"The American Bar Association will begin anew after 125 years by affirming for all to see that it is fully committed to diversity," Archer said recently in an interview in his Detroit office. President-elect Robert Grey from Richmond Virginia is also an African American.

Born in Detroit and raised in Cassopolis, Archer earned his law degree from the Detroit College of Law, (now Michigan State University Detroit College of Law) in 1970. He then worked as a trial lawyer and a partner in several Detroit firms. He served as president of the Wolverine Bar Association (1979-1980), the National Bar Association (1983 - 1984) and the State Bar of Michigan (1984-1985). In 1985, Gov. James Blanchard appointed him an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He was elected to an eight-year term the following year. From 1994 to 2001 Archer served two four-year terms as mayor of the city of Detroit. Under his leadership the city benefited from a major economic revival that has earned him national and international respect. Last year, he was president of the National League of Cities. Since leaving the mayor's office, Archer was elected chairman of Dickinson Wright PLLC, a 200-person Detroit-based law firm with offices in Michigan and Washington D.C. He is married to Trudy DunCombe Archer, judge of Michigan's 36th District Court. They have two grown sons.