By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Tarris Horton said he knew.
“I had heard Dayton was a Sundown Town,” he told the Northern Kentucky Tribune, “but I knew they were ready for a Black member on City Council.”
Sundown towns were towns that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation, or violence. They were most prevalent before the 1950s. The term came into use because of signs that directed “colored people” to leave town by sundown.
And it is Black – not African American.
“I prefer Black,” he said, “I was born and bred here.”
Tarris Horton was born in Elizabethtown and graduated from West Harden High School. Today, he has made history becoming the first Black elected official and winning a seat on the Dayton City Council.
So, did you run to make history – or make a difference?
“I honestly want to make a difference in my community,” he said. “I ran for Covington Commissioner in 2020 and came up short.”
The Northern Kentucky University graduate moved to Dayton because “We weren’t getting any traction for community activities.”
It was not as easy as all that.
“Running for political office and hearing about the so-called sundown town, honestly was on my mind,” he said. “I was concerned.”
That concern changed in 2021 when he opened a barbershop in Dayton. “The response was, ‘We want somebody like you,’” he said.
He knew, Dayton was ready.
In fact, the 51-year-old Horton claims most people not only in Dayton, but Northern Kentucky, are not “that way.” The people that matter, he claims, know better.
“I don’t believe that racism is as pervasive as some may suggest,” he said. “The decision-makers want the best for others and evaluate individuals based on their character and contributions, not the color of their skin.”
Tarris Horton will be sworn in for a City Council seat, December 21 at the Dayton Community Center, under Mayor Ben Baker, at noon.
“I’m playing with the idea of having people meet me at my house and walk to the event,” he said. “My home is just a block from the community center.”
After that, it is work, and Horton’s first initiative is forming the Dayton Pickle Club.
“It’s a VFW Auxiliary Community Outreach Program,” he said. “Presently we’re trying to find a permanent home, and hope to have indoor play start as soon as January 1st.”
Horton said his group has already looked at the VFW as a possible home, yet there is another unnamed location in the middle of Dayton, he would not reveal.
“The VFW hosts bingo, Wednesdays,” he said. “We’d have to take down the tables after they play for pickleball.”