Rename Atlanta's airport, panel is urged (History rewrite alert!)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Online ^ | 7/30/2003 | D.L. BENNETT

[xrp]

Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first black mayor, cast a huge shadow Tuesday over his white predecessors as the campaign to rename Atlanta's airport developed into raw racial politics.

"This really shouldn't be about what the white business establishment would allow," said state Rep. "Able" Mable Thomas, a former Atlanta City Council member. "It's really what the strength of the African-American community will allow. What will we stand for? The real deal is we stood too long silent. Atlanta is being gentrified every day. So, while you do still have a majority, as Maynard would say, use the power you have today."

Some of the speakers during a two-hour public hearing at Atlanta City Hall used words like diversity and inclusiveness. But many refused to sugarcoat their sentiments.

Overwhelmingly, they said to remove the name of William B. Hartsfield and replace it with Jackson, creator of a landmark affirmative action program. Hartsfield, who served as mayor for two decades and championed Atlanta as an aviation center, was either forgotten or dismissed as a symbol of Atlanta's racist past.

Barry Ringold of Atlanta cut straight to the heart and urged the city's black mayor and majority-black council not to be afraid of representing black Atlanta.

"Do the right thing," Ringold said. "Stand up for the people that put you there."

Ivan Allen Jr., who spent eight years guiding Atlanta through the civil rights era, rated only passing mention during the first public hearing by the Atlanta Advisory Commission. The 17-member panel is charged with finding an appropriate way to honor Jackson and Allen, who both recently died. Another session is scheduled for Aug. 26.

The session drew an overwhelmingly black audience of about 75 people, including City Council members, state representatives and Jackson's widow, Valerie, and children who sat front and center. They didn't speak to the commission but applauded many of the speakers. About a third of the audience spoke.

Afterward Jackson said she was gratified to see that her husband had touched so many lives. She supports replacing Hartsfield's name at the airport.

"I thought this was a no-brainer," said John Evans. "People try to satisfy everybody. It can't happen. The City Council ought to stand tall and rename the airport Maynard Jackson International Airport."

Several speakers told the 17-member panel to disband and urged the City Council to act unilaterally and rename the airport to honor Jackson.

The session was an eye-opener for the advisory committee members who got a taste of Atlanta's racial politics and what's in store for them over the next few weeks as they head to making a recommendation in September.

A.D. "Pete" Correll, CEO of Georgia-Pacific, is co-chairing the panel.

"Nobody said this would be easy," Correll said, "but nobody said it would be this hard either."

Carey Duncan of Grant Park urged the combination name Hartsfield-Jackson.

"I urge you don't play the race card," Duncan said. "We are one race, the human race."

[xrp]

Caucasian people are moving back inside Atlanta city limits in droves so they can avoid Atlanta traffic.

Hartsfield's actions decades ago led to the construction of the airport, which is widely viewed as the single action in Atlanta's past 50 years that is responsible for its growth and development and rise as the capital of the South.

Maynard Jackson was a corrupt individual who implemented a minority disadvantage program at the airport so that 'disadvantaged blacks' would be able to have a greater chance at opening businesses in the airport and running them. Jackson, already a millionaire, opened a TGI Friday's in Concourse B at the airport and he used this disadvantaged program to get his restaurant there. How can someone who is already a millionaire be disadvantaged?

[laweeks]

If we could only stop counting and boxing people. How's about "One Out of Many" Airport, kinda' what we're supposed to be anyway.

[dwilli]

That makes no difference, the sign changing contracts are probably already in place.

[KellyAdmirer]

Hmmm, how about "Atlanta Airport"?

[glock rocks]

Following their affirmative diversity "logic," they should only let black-owned airlines land there.

[dead]

How about Coca Cola airport?

That way the taxpayers don't even have to pay for the signs.

[AnAmericanMother]

The ironic thing about this is that Jackson was up to his neck in an airport corruption scandal that would have had him indicted, but for the "PC" police. IIRC, one or more airport officials in the Jackson administration wound up going to prison. Jackson skated, just as it seems like Bill Campbell (another very corrupt Atlanta mayor) will do, but naming the airport after a guy who made millions off airport concession and bond issue rakeoffs is just too much.

[from occupied ga]

Jackson was as disgusting and crooked a socialist as Daley in Chicago, and these clowns want to honor him?

