Albert Vann

American politician (1934–2022)

Albert Vann (November 19, 1934 – July 14, 2022) was an American politician and a member of the New York City Council from Brooklyn, representing the 36th district, which includes parts of Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. He was a Democrat.

Vann was born to Nina (McGlone) Vann and Benjamin Palme on November 19, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York City; his parents had moved there from North Carolina during the Great Migration. He attended Franklin K. Lane High School and was in the United States Marine Corps from 1952 to 1955. He was one of the founders of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, and was also one of the founders of the African American Teachers Association. Vann was a past instructor at Vassar College's Urban Center for Black Studies.

Vann was a member of the New York State Assembly (56th D.) from 1975 to 2001, sitting in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, and 194th New York State Legislatures. Vann exchanged seats with Annette Robinson after the New York City Council enacted a term limit. Vann was elected to the New York City Council in November 2001, and ex City Councilwoman Robinson was elected to the State Assembly in 2002 to fill the vacancy. Both represented the 36th City Council District, and Vann remained in the City Council until 2013. In the November 3, 2009 election Vann was challenged by Mark Winston Griffith (Drum Major Institute's executive director), who ran on the Working Families Party ballot line. Vann defeated Griffith and went on to serve until 2013, when term limits prevented him from seeking re election. He was succeeded by fellow Democrat Robert Cornegy on January 1, 2014. In response to the police shooting of Sean Bell in 2006, Vann alleged that the incident arose from "institutional racism." He then proceeded to mock the suggestion that African American New Yorkers living in high crime neighborhoods should adopt certain behaviors to avoid confrontations with police officers.

Vann married Mildred Cooke in 1967, and they had four children.