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Atlanta's first black mayor dies
Monday, June 23, 2003 Posted: 11:54 AM EDT (1554 GMT)
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Maynard Jackson Jr., who took on Atlanta's
establishment as the city's first black mayor and later helped plan for
its role as host of the 1996 Olympics, died Monday in Washington. He
was 65.
Democratic Party officials confirmed the death, but did not release any
details. He had major heart surgery in 1992 after doctors found six
arterial blockages.
He made history when, at age 35, he was elected Atlanta's first black
mayor in 1973.
With a booming voice and wide girth, he made his presence known
immediately by taking on the predominantly white business leadership
and demanding that doors be opened to blacks.
Jackson later acknowledged that he mishandled relationships with some
individual business leaders. "This may sound naive ... but it never
dawned on me that the question of the personal relationship was that
important," he said.
He was re-elected to a second term in 1977, but he continued to have a
stormy relationship with the business community. Jackson also had to
lead the city through one of its darkest periods: the string of
slayings of young blacks from 1979-81.
Still, when he left office after two terms, barred from seeking a third
consecutive term, he could boast of many accomplishments, including the
expansion of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport and the opening
of the city's rapid rail system.
He pursued a career as a bond attorney for eight years, then returned
to seek a third term as mayor in 1989. He was elected with 80 percent
of the vote and took office several months before the 1990 announcement
that Atlanta had been chosen as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
"It is fitting and proper that Atlanta, not perfect but the best city
in America, was chosen to host the Olympic Games," he said at the time.
Jackson was involved in the early planning for the Olympics, and in
1992 he went to Barcelona to receive the Olympic flag for Atlanta at
the close of that year's Summer Games.
But in 1993, Jackson announced he would not seek a fourth term, "for
necessary, unavoidable and compelling personal reasons and duties."
After he stepped down, Jackson opened a financial services business,
Jackson Securities. He also was chairman of Jackmont Hospitality Inc.,
a restaurant business.
Born in Dallas, Jackson grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Morehouse
College at age 18. He later earned a law degree from North Carolina
Central University.
Jackson's family was active in early voting rights efforts. His
grandfather, John Wesley Dobbs, was co-chairman of the Atlanta Negro
Voters League, and his father, the Rev. Maynard H. Jackson Sr., founded
the Georgia Voters League.
Jackson lost to Sen. Herman Talmadge in the Democratic Senate primary
in 1968, but the next year he was elected vice mayor and president of
Atlanta's Board of Aldermen.
Jackson's third term was marred by a scandal at the airport, where
Aviation Commissioner Ira Jackson -- a Jackson appointee, but no
relation -- was accused of accepting bribes from airport businesses.
Ira Jackson later resigned and was convicted.
source:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/06/23/maynard.jackson.ap/index.html |