"Morton for Mayor," which accompanied images of trains and lists of people who were "on board" with her campaign. After a run-off election against Ann Rainey, alderman of Evanston's Eighth Ward, Morton was elected Evanston's first African-American and first Democratic mayor. She was in office for sixteen years (until 2009), becoming Evanston's longest-serving mayor. During her long mayoral tenure, Morton attempted to improve the town-gown relationship between Northwestern University and the greater population of Evanston. She was able to form a close friendship with Northwestern University president Henry Bienen and ameliorate the tension between Evanston and the University given her status as both the Mayor of Evanston and a proud alumna of Northwestern. Mayor Morton also worked with local community leaders and churches to create a safe zone and a "time out" period of time that gangs would call a truce. During this time, (Friday and Saturday nights, a time of would-be heightened gang activity) the community, including gang members were invited to play basketball at Evanston's Robert Crown Center. Morton would often be seen cheering from the sidelines Awards and honors Both of her alma maters have recognized Morton's achievements. Winston-Salem State University created the Lorraine Hairston Morton Endowed Scholarship in 2010 for students majoring in education who are committed to community service. Northwestern University, too, offers a scholarship in Morton's name—the Lorraine H. Morton Scholarship for the Master of Science in Education Program in the School of Education and Social Policy. Further, Northwestern presented her with an Alumni Merit Award in 1996 and bestowed an honorary doctorate upon her in 2008. She also held an honorary doctorate for public service from Kendall College in Chicago. Evanston's civic center was renamed for Morton at the time of her retirement in 2009 and is now known as the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center. She held the position of Vice President of the Evanston Historical Society and received community service awards from Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston and the Evanston Arts Council. In 2018, Shorefront (http://shorefrontlegacy.org) produced the documentary film "Lorraine H. Morton: A Life Worthwhile", (https://vimeo.com/252383973) as told by Morton herself, illustrated with historic images and film clips. The 45 minute documentary depicts her early life, education, early career as a teacher, alderman and as mayor of Evanston. Death Morton died on September 8, 2018, at the age of 99. Notes Illinois Democrats African-American mayors in Illinois Northwestern University School