RICHMOND — Jim McMillan, a former Richmond councilmember, community pharmacist, self-proclaimed citizen-activist and beloved thought leader, died in his home Thanksgiving night, a day before his 97th birthday.
Born in Mineral Wells, Texas, on Nov. 29, 1927, McMillan moved to Richmond in the 1950s where he opened a community pharmacy and eventually served on the city council from 1983 to 1995. He was a strong advocate for Richmond’s Black residents, a mentor to the city’s Black youth, a strong leader and a kind friend, said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who announced McMillan’s passing on Facebook on Monday.
“He was viewed as a community health leader before he was even elected to council,” Gioia said in an interview Monday. “He was just viewed as being strong, as being an advocate.”
During McMillan’s time on the council, he pushed for police reform, openly calling for the resignation of former Richmond Police Chief Leo Garfield and the establishment of a police review committee after a $3 million police brutality judgment was laid against the city in 1983, according to Oakland Tribune archives.
He supported the annexation of North Richmond and publicly lambasted the Local Agency Formation Commission as “inherently discriminatory” after its members voted against allowing annexation to move forward, an about-face from an earlier approval. The area remains unincorporated to this day despite his and his colleagues’ efforts.
“Mr. McMillan was undoubtedly a trailblazer and left a legacy rooted in reform,” City Manager Shasa Curl said in an email Tuesday.
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Before his days championing causes on the Richmond City Council, McMillan had already made history in the city by being the first African American to open a pharmacy in Richmond. His shop first stood in the Iron Triangle before relocating to Cutting Boulevard.
Being the first wasn’t new for McMillan. He was also the first African-American student and graduate of the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State and the second Black graduate in the university’s history, according to congressional records of remarks made by U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, in honor of McMillan’s 90th birthday in 2018.
Gioia, whose political ambitions were backed by McMillan, said that support blossomed into a decades-long friendship. McMillan was around for Gioia after his mother died in the 1990s. Living without family locally himself, McMillan would often spend Thanksgiving with Gioia and his tight circle, the supervisor said. As McMillan’s health deteriorated, Gioia said he’d take the Thanksgiving meals to his friend.
Despite McMillan not wanting a service, Gioia said he’s getting one anyways. A memorial in McMillan’s honor will be held at the Richmond Auditorium at 4 p.m. on Dec. 13.
