A lawyer by training, Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. (born 1938), was the first African American to be elected mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (1973-1981 and 1989-1993), and the first to serve as chief executive of any major Southern city.

Born in Dallas, Texas, on March 23, 1938, the third of six children, Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr., was considered to be a member of the "Black aristocracy." His father, Maynard Jackson, Sr., was a Baptist minister and his mother, Irene (Dobbs) Jackson, was a college language teacher with a doctorate in French. When Maynard Jr. was age seven, his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where his father took over as pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church. Young Maynard considered becoming a clergyman but then enrolled at Morehouse College in Atlanta as an early admissions scholar and earned a BA degree in political science and history in 1956.

After graduation from college, Jackson worked a number of different jobs, including a stint at the Ohio State Bureau of Unemployment Compensation and selling encyclopedias. He enrolled in law school at North Carolina Central University, where he received a JD degree cum laude in 1964. He returned to Atlanta and worked for the National Labor Relations Board as an attorney, passed his bar exams in 1965, and two years later joined a public interest, low-income legal service which he eventually managed. He soon married Valerie Richardson Jackson and became the father of four daughters and a son.

Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Death

Jackson claimed that Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in 1968 prompted him, to enter politics for the first time. He ran for the United States Senate seat held by Southern powerhouse Herman Talmadge. Acting on a spur-of-the-moment impulse, Maynard filed only minutes before the deadline on June 5, 1968, with $3,000 he had borrowed to pay the filing fee. During the campaign, Jackson's populist appeals brought unexpected support from poor white farmers, but African American voters did not support him automatically. Although he was defeated by Talmadge by a three to one margin, Jackson had won a majority in Atlanta.

Carefully planning his campaign for vice-mayor of Atlanta in 1969, Jackson did not take the African American vote for granted and campaigned tirelessly, appearing in African American churches every Sunday until election day. He also appealed for the white vote and won about one-third of it, and that, along with 99 percent of the African American vote, brought him victory. He was sworn in January 5, 1970, as Atlanta's first African American vice-mayor. In that position, Jackson worked hard at establishing a constituency to support his forthcoming bid for mayor.

In spring 1973, Jackson entered a multi-candidate race for mayor where his toughest opponent proved to be the incumbent, Sam Massell, a certified liberal and the city's first Jewish mayor. The campaign turned into a rough, no-holds-barred affair that went into a runoff election. Race became a central issue during the campaign, with both candidates openly appealing to their racial core constituencies. Jackson emerged the victor, garnering 59 percent of the vote.

In the Mayor's Office

Under a new charter which enhanced the mayor's power, Atlanta's first African American mayor, Maynard Jackson, assumed office in January 1974 and brought in an outside administrator to reorganize city departments. Administration was centralized and new planning districts were established with enhanced neighborhood and citizen input. Jackson provoked his first major racial crisis in May 1974 when he attempted to fire the incumbent white police chief, John Inman. Atlanta's growing crime problem and charges of racial insensitivity toward African Americans prompted Jackson's decision. The firing increased racial tensions within the city and detracted from Atlanta's proud motto: "too busy to hate." Another controversy followed in August 1974 when Mayor Jackson appointed a college crony and African American activist to become public safety commissioner. The new commissioner, A. Reginald Eaves, lacked police experience and created a great deal of controversy when he appointed an ex-convict as his personal secretary and began a system of quota promotions and hiring in the police department, which many decried as "reverse discrimination." Despite the outcry Eaves remained in his post and, by the spring of 1976, Atlanta experienced a drop in crime rates. However, Jackson was forced to fire Eaves after a police exam cheating scandal was uncovered.

Jackson continued to press for vigorous affirmative action programs and set-asides for African Americans on publicly-funded public works, which often brought him into conflict with the downtown business community. Despite criticism, most of Jackson's public projects, including a new airport, were completed on schedule, and by his second term Jackson had reconciled with Atlanta's business elite. Meanwhile, African American businesses and minorities were obtaining more than 30 percent of the city's contracts, which benefited the growing black middle class.

Barred by the city charter from serving more than two consecutive terms, Jackson left office. He established an Atlanta branch office for a Chicago law firm that was strategically positioned for public business. As a bond lawyer with political savvy, Jackson attracted politically-connected business from many African American mayors and, in the process, enriched himself and his political contacts.

