Atlanta Mayor’s Race In Black and White
On December 5th, Atlantian’s will go to the polls to elect their next mayor. We will have a choice between a Black woman (Keisha Lance-Bottoms) and a White woman (Mary Norwood). After over 40yrs of Atlanta being ran by a Black mayor, this election is now being pushed via race rather than policy. Andy Young was so desperate to defend Keisha that he called an Atlanta reporter on Thanksgiving Day to share his concerns of her unfair treatment in the media. Young went on to lament his concerns for the “bi-racial” partnership that has kept the city on a solid civic and business footing for the last half-century…and yes he actually said that.
In other words, Andy Young wants to ensure that the million dollar contracts that he and his elite friends benefit from with Atlanta airport’s concessions and other contracts are kept safe.
However, former two term Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said, “In the current climate, race “is not the first issue” she looked at in sizing up the two candidates. She said she likes Norwood’s character, integrity, and her connection to all neighborhoods and groups. Mary won’t need a google map to find any neighborhood in the city”
In 2009 there was an inescapable fear within the Black community being pushed against having a White mayor during Atlanta’s last mayoral election, many people feared what having a White mayor would do to the Black communities across the city.
Many feared that this new threat of a white mayor would signal the end Black control of city politics and would place the Black community at risk of being forgotten and exploited. Pundits and writers openly feared that the White Republican mayor would invest hundreds of millions of dollars into building a trolley car that only served affluent white areas or build a beltline that was only safe to use in white neighborhoods. People feared that a White mayor would tear down black historical landmarks like churches built by slaves to serve white corporate interest like building new stadiums. The community feared that a White mayor would push gentrification as some form of progress while pushing the poor and black underclasses into the shadows of shining new skyscrapers built for the super-rich.
The fear was that low-income housing would disappear and be replaced by high end condos and that public transportation would become an afterthought leaving low income communities isolated from jobs and educational opportunities further widening the socioeconomic divide in an already rigidly casted city. Just imagine the horrors of a White Republican mayor run city. Homeless shelters would close so that developers could convert the land into cafes and eateries. Police and prosecutors would treat young black men as an infestation to be eradicated instead of our cities future. And worse of all, the rich Black cultural legacy would we whitewashed and replaced with the shimmering veneer of a “New” Atlanta. No longer the ATL of Box Chevys and Civil Right, but rather, the Atlanta of corporate tourist location, chain restaurants and a soulless amalgam of attractions with no connection to the Atlanta that once was.
Only by the grace of God (and last-minute interference from the Democratic Party of Georgia), Atlanta was spared from having a White Republican mayor. But somehow, every dystopian machination still became a reality. How did this happen? I thought having a Black Democratic Mayor, City Council, County Commission, Police Chief, Fire Chief, District Attorney, Solicitor General and every other elected official down to dog catcher would be enough to protect the Black community? The dirty secret of Atlanta politics is that both the only colors or parties that matter are “Green”.~Robert Patillo
No one wants to talk about the utter disgrace and bully that the current Mayor Kasim Reed is and how he criminalized the poor in Atlanta and how Keisha Lance-Bottoms voted on measures to ensure poor and homeless were jailed or ran out of the city in support of his agendas. Mary Norwood has been active in Atlanta politics for decades, she’s often seen as the only White person showing up to support Black activists and community engagements…events that elitists like Keisha Lance-Bottoms nor Kasim Reed would not dare attend.
The gentrification & corruption under Mayor Reed in Atlanta is damning, yet we continue to push this fear of Mary Norwood because she’s a White woman and an Independent (who by the way voted for Barack & Hillary). The many false radio ads (ads paid for by Bottoms and the Democratic Party) on Black radio attacking Mary Norwood as a Trump supporter and how we must vote for Keisha because she’s Black are an insult, all while Keisha & Kasim are both backing Stacey Evans (White woman) over Stacey Abrams (Black woman) for the next Governor of Georgia. They are also both backing Alex Wan (Asian male) over Felicia Moore (Black woman) for Atlanta City Council President. This racist and identity politics that democrats have created is both dangerous and disingenuous. Keisha Lance-Bottoms, Kasim Reed’s hand picked successor, has a trail of unethical behavior & violations attached to her, the FBI is still inside Atlanta’s City Hall investigating widespread corruption under the Reed Administration, as his top procurement officer recently plead guilty to conspiracy and bribery.
We’ve had over 40yrs of Black Mayors and leaders in Atlanta and across every Black city in this country, now look around at your communities and tell me what you see…
From Russia With Love,
Charlie Peach
