Robert W. Scales
{{short description|American politician (1926–2000)}}
{{Notability|1=Biographies|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Winston Scales
| honorific_suffix = "T-90" ("Tee-Niny")
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|6|22}}
| birth_place = Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|10|30|1926|6|22}}
| death_place = Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
| nationality = American
| occupation = Civic leader, politician, small business owner
| known_for = First African-American elected to the Murfreesboro City Council and first African-American Vice-Mayor of Murfreesboro
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Scales|1949|2000}}
| children = Madelyn Scales Harris
| parents = Henry Preston Scales
Willie Burkeen Scales
| education = Tennessee State University (B.A.)
| awards = Joint resolution of the 102nd Tennessee Legislature
}}
Robert Winston "T-90" ("Tee-Niny") Scales, born June 22, 1926, died October 30, 2000, was an American civic leader, politician, and small business owner in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Scales was the first African-American elected to the City Council of Murfreesboro, and first African-American Vice-Mayor of that municipality. He was husband of Mary Scales, the first black faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University and similarly pioneering member of the City Council and City School Board of Murfreesboro, and father of Madelyn Scales Harris, who was elected to the same City Council in 2010.
Life and career
Robert Winston Scales was born to Henry Preston and Willie Burkeen Scales on June 22, 1926.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} The couple owned and managed the Scales & Son Funeral Home; founded by Preston Scales in 1916, the business was the first black-owned funeral home in Murfreesboro and in Rutherford County, Tennessee.{{cite news|last=Revis|first=Brandi|title=Family legacy|url=http://www.murfreesboropost.com/family-legacy-cms-27346|accessdate=14 March 2014|newspaper=The Murfreesboro Post|date=May 29, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Murfreesboro, Tennessee's 1st Black Business Now In 4th Generation|date=6 August 2012 |url=http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/murfreesboro-first-black-business-fourth-generatio/|publisher=Black Enterprise|accessdate=14 March 2014}} Robert Scales graduated from Holloway High School, in Murfreesboro.{{when|date=May 2015}}{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}
Scales enrolled at Tennessee State University, received his bachelor's degree from that institution,{{clarify|date=May 2015}}{{when|date=May 2015}} and went on to work in the family business, Scales & Son Funeral Home, eventually owning and running the business.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} In addition to managing the small business, Scales went on to serve as the first African-American elected to the Murfreesboro City Council (serving 21 years),{{when|date=May 2015}} and as the first African-American Vice-Mayor of the city (serving 8 of those years).{{when|date=May 2015}}Bill Trail, and Thelma Harper, Co-Sponsors, 2001, "Tennessee Senate Joint Resolution 54: A Resolution to honor the memory of Robert Winston "Tee-Niny" Scales of Rutherford County," TN SJR0054 | 2000-2001 | 102nd General Assembly. March 1, 2001, see [http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/102/Bill/SJR0054.pdf], [http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SJR0054&ga=102] and {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/misc/tga-senate2.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424011342/http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/misc/tga-senate2.pdf |archivedate=2015-04-24 |accessdate=2015-05-05}}, accessed 5 May 2015.Tennessee Secretary of State. TN SJR0054 | 2000-2001 | 102nd General Assembly. 01 March 2001, see {{cite web |url=http://www.tn.gov/sos/acts/102/index.htm |title=Tennessee Department of State: Publications |accessdate=2015-05-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423210939/http://tn.gov/sos/acts/102/index.htm |archivedate=2015-04-23 }}, accessed May 05, 2015.
In 1949, Scales married his wife Mary, a teacher who would become the first black faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University,{{cite news|last=Hart|first=Jimmy|title=MTSU community mourns loss of trailblazer Mary C. Scales |url=http://mtsunews.com/mtsu-mourns-loss-of-mary-scales/|accessdate=5 May 2015|newspaper=Middle Tennessee State University News (online)|date=October 7, 2013}} and later the first African-American woman elected to the City School Board and City Council in Murfreesboro.{{cite news|last=Vaughn|first=Ralph|title=Scales legacy continues with new generation|url=http://www.murfreesboropost.com/scales-legacy-continues-with-new-generation-cms-33950|accessdate=5 May 2015|newspaper=The Murfreesboro Post (thepost, online)|date=January 6, 2013}}Bill Ketron, and Jim Tracy, Thelma Harper, Co-Sponsors, 2014, "Tennessee Senate Resolution 67: A Resolution to Honor the Memory of Mary C. Scales of Murfreesboro," TN SR0067 | 2013-2014 | 108th General Assembly, February 6, 2014, see [http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/108/Bill/SR0067.pdf], [http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SR0067&ga=108] and {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/misc/tga-senate2.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424011342/http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/misc/tga-senate2.pdf |archivedate=2015-04-24 |accessdate=2015-05-05}}, accessed 5 May 2015.LegiScan. TN SR0067 | 2013-2014 | 108th General Assembly. 06 February 2014, see [https://legiscan.com/TN/bill/SR0067/2013], accessed May 05, 2015.
Following his death on October 30, 2000, Robert Winston "Tee-Niny" Scales was honored by a joint resolution of 102nd Session of the houses of the Tennessee legislature. His daughter, Madelyn Scales Harris, was elected to the Murfreesboro City Council in 2010.{{cite news|last=Willard|first=Michelle|title=Service above self: Harris unseats Edwards in city council race|url=http://www.murfreesboropost.com/service-above-self-harris-unseats-edwards-in-city-council-race-cms-22867|accessdate=5 May 2015|newspaper=The Murfreesboro Post (thepost, online)|date=25 April 2010}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scales, Robert W.}}
Category:African-American people in Tennessee politics
Category:American funeral directors
Category:People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Category:Tennessee city council members
Category:Tennessee State University alumni