A Third Campaign

In 1989, Jackson announced his intention to seek a third term as mayor of Atlanta. Running against a talented literature professor at Spelman College, and county commissioner Michael L. Lomax, Jackson's florid rhetoric and political reputation proved to be decisive. Unable to overcome a 34 percent point deficit in the polls, Lomax withdrew from the race. Although both major candidates were African Americans, Lomax had become identified as the "white" candidate and Jackson the "Black" candidate, a decidedly comfortable position in a city where nearly two thirds of the population was African American. As Jackson was cruising toward the October 3rd nonpartisan election, a former city councilman and Black militant, Hosea Williams, emerged late in the campaign to challenge Jackson. Williams's candidacy gained little support, however, and Jackson coasted to victory, capturing an overwhelming 79 percent of the vote. As one of the losing candidate's strategists put it: "Maynard Jackson is god in this town, and how do you run against god?"

In January 1990, Jackson began his new term of office by promising to follow former Mayor Andrew Young's footsteps and to work "hand-in-glove with our business community." Cognizant of criticism of his predecessor's overly pro-business slant, Jackson promised to devote more attention to the neighborhoods and the problems of the poor. The mayor's popularity increased when he helped to secure Atlanta's selection as the site of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He also formed an organization to assist students who were academic underachievers to help them develop leadership, critical thinking and self-esteem skills.

Considered a shoo-in for a fourth term as mayor, Jackson surprised supporters in 1993 by declining to run again, citing the effects of a heart-bypass operation. After leaving the mayor's office, Jackson conducted a $12.3 million bond sale for a city-backed apartment project and secured a lease to operate a restaurant and bar at Hartsfield International Airport. Jackson's firm, Atlanta-based Jackson Securities Inc., was named one of the top five black investment companies by Black Enterprise magazine in 1996. As chief executive of the company, Jackson was the lead manager for $337 million worth of securities issues and co-manager for $2 billion worth of securities issues.

Further Reading

For general information on Maynard Jackson, see "mayor's file," City Hall, Atlanta, Georgia. For politics, see "Michael Lomax," Governing (June 1988); "Tomorrow is still another day," Economist (May 6, 1989); and R. Smothers, "Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Drops Out" (August 9, 1989); "Styles in Conflict in Atlanta Mayor Race" (July 24, 1989); "Maynard Jackson Wins in Atlanta" (October 5, 1989); and Peter Applebome, "Atlanta As Mayor Returns…." (January 7, 1990), all in New York Times. See also Clarence N. Stone, Regime Politics Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988 (1989).

mayor; lawyer; founder; chairperson

Personal Information

Born Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. on March 23, 1938, in Dallas, TX; died on June 23, 2003; son of Maynard Holbrook, Sr. (a Baptist minister), and Irene (a university foreign language department chair) Jackson; married Burnell "Bunny" Hayes Burke (divorced, 1976); married Valerie Richardson, October 7, 1977; children: (first marriage) Elizabeth (stepdaughter from wife's first marriage), Brooke, Maynard III, Valerie Amanda, Alexandra
Education: Morehouse College, BA, 1956; North Carolina Central State School of Law, JD (cum laude), 1964.

Career

Ohio State Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, Cleveland, OH, claims examiner, 1957-58; P. F. Collier, Inc., Boston, MA, Cleveland, OH, and Buffalo, NY offices, salesman and associate district sales manager, c. 1958-61; National Labor Relations Board, Atlanta, GA, general attorney, 1964-late 1960s; Emory Community Legal Service Center, Atlanta, managing attorney, late 1960s; vice-mayor of Atlanta, 1970-73; Jackson, Patterson, & Parks (law firm), Atlanta, cofounder and senior partner, 1970-2003; mayor of Atlanta, 1973-81, 1989-93; Chapman & Cutler, Chicago, IL, Atlanta-based partner, 1981-2003; Jackson Securities, Inc., founder, 1993-2003; Fannie Mae, board of directors, 2000; Democratic National Committee, National Development chair, 2001.

Life's Work

On January 7, 1974, Maynard Jackson, an ebullient, outspoken bond lawyer, became the first black--and at age 35 the youngest person ever--to be elected mayor of a major southern city. He served two consecutive terms as mayor of Atlanta and after an eight-year absence made a triumphant return to office in 1989, carrying 79 percent of the popular vote. Jackson has characterized his approach as the "politics of inclusion," which opened the doors of the mayor's office to all. During Jackson's first two terms in office, the governing regime of Atlanta was placed firmly into the hands of its black citizenry.

