In 1967, he was elected to the Berkeley, California, City Council. A socialist, Dellums was first elected to Congress in 1970, when he was recruited by anti-Vietnam War activists to defeat incumbent Jeffery Cohelan in the Democratic primary. He is the first openly socialist non-incumbent elected to Congress after World War II.
During his career in Congress, he fought the MX Missile project and opposed expansion of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber program. He was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. When President Ronald Reagan vetoed Dellums's Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-controlled Senate overrode Reagan's veto, the first override of a presidential foreign-policy veto in the 20th century.
In 2006, Dellums was elected mayor of Oakland. He chose not to seek re-election in 2010.
Dellums was born in Oakland, California, to Verney and Willa (Terry) Dellums. His father was a longshoreman. His uncle, C. L. Dellums, was one of the organizers and leaders of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He had a younger sister, Theresa. His mother Willa died on August 17, 2008, at the age of 89.
Dellums attended St. Patrick Catholic School, Oakland Technical High School and McClymonds High School. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1954 to 1956. Dellums later received his A.A. degree from the Oakland City College, now Merritt College, in 1958, his B.A. from San Francisco State University in 1960, and his M.S.W. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1962. He became a psychiatric social worker and political activist in the African-American community beginning in the 1960s. He also taught at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Dellums was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was also a member of the fraternity's World Policy Council, a think tank whose purpose is to expand the fraternity's involvement in politics, and social and current policy to encompass international concerns.
Dellums was married three times. He married his second wife, attorney Leola "Roscoe" Higgs, in 1961. The two divorced in 1998. He married his third wife, Cynthia Lewis, in 2000.
One son, Michael, was convicted of a drug-related homicide in 1979, and remained in prison for decades, being repeatedly denied parole due to bad behavior,, and died in August 2026. Dellums had five other children: anthropologist Rachel R. Chapman, professional actor Erik, author Piper, Brandon and Pam; six grandchildren: Danielle Henderson, Jacob Holmes, Sydney Ross, Dylan Ross, Olivia Dellums, and actress Solea Pfeiffer; and two great-grandchildren: Jared Henderson and Charli Henderson.
Dellums was elected to the Berkeley City Council, after prompting from Maudelle Shirek,
Dellums was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970 after being recruited by anti-Vietnam War activists to run against the incumbent, Jeffery Cohelan, a white liberal close to organized labor who had not opposed the war early enough to win reelection in the district. Dellums defeated Cohelan in the Democratic primary and won the general election, serving without interruption for 27 years.
In 1972, Dellums was reelected to Congress, 60 to 38 percent over his Republican opponent, Peter D. Hannaford, an advisor to then Governor Ronald Reagan.
As a socialist and prominent anti-Vietnam War activist, his politics earned him a place on the so-called Nixon's Enemies List, where his notation stated Dellums "had extensive EMK-Tunney support in his election bid."
During his tenure in Congress, Dellums opposed every major American military intervention, except for emergency relief in Somalia in 1992. Dellums also supported the restriction of foreign aid to repressive African governments in Zaire (present-day DRC), Burundi, Liberia and Sudan.
In 1972, Dellums began his campaign to end the apartheid policies of South Africa. Fourteen years later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Dellums's anti-apartheid legislation, calling for a trade restriction against South Africa and immediate divestment by American corporations. The bill, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, had broad bipartisan support. It called for sanctions against South Africa and stated preconditions for lifting the sanctions, including the release of all political prisoners. President Reagan called for a policy of "constructive engagement" and vetoed the bill; however, his veto was overridden. It was the first override in the 20th century of a presidential foreign policy veto.
Dellums's fight against apartheid in South Africa was the subject of a Disney Channel made-for-TV film, The Color of Friendship, released in 2000. The role of Congressman Dellums was played in the film by actor Carl Lumbly.
Cold War conflicts in southern Africa
As part of the Cold War struggle for influence in southern Africa, the United States joined with the apartheid government of South Africa in support of UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi, against the ultimately victorious Angolan forces of the MPLA supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba. Dellums was criticized for his support of Fidel Castro's involvement with the MPLA in Angola and was called "the prototype of the Castroite congressman" by the conservative press. He also introduced legislation (which was unsuccessful) in September 1987 to prohibit economic and military assistance to Zaire, citing poor human rights, corruption, and collaboration with South Africa.