04/11/2024
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I'm Shirley Franklin and I'm the former mayor of the city, but now I work, with a number of different organizations, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. I really like the work we do at the neighborhood level with purpose built communities. More recently I have been working with Councilwoman Andrea Boone, with high school students at Mays High School in southwest Atlanta. She and I together hosted two college tours. We started a food pantry in the school. We did a job fair and a career fair. My special interest is always young people because everybody says they're the future, but I think they're the now. Well, all through my life, people helped me. From my teachers in school to my Girl Scout and Brownie troop to my church, to my neighbors. community. So I just think it's the rent that you pay, for being a part of a community. Atlanta has welcomed people from all around the country for a long time, starting back in the 1800s. So I like that part of it because it's always invigorating. People come with new ideas and aspirations and hopes and talents. So it's the kind of place where you can make your mark, in a big way or a small way, and you can continue to grow. Clearly we have to pay attention to education, have to pay attention to wages and benefits. We have to close the wealth gap. We have to have affordable housing. We have to have fair policing. And we need to open the doors of opportunity for every single person.