Chose Politics Over Legacy

Jackson was born March 23, 1938, in Dallas, Texas, to Maynard Jackson, Sr., a Baptist minister who became the first black candidate in Texas to run for a board of education post, and Irene Dobbs Jackson, who would serve as chair of the foreign language department at North Carolina Central University's Durham campus. Jackson's nineteenth-century ancestors were progressive and spirited as well. Former slave Andrew Jackson, his paternal great-great grandfather, bought his own freedom and founded a Baptist church in Atlanta. And Jackson's maternal grandfather, John Wesley Dobbs, founded the Georgia Voters League.

In 1945, when Jackson was seven, the family moved to Atlanta, where his father became the pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church. A gifted and conscientious student, Jackson maintained top grades in Atlanta's segregated schools, and for a time he considered becoming the third generation of Jacksons to become a Baptist minister. However, once into Morehouse College in Atlanta at the age of fourteen as a Ford Foundation Early Admissions Scholar, Jackson chose to major in history and politics.

In 1956, after graduating from Morehouse with a bachelor's degree, Jackson worked as a claims examiner in the Cleveland office of the Ohio State Bureau of Unemployment Compensation and in several positions with P. F. Collier, Inc., winding up as assistant district sales manager before he left. After several years in the work force, Jackson returned to school, and by 1964, he had earned his law degree cum laude from North Carolina Central University. He then went back to Atlanta, obtaining a position as a general attorney with the National Labor Relations Board. Jackson was admitted to the Georgia bar in January of 1965 and later joined the staff of the Emory Community Legal Services Center in Atlanta, an organization providing legal assistance to underprivileged clients.

Entered Politics

Without much forward planning, Jackson decided to enter the 1968 Georgia Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate. No one was surprised when he lost three to one against Herman Talmadge, the so-called "number-one power in Georgia," but Jackson had reportedly entered because he felt the unopposed Talmadge needed some healthy competition. He received some surprising support from poor white farmers, who saw him as a feisty underdog, and from organized labor, who liked his endorsement of the repeal of portions of the Taft-Hartley Act, a doctrine defining relations between labor and management. Jackson claimed his loss a major victory for democracy, because it demonstrated the right of any American citizen to run for public office. And, in fact, Jackson felt the impressive showing he had made in so short a campaign proved that Georgians were ready for a black politician. He vowed to enter and to win the campaign for vice-mayor of Atlanta in 1969. Mobilizing the support of the black community and gaining one-third of the white vote, he defeated Milton Farris, a white businessman who had served on the Board of Aldermen (a body of city legislators) for thirteen years. As well as being sworn in as Atlanta's first black vice-mayor on January 5, 1970, Jackson became president of the city's policy-making Board of Aldermen. Around the same time, he cofounded and became senior partner of Jackson, Patterson & Parks--the first firm of black lawyers in Georgia's history.

Jackson devoted much of his time as vice-mayor to building up support for the 1973 mayoral race. He ran against eleven other candidates, including the incumbent mayor, Sam Massell, and black state senator Leroy Johnson. Massell was felt by the electorate to be ineffectual in dealing with Atlanta's problems, particularly the increasing crime rate in the city. Observers have indicated that the voters of Atlanta, half of them black, were ready for a black mayor, and Jackson's eloquence and minority rights convictions appealed to voters at a time of political apathy.

In the 1973 election, Jackson received 46.6 percent of the vote against Massell's 19.8 percent. In the runoff campaign, Jackson stressed his own desire to unite blacks and whites in Atlanta and urged Massell to avoid racially divisionary tactics. But Massell openly addressed the fears of white voters. He labeled Jackson a reverse racist, pointing to Jackson's outspoken assertion that discrimination against blacks within the ranks of various city departments should be remedied by giving blacks hiring priority over whites. But Massell's divisive and inflammatory strategy worked against him: he lost to Jackson in the runoff.

Elected Atlanta's First Black Mayor

In his victory speech, Jackson--Atlanta's first black mayor--addressed an enthusiastic audience in the grandly rhetorical style that was to become characteristic of him: "We have risen from the ashes of a bitter campaign to build a better life for all Atlantans," Jackson was quoted as saying in the New York Times. Determined to open the door of opportunity to all citizens, Jackson immediately set to work to revamp the city charter. The Board of Aldermen was replaced by an eighteen-member biracial city council. The city was divided into 24 planning districts, each of which held public hearings, giving a forum to every neighborhood and promoting new leadership within the neighborhood.

