Mayor Daniel T. Brown was honored Thursday with the presentation of a plaque recognizing him as the City of Knoxville's first African-American mayor and remembering those men and women who helped build this city after arriving here in bondage.

The presentation was made during a farewell reception for Mayor Brown, who is leaving office on Saturday, December 17, in the City County Building's Small Assembly Room. It was attended by scores of city employees and friends as well as elected officials from both the City of Knoxville as well as Knox County.

The plaque is a replica of the real one that will be installed outside the City County Building.

Mayor Brown, who also serves as Councilman for the city's sixth district, was elected mayor by Council on January 10, 2011, to fill the unexpired term of Mayor Bill Haslam - who resigned to become Tennessee's governor.

Brown is the first African-American mayor of Knoxville and is the 67th man to serve as the city's mayor dating back to Thomas Emmerson, who became the first mayor in 1816. From 1791 until 1816 Knoxville operated under a commission form of government without a mayor.