When Maynard Jackson was elected the first Black mayor of
Atlanta, Georgia, he also became the first Black mayor of a
major southern city. (That same year Thomas “Tom” Bradley and
Coleman Young became the first Black mayors of Los Angeles and
Detroit, respectively). Atlanta was known as the “Gateway to the
South” and Jackson maintained all the mystique that went with
that title while he was the mayor. He served three non-
consecutive terms. The city eventually renamed its airport the
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in his honor. What he
did to deserve that honor is the story of a true legend in the
annals of Black history. The great grandson of slaves, Maynard
Holbrook Jackson, Jr. was born on March 23, 1938 in Dallas,
Texas, to Jackson, Sr., a Baptist minister and Irene Dobbs
Jackson, a professor of French, who taught at Spelman College.
Young Jackson was seven years old when his father took over as
pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, moving the family to
Atlanta. His grandfather, John Wesley Dobbs,