Williams.) Washington was the first African-American mayor of a major American city, and one of three blacks in 1967 chosen to lead major cities. Richard Hatcher of Gary, Indiana and Carl Stokes of Cleveland were elected that year. Washington inherited a city that was torn by racial divisions, and also had to deal with conservative congressional hostility following passage of major civil rights legislation. When he sent his first budget to Congress in late 1967, Democratic Representative John L. McMillan, chair of the House Committee on the District of Columbia, responded by having a truckload of watermelons delivered to Washington's office. In April 1968, Washington faced riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Although reportedly urged by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to shoot rioters, Washington refused. He later told The Washington Post in 1999, "I walked by myself through the city and urged angry young people to go home. I asked them to help the people who had been burned out." Only one person refused to listen to him. His actions are credited with helping prevent large-scale riots in the area. Republican President Richard Nixon retained Washington after being elected as president in 1968. In 1971, the United States Department of Justice prohibited an anti-Vietnam demonstration on Pennsylvania Avenue. There were public concerns that violence would spark. Washington visited the White House, and he requested that President Nixon issue permits for the demonstration. The request was honored, and the demonstration commenced with 250,000 marchers. 1975-79: Elected Mayor Congress enacted the District of Columbia Self-Rule and Governmental Reorganization Act on December 24, 1973, providing for an elected mayor and city council. In early 1974, Washington began a vigorous campaign to win the Democratic nomination for the mayoral election. As Washington was heavily Democratic and (at the time) majority black, it was taken for granted that whoever won the Democratic primary would become the city's first popularly-elected mayor since 1871. Washington faced six challengers in the Democratic primary. However, the primary eventually became a two-way contest between Washington and Clifford Alexander, future Army Secretary. Washington won the tight race by 4,000 votes. As expected, he won the November general election with a large majority. Home rule took effect when Washington and the newly elected council–the city's first popularly-elected government in over a century–were sworn into office January 2, 1975. Washington was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.