Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1952, John came to Maine to attend Bates College and after graduating in 1974, remained in the Lewiston/Auburn area. There, he worked as a martial artist and founded his own martial arts academy. He was also well-known and loved as a community organizer and motivational speaker, both locally and nationally.
John was elected as mayor of Lewiston in 1993 and later as mayor of Auburn. He was the first person in Maine history to serve as mayor of two municipalities and win a citizen-initiated write-in mayoral campaign. He was the first African-American to be elected to the Maine State Senate, serving in that body from 1996 – 1998. He later ran unsuccessfully for Maine governor as an independent.
John was a member of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the USA International Black Belt Hall of Fame, and the Maine State Sports Hall of Fame.
Maine State Museum 2012.19.19
This official portrait of John Jenkins was made during his time as Mayor of Lewiston (1994-1998). While in office as Mayor he sought and won a seat in the Maine State Senate in 1996, becoming Maine’s first Black state senator. (Maine State Museum 2012.19.19)
Maine State Museum 2012.19.8
John Jenkins (standing, front middle) spars at his Golden Fist Karate Academy for an audience of children. Jenkins started teaching karate in 1973, while he was a student at Bates College in Lewiston. (Maine State Museum 2012.19.8)
Maine State Museum 2012.19.17
In 2006, inspired to run by Auburn residents, John Jenkins won election to an abbreviated one-year term as mayor of Auburn. Although he intended only to serve the single term, Auburn voters elected him again in 2007 as a write-in candidate, the first mayor of Auburn so elected. His service as mayor was commemorated with this plaque. (Maine State Museum 2012.19.17)
Maine State Museum 2012.19.32
This gi jacket is part of the uniform worn by instructors at the John Jenkins Academy of Personal Development, the Lewiston martial arts school Jenkins founded. In 1995, with political, business, and public speaking responsibilities demanding much of his time, Jenkins sold the school to one of its instructors, Sherrie St. Pierre. (Maine State Museum 2012.19.32)
Maine State Museum 2012.19.7
John Jenkins (standing, front middle) spars at his Golden Fist Karate Academy for an audience of children. Jenkins started teaching karate in 1973, while he was a student at Bates College in Lewiston. (Maine State Museum 2012.19.7)
Maine State Museum 2012.19.20
This certificate commemorates John Jenkins’s service as one of the 21 members of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. The bipartisan commission was created by Congress as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to study the problem of barriers to advancement in employment faced by women and minority workers and recommend ways to remove those barriers. The commission, chaired by Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, presented its final report in 1995. (Maine State Museum 2012.19.20)