Airport Name to Honor Black Atlanta Mayor
Atlanta’s airport will be renamed to honor the city’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson.
The City Council voted, 12-2, Monday to name the sprawling complex Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Jackson’s widow, Valerie, told reporters, “This proves that Atlanta is living by the philosophy of inclusion.”
The effort to add Jackson’s name to the airport began almost immediately after his death in June. He was 65.
The hyphenated title was hailed as a way to remember Jackson while still honoring former mayor William B. Hartsfield, who directed the building of Atlanta’s airport in the 1920s.
Family members of both men shook hands after the vote. Jackson’s family originally wanted the name changed entirely, while Hartsfield’s at first opposed the hyphenation.
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