In his role of leading Atlanta through the difficult transition years from predominantly white leadership to a more equitable power balance, Jackson earned a reputation as an aggressive and outspoken mayor. The white business community was often offended and critical of what seemed to be a "black involvement-at-any-cost" attitude. When, in the early 1970s, plans for the construction of a new international airport came under consideration, Jackson stood in the face of opposition from the predominantly white business community by insisting that the project would not start unless minorities were given a fair share of the work. Skeptics predicted the project would be delayed and untold millions would be added to the cost. But, as reported in Ebony, the affirmative action plan worked: the airport was completed on schedule and under budget.

Jackson had a few confrontations when he first took over office. In May of 1974 he tried to fire police chief John Inman, whom he felt discriminated against blacks. Inman challenged the new city charter and Jackson's power under that charter but was eventually demoted. That same summer Jackson appointed black activist A. Reginald Eaves to the position of public safety commissioner. Eaves was accused of inappropriately using his political influence, and his practice of increasing the recruitment of blacks in the police department was interpreted as reverse racism. However, Jackson refused to fire Eaves. When 1976 statistics showed a sharp decline in crime in Atlanta, Jackson's refusal was partially vindicated, but both the Inman and Eaves incidents caused some racial tension at the time.

Toward the end of Jackson's second term in office, Atlanta became the focus of widespread national attention over the serial murders of black children. The slayings had begun some time earlier, but until early 1981, they were not recognized as being connected. The murders continued but remained unsolved, and alarmed Atlantans became critical of the city police force, whose skills they felt were inadequate to solve the crimes. The matter became a nationwide concern, and the FBI finally stepped in. Jackson imposed curfews, appealed for federal help, and encouraged causes to benefit the families of victims. But until the perpetrator, Wayne B. Williams, was captured in 1981 and later convicted of the crimes, the unsolved murders threatened to overshadow Jackson's considerable achievements in his first reign in office--including the overall downturn in crime and homicide in Atlanta.

During Jackson's second term, the Atlanta city charter was changed to permit mayors only two consecutive four-year terms in office. At the end of his second term, Jackson could look back with some pride on his accomplishments as mayor. Although his aggressive manner of confronting racial inequity may have caused resentment, few could deny that his "politics of inclusion" had opened a new era in Atlanta's history. Blacks were now full participants in a city that, prior to Jackson's administration, had kept them on the fringes of power.

Under Jackson's leadership Atlanta made serious gains as a financial center and distribution hub. Expanded international convention facilities turned Atlanta into a major convention center. In 1981 the prestigious Places Rated Almanac named Atlanta the best major city in which to live and work. Jackson had taken advantage of affirmative action programs to improve city housing and social conditions. He also transformed the mass transit system into one of the most modern in the country.

In 1982 Andrew Young, a former U.S. congressman and ambassador to the United Nations, took over as mayor for the next two terms. During those eight years, Jackson worked as a bond lawyer. He was also the Atlanta-based partner with the Chicago firm of Chapman & Cutler.

Mandate as Mayor Renewed

When Jackson decided to run for mayor again in 1989, he won the support of both the middle-class black and the business communities. He showed a reassuring balance between concern for residential interests and social equity and a desire to work closely with business. Jackson's strongest opponent, Michael Lomax, had earlier withdrawn from the race, convinced that he would be unable to defeat Jackson. Once Lomax withdrew, Jackson's victory was practically guaranteed, and on October 3, 1989, he swamped the only other creditable contender, Hosea Williams, by a four-to-one majority.

Despite Jackson's conciliatory approach to the business community in the election campaign, his previous aggressive pro-minority record had business leaders nervous about his return to office. But Jackson had earlier fought and won the minority rights battle, and the 1990s presented new problems that required a different strategy. As Jackson stated in the Christian Science Monitor shortly after returning to office: "It's tougher this time around. There are fewer state and federal dollars and ... issues on my plate that weren't even mentioned in the 1981 budget."

The issues Jackson was referring to included the AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) crisis, homelessness, the war on drugs, and the need for potable (or drinkable) water in the city. The rising crime rate also presented a serious problem, which Jackson dealt with by appointing Eldrin Bell, a tough, traditional-minded, conservative chief of police. Though still a major concern, city crime decreased by 14 percent in 1990.

