By Lashley John
The new Mayor of Atlanta was sworn in at Georgia Tech’s “Bobby Dobb Stadium” on January 3, 2022.
Due to the current pandemic, a large turnout was not encouraged. It was also an extremely cold day
in the city. Everyone kept their remarks short in order to swiftly move the program on and get people out of the cold. So, the event flowed smoothly and with its intended timeliness.
Previous mayors who were present at the event was Kasim Reed, Shirley Franklin and Keisha Lance Bottoms.
In his acceptance speech, the new mayor Andre Dickens stated that his path to victory was following the
trail of the Black Mayors before him. Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, Bill Campbell, Shirley Franklin, Kasim Reed, and Keisha Lance Bottom. He outlined key achievements of every one of the prior mayors and showed how they helped to move the City of Atlanta forward.
He promised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and stated that Atlanta and Buckhead are stronger as one city and would work toward keeping them together. In encouraging businesses to move to Atlanta, the New Mayor stated the he is also asking them to employ people from the city and not bring in employees from other states; as Atlanta have many strong HBCU’s and a well-educated labor force.
On Saturday night there were a “Community Thank You” event at the “Pullman Yard.” The event reflected the current state that we’re in with COVID testing and COVID restrictions in place. The “Wolf Pack” band was the musical act. They performed a few songs that they have written specifically for the new mayor.
A new cycle has begun in the City of Atlanta.
Last updated on January 6, 2022