Maynard Jackson
Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. (1938-2003) was a significant figure in American politics, known for being the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, a major Southern city. Born in Dallas but raised in Atlanta, Jackson came from a family with deep roots in civil rights activism. He excelled academically, graduating from high school at fourteen and earning a law degree by 1964. His political career began in earnest after he filed to run for the U.S. Senate in response to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, which paved the way for his eventual election as mayor in 1973.
During his tenure, Jackson implemented transformative policies, including an affirmative action program that dramatically increased the share of city contracts awarded to minority firms from 1% to 35%. He also modernized Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, which was later renamed in his honor. Jackson's administration was marked by both significant changes and controversy, including allegations of cronyism among his associates. Despite health challenges later in life, he maintained influence in municipal politics and played a role in bringing the 1996 Olympic Games to Atlanta. Jackson's legacy is marked by his efforts to enhance minority representation and foster Atlanta's growth into a global city.
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Subject Terms
Maynard Jackson
Politician
- Born: March 23, 1938
- Birthplace: Dallas, Texas
- Died: June 23, 2003
- Place of death: Arlington, Virginia
The first African American mayor of a major southern city, Jackson transformed Atlanta, Georgia, through a series of progressive reforms on issues of race and municipal development. His efforts expanded opportunities for African Americans and made Atlanta a center of international trade and tourism.
Early Life
Although he was born in Dallas, Texas, on March 23, 1938, Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr., had deep family roots in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson’s great-grandfather was a former slave who had purchased his freedom; his maternal grandfather, John Wesley Dobbs, was a prominent civil rights leader who founded the Georgia Voters League. Jackson’s father, Maynard H. Jackson, Sr., moved his family to Atlanta in 1945 and became a pastor after he received death threats in Dallas for running for school board. Jackson’s mother, Irene Dobbs Jackson, was a professor of French at Spelman College.
Jackson continued his family’s tradition of educational achievement by finishing high school at fourteen and enrolling in Morehouse College through a special early-entry program. He was eighteen when he graduated in 1956. After a series of jobs, Jackson attended law school at North Carolina Central University, from which he graduated in 1964. Shortly after graduation, Jackson worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board and the Emory Community Legal Services Center.
Motivated by the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackson filed papers to challenge Herman Talmadge for the U.S. Senate. Jackson was easily defeated, but he did carry the city of Atlanta. This success led Jackson to pursue elective office in the city itself.
Life’s Work
Jackson first won election as mayor of Atlanta in 1973 in a runoff with incumbent mayor Sam Massell. The campaign was notable for the racially polarizing tactics used by Massell. Despite facing these tactics, Jackson won with 59 percent of the vote and became the first African American mayor of a major southern city.
Jackson quickly established himself as a mayor who insisted upon immediate change. One of his most controversial acts was the creation of an affirmative action program designed to give more municipal contracts to minority firms. Before Jackson became mayor, only 1 percent of city contracts went to these firms; within five years that number increased to 35 percent. Jackson also increased the participation of residents in neighborhood planning programs and reformed the police department. Many of these changes alienated the white business community.
Easily reelected in 1977, Jackson modernized Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport in 1980. Jackson supported a $400 million plan to build facilities to increase the number of international air carriers moving through the airport. Jackson often bragged that the construction took less time and cost less than expected. In 2003, the airport was renamed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in his honor.
Because the city charter limited mayors to two consecutive terms, Jackson could not seek a third term in 1982. He was succeeded by Andrew Young. After leaving office, he worked as a municipal bond attorney. Throughout the 1980’s, Jackson served on a number of boards and spent the decade repairing his relationship with the white business community.
In 1989, as Young completed his second term, Jackson decided to run for a third term as mayor. He easily defeated his opponent, civil rights leader Hosea Williams, winning 79 percent of the vote. The third term proved difficult for Jackson. His administration was plagued by charges that his associates had engaged in payoffs and cronyism, but Jackson himself was never implicated. Although he declined to run for a fourth term in 1993 after major heart surgery the previous year, he continued to exercise influence over city politics, working to bring the Olympic Games to Atlanta in 1996. He also was active in the national Democratic Party and briefly considered running for a Senate seat in 2003.
On June 23, 2003, Jackson collapsed at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and died later that day of a heart attack. His memorial service drew an estimated five thousand mourners.
Significance
Jackson’s election as mayor of a major southern city was historic. More important, perhaps, was the effort he made to reform Atlanta. By growing the city’s contracts with minority-owned business, by increasing the power of residents to determine their own neighborhood plans, and by reforming police department procedures, Jackson created an Atlanta that began to draw talented African Americans from across the country. Moreover, by expanding the airport and increasing Atlanta’s global visibility with the Olympics, Jackson worked to transform a relatively insular southern city into a municipality with strong connections to international business and tourism.
Bibliography
Dingle, Derek T. “The Ultimate Champion for Black Business.” Black Enterprise 34, no. 2 (September, 2003): 72-78. A tribute to Jackson with particular emphasis on his support of business expansion as mayor and his work after leaving office.
Hornsby, Alton, Jr. Black Power in Dixie: A Political History of African Americans in Atlanta. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009. A valuable history of changes in Atlanta politics with specific focus on the mayoral service of Jackson and Andrew Young and their importance to the economic life of the city.
Pierannunzi, Carol A., and John D. Hutcheson, Jr. “Deracialization in the Deep South: Mayoral Politics in Atlanta.” Urban Affairs Quarterly 27, no. 2 (1991): 192-201. A somewhat advanced article, but an excellent account of the role of race in Jackson’s political campaigns. The authors argue Jackson’s own campaigns were race-neutral in their appeal to voters.
Pomerantz, Gary. Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Pomerantz chronicles the story of Atlanta through the families of Maynard Jackson and a white mayor, Ivan Allen. The book covers five generations of each family and is an excellent resource on family history as well as Jackson’s political career.