During the 1960s, she ruled the Atlanta Real Estate market in the African-American community. Lottie Watkins grew up in Atlanta, graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, and graduated from Reid’s School of Business.
She worked as a secretary for the Alexander-Calloway Realty Company and as a teller at the Mutual Federal Savings and Loan Association before starting her own business.
As the founder of Lottie Watkins Enterprises, Watkins became the first Black female licensed real estate broker in Atlanta. Her business successfully dealt with rental properties and brokered many real estate sales for countless homebuyers throughout Atlanta.
She was involved in the voting rights campaign and actively participated in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1977, Watkins was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where she served from 1977 to 1980.
Lottie Watkins, who passed away in 2017, was a phenomenal woman and left an indelible mark on the City of Atlanta. On September 26, 2023, Atlanta City Councilmember Michael Julian Bond, along with other city officials, including Mayor Andre Dickens, and a host of relatives and friends, expressed their love and respect for this Atlanta “giant” by honoring her with a historic street marker which is placed prominently in front of the “Lottie Watkins Building” on Ralph David Abernathy Drive, in southwest Atlanta.
