Orville Liscum Hubbard (April 2, 1903 – December 16, 1982) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, from 1942 to 1978.

Hubbard was an effective administrator who served 15 consecutive terms while being nationally known as an outspoken segregationist who sought to keep Dearborn free of the perceived social and political ills of neighboring Detroit.

A biographer described Hubbard as a "one-time high school athlete, ex-Marine, nonpracticing attorney, self-acknowledged expert on matters from the milking of cows to the history of the American Revolution, and personal symbol of suburban America's resistance to racial integration.

[7][8] After his military discharge, he worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal while he studied at the Detroit College of Law, graduating in 1933.

Sometimes referred to as the "Dictator of Dearborn,"[11] he regularly won re-election with more than 70% of the vote and once recruited a candidate "to avoid the unseemly appearance of an unopposed election."

Dearborn city councilman Thomas Dolan agreed, saying the "secret to Hubbard's success was that he gave the people what they wanted.

"[6] Dearborn had a substantial tax base as the home of Ford Motor Company, which allowed Hubbard to provide his constituents with benefits unheard of in other cities of its size.

[6] In 1948, Hubbard led a campaign to defeat a referendum to build a low-income housing project in Dearborn on the ground it could turn into a "black slum."

"[1] In 1956, Hubbard received national publicity after telling an Alabama newspaper that he favored "complete segregation" of the races.

"[15] He also boasted that one of his tactics to discourage blacks who had just moved into Dearborn was by providing police and fire protection that was "a little too good"—wake-up visits every hour or so through the night in response to trouble calls.

He was known to complain that "the Jews own this country," that the Irish "are even more corrupt than the Dagos," and as Middle Easterners began moving into Dearborn that "the Syrians are even worse than the niggers.

"[1] In 1967, Hubbard led an effort to purchase an eight-story, 88-unit apartment building with canal views in Clearwater, Florida.

[17][18] The complex, a one-mile (1.6 km) walk from the beach, included a heated pool, organized poker nights and other activities.

A Michigan Historical marker near the statue refers to Hubbard as "an effective administrator" who "made Dearborn known for punctual trash collection," but omits any discussion of his segregationist policies.

[27][28] In his book, Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong, James W. Loewen listed the Hubbard statue as one of the Top 20 historical monuments ripe for "toppling," along with the obelisk celebrating the White League in New Orleans and "The Good Darky" statue at the Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge.

[31] Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja posted on Facebook that the Hubbard family "will place it at his gravesite.

The musical was written by David L. Good, a former Detroit News reporter and editor, who is the author of a biography of Hubbard, and the composer Bob Milne.