Some social activists have suggested that Jackson was too involved with currying the favor of the business community and was ignoring the problems of the poor and homeless. But Jackson, who saw himself as a champion of the underdog, was quick to deny such accusations, citing ambitious plans using public and private funds to rebuild homes and provide housing for the poor. With a depressed economy and a lack of federal support, Jackson knew he had to encourage a healthy business climate if Atlanta's economic well being was to continue.

Jackson described Atlanta as a "success-oriented city" whose greatest strengths were its people and its ability to adapt to change. Now the trade and convention hub of the southern states, Atlanta was chosen to host the 1994 football Super Bowl. And that was just the beginning. Jackson was one of the forces behind the decision to hold the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, rather than the previously considered Athens, Greece. Atlanta was only the third city in America to have ever been chosen to host the Olympics.

In 1993 Jackson, while traveling to garner support for the Atlanta-based Olympics, suffered from a heart attack and had to get sextuple heart bypass surgery. It was thought by many that this was the reason that he chose not to run for a second term of office. Instead of a second term, Jackson left public service and started a company of his own, Jackson Securities, Inc., an investment banking firm. Jackson also ran to become the chair of the Democratic National Committee, but wasn't elected. Instead, the Committee gave him the National Development Chair in Washington, D.C. In this position, according to Jet magazine, Jackson had "responsibilities in key areas, which include chairing the DNC's new Voting Rights Institute. He will lead the DNC in developing its equal opportunity program and assist state and local party organizations ... and will help move [America] forward on the single most critical issue facing all voters--ensuring that all votes are counted." President Clinton appointed Jackson, in 2000, to the Fannie Mae Board of Directors. Fannie Mae is the largest non-bank financial service company in the world, working at the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2003 Jackson collapsed in a Washington airport and soon after died of cardiac arrest. He died young, but as a respected man. According to the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, Jackson's former protege and mayor of Atlanta at the time of his death, Shirley Franklin said of him, "He was a lion of a man. He was a champion of inclusion for all people." President Jimmy Carter spoke at a memorial service in Jackson's honor, a speech that was printed in America's Intelligence Wire, saying "Well Maynard Jackson is one of the rare political leaders in the history of this country, who has been able, because of his personal political courage and his voice and his temperament and his native leadership capabilities, profoundly to impact for the better the people whom he served.... And the interesting thing is ... that his legacy will be a permanent one. And the life and contributions of this great man will never be forgotten." The nation, and especially Georgia will miss the man Newsweek called "an emblem and an architect of the best of the post-civil-rights era," and it is to be hoped that his lessons of equality for all will never be forgotten.

Awards

Named to list of 200 young American leaders by Time, 1975; named to the 100 most successful blacks list by Ebony, 1976; Jackson Securities Inc. ranked second on Black Enterprise magazine's list of Top 100 Black investment banks, 1998.

Further Reading

Books

• Who's Who Among African Americans, 16th edition, Gale, 2003.

Periodicals

• America's Intelligence Wire, June 6, 2003.
• Bond Buyer, July 17, 2003, p. 1.
• Christian Science Monitor, September 12, 1991.
• Ebony, December 1980; December 1986; July 1996, p. 66.
• Forbes, September 24, 1980.
• Jet, June 28, 1993, p. 30; February 26, 2001, p. 4.
• Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, August 11, 2002; June 30, 2003.
• M2 Presswire, July 18, 2000.
• New York Times, October 18, 1973; January 28, 1981; February 1, 1981; April 12, 1981; July 16, 1988; February 19, 1989; January 7, 1991.
• Newsweek, April 25, 1977; July 7, 2003, p. 12.
• PR Newswire, November 2, 2001.
• PS: Political Science and Politics, June 1990.
• Time, September 14, 1992, p. 25; July 7, 2003, p. 25.
• U.S. News & World Report, April 7, 1975.

On-line

• "Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr.," Biography Resource Center, www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRCoRC (September 23, 2003).

— Heather Paterson Rhodes and Catherine Victoria Donaldson

1938–2003, American politician, b. Dallas, Tex., grad. Morehouse College (B.A., 1956), North Carolina Central Univ. (J.D., 1964). Jackson, a Democratic lawyer with a confidently confrontational style, entered politics in 1968 with a strong but unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate. Elected vice mayor of Atlanta in 1969, he won the mayoralty in 1973, becoming the first African-American mayor of a major Southern city. Serving three terms (1974–82, 1990–94), he established landmark affirmative-action programs and gave African Americans a greatly enlarged role in Atlanta's political and economic life.

Bibliography

See G. M. Pomerantz, Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn (1996).

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