Maynard Jackson

Personal

Vocation

American lawyer and politician, he served as the Mayor of Atlanta, GA. Elected to the city leadership position in 1973, Jackson became the first African-American in the US to be elected to head a major southern city. He served for eight years and then was elected again in 1990. Born in Texas to a minister father and a professor mother, he and his family moved to Atlanta when Maynard was young.His parents advocated for equality for African-Americans and his mother became the first Black woman to hold a library card from the City of Atlanta. Maynard was awarded his law degree in 1964 ultimately becoming quite influential as a labor relations and activist lawyer. In 1965 he married Burnella Hayes and the couple had three children. The couple divorced in 1976; a year later, Jackson re-married, this time to Valerie Richardson, with whom he had two children. In 1968 he made his first attempt to win a political election, this time for state senate. While he was unsuccessful, he made a name for himself. The following year he was elected vice-mayor and in 1973 became Mayor for two terms. Prohibited by law from serving a third consecutive term, he stepped down but was re-elected in 1990. In 1992 he underwent heart surgery and health problems led him to the decision not to run again. In 1994 he opened a securities law firm. Jackson suffered a fatal heart attack and died in Washington, DC on June 23, 2003. Link to Wikipedia biography