I have a couple of thoughts on the matter

1. If Jackson is what the black "leaders" look up to then no wonder there is such a high element of criminal behavior in the black community
2. Honoring someone for affirmative action is honoring somone for racism - Again I seem to have gotten the quote about "content of character rather than color of skin" backwards.
3. renaming the space under the tables at Ruby Tuesday's for Jack(ass)son would be quite appropriate since it was his under the table deal that put the lucrative business in his family's coffers
4. Anyone how freely admitted that he would work for a country "where only the police and military are armed" (and at the same time spending $500,000 a year of the taxpayer's money for his own bodyguards) should only be honored in places like communist China or North Korea. Such sentiments are exactly opposite to what made this country great, but fit in well with the North Korean way of government

As you may have guessed, I had the utmost contempt for the fat sack of s..., but it wasn't because he was black., It was because he was a hypocritical, corrupt, racist socialist crook.

[Chewbacca]

Yeah! rename it after president Andrew Jackson. Cool!

[BabsC]

Well said! I totally agree. I've been here in Atlanta since 1978 and have noticed how the current "good old boy" system can't seem to be able to even maintain what the previous "good old boys" built, much less improve on it. I got out of the city as soon as possible.

[pdjplano]

"How can someone who is already a millionaire be disadvantaged?"

It is called "Historically Underutilized Business" or HUB, and is a MAJOR decision point in many government contracts. To be a HUB, one must be majority owned by a "historically disadvantaged member of society". This includes blacks, hispanics, and, women of any race. In order to compete, my wife owns my company and manages it rather then myself (I do the heavy lifting :)) so we can get HUB status. It isn't minority HUB status, given we are white, and that is evil in today's world, but it does help compared to a white male owned business.

I loate affirmative action, and believe that the HUB program is complete BS. But, it is what it is, and I have to compete in that arena...

[Tacis]

Well, keep good notes so we will remember all the racist arguments when we get rid of the stupid ML King holiday BS. First, we'll "share" the holiday with an equally great Mexican (much like we share Presidents Day), and then merge the concept to include only those from all cultures who equally as grat as Marty.

[Tacis]

Or, "why on earth would black racists want to rename the airport after Stonewall Jackson?"

[mhking]

Mable Thomas is among a number of black politicians here who's brains are misplaced. They have this mistaken notion that someone truly gives a damn as to what they think.

She, and others of her ilk, are on an all-out full-court press to try to get Hartsfield renamed for Jackson, citing his efforts over the years in turning Atlanta Hartsfield from a regional hub into the international gateway that it has become.

True, Jackson's work was without equal in that regard, but to remove Mayor William Hartsfield's name from the airport is a huge mistake.

A suitable memorial to Jackson would be to name the international terminal after him, much as the international terminal at LAX is named after Los Angeles' late Mayor Bradley.

I fear this will get messier and messier before it is all done.

Current Mayor Shirley Franklin is set to make a decision over the next two to three months.

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[Teacher317]

"Black leaders" are the most racist people in this country.

[Sir Gawain]

And planes that are painted black.

[Kenton]

So, while you do still have a majority, as Maynard would say, use the power you have today."

Why heck, this is no more offensive than if say, David Duke exhorted white majority communities to rename every freaking "Martin Luther King" street, boulevard and civic center to reflect a name acceptable to the white majority...

Atlanta seems determined to devolve into permanent "third world" status... Maybe it's time for the "white business establishment" to become sensitive to the wishes of these "black leaders" and move someplace else where they aren't demonized in the name of racial demagoguery.

[Lee'sGhost]

"A suitable memorial to Jackson would be to name the international terminal after him, much as the international terminal at LAX is named after Los Angeles' late Mayor Bradley."

Seems to make sense to me, though I don't know much about Atlanta issues. What also makes sense to me is that you DON'T take one man's name off of something to replace it with another man's name. Talk about divisive, not to mention disrespectful -- both to the person and the people who honored him in the first place.

[from occupied ga]

Thanx - I posted similar sentiments when he first went to his reward, and was criticized by some of the (presumably) black contingent for speaking without hypocrisy. They need to get over what color he was and examine what he actually did. The man was an enemy to freedom (the gun control thing) and a crook who slimed his way into diverting airport revenues into his own coffers. I understand that he also got a good fraction of the city bond business without competitive bid via the good buddy network.

[Between the Lines]

I think the name of the city of Atlanta is itself offensive to black people. While espousing itself as the capitol of the "New South" the very name Atlanta brings up images of white owned plantations and black slavery. Atlanta was founded in slavery and built on the backs of slaves. Not to mention the eradication of the Cherokee from the area so that the tribal lands could be given to white men to build these great plantations. The name Atlanta has been tainted forever and should forever be abolished. I propose that it should be renamed after our greatest president and the first black president of the US and be called Clintonia. < /sarcasm >