Legends and Legacies (excerpt)

....In 1974, Maynard Holbrook Jackson would take office as the first Black mayor of a major southern city – Atlanta, Ga. Almost immediately, Maynard would initiate programs to expand the Black business sector by encouraging entrepreneurship and increasing participation in municipal business. Although many people challenged such “affirmative action” programs at the time, it has proven to be successful way to create economic opportunity.


Atlanta’s example of awarding municipal contracts to “minority” businesses has proven to be a successful re-allocation scheme. A few instances of corruption, bribery and other criminal activities marred some of the success stories of this era. However, these are universal characteristics of similar situations where large sums of public money are transacted. Without question, the overall scope and activity of the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia’s economies have been positively affected by the transformation that took place under the Jackson administrations. Without his visionary efforts, Atlanta would not be regarded today as a “Black Mecca” or the “Empire City of the South.”


Another similarity to post apartheid South Africa and the emerging “New South” of the Jackson administrations, was the opportunity to cure an adversarial and untrusting relationship between Atlanta’s majority Black population and the city’s law enforcement community. Atlanta’s segregated neighborhoods were not exactly comparable to the “Townships” of South Africa’s urban areas. Yet a similarly acrimonious relationship between the legal system and Atlanta’s Black residents did exist.


The presence of police officer’s in neighborhoods such as Vine City, “Sweet Auburn” and Mechanicsville seldom incited feelings of good will and warm feelings. Maynard realized the need to assure and secure the integrity and fidelity of the police department and the legal system. He spearheaded the appointment of a Black police chief, public safety commissioner and judges. He created an environment of safe communities in which all citizens were assured of fair and equitable treatment. Jackson understood this was essential to creating an environment where talented people from all walks of life would be allowed to thrive.


After the fall of the South African system of Apartheid in 1994, the country faced similar obstacles and opportunities as Atlanta following the “Jim Crow” era. The iconic South African anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was eventually released from prison and ultimately became President of the Republic of South Africa in 1994. Twenty years after the ascent to power of Jackson in Atlanta, Mandela would confront similar issues that blocked the people's pathway to empowerment.


Although the “Jim Crow” era of the American south had ended, this parallel system of inequity had managed to drag on for another thirty years in South Africa. This fact alone makes it obvious that although the situations are very similar they are also very different. Mandela, despite his international reputation and magnanimous renown, could not achieve the same degree of success in transforming South Africa and empowering the Black population as Jackson did in Atlanta....