Franklin leads Georgians in an inaugural celebration

Washington — Shirley Franklin was an 18-year-old freshman at Howard University here when she accompanied her mother to participate in Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington.

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RICK MCKAY/ Cox Washington Bureau

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, left, and former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young at the Democratic Party of Georgia Inaugural Champagne and Jazz Brunch in Washington Sunday.

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RICK MCKAY/ Cox Washington Bureau

Jane Kidd, left, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, right, welcome people to the Democratic Party of Georgia’s Inaugural Champagne and Jazz Brunch at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill.

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Sunday, on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and two days before the inauguration of the nation’s first black president, the mayor of Atlanta returned to the nation’s capital, leading a gathering of about 700 Georgians in a celebration of how far African-Americans — and the country — has come.

“It’s a world of difference in one lifetime,” Franklin, 63, said at an inauguration brunch sponsored by the Democratic Party of Georgia.

Sunday’s event was as much a nod toward the future as it was a reminder of the past.

“This may be the first inauguration that is a fulfillment of the Constitutional promise” of equality for all Americans, said Atlanta’s Andrew Young, the former congressman and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

In an interview, Young choked back tears as he spoke about how far the country has come since August 28, 1963, when his friend and mentor Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

“It’s not about Obama,” Young said. “It’s about America. It’s about how America will finally recognize a man for the content of his character and his intelligence and his dedication and his discipline — and ignore the color of his skin,” he said.

Held at a Hyatt hotel just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol, Sunday’s event was truly an all-Georgia affair. Attendees were entertained by members of the South Cobb High School Blue Eagle Band, which is marching in Tuesday’s inaugural parade, students from the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta and Atlanta jazz recording artist Kathleen Bertrand.

Along with biscuits and gravy and eggs and peppered bacon, attendees received special 8-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola with a seal commemorating the inauguration.

Jane Kidd, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said 500 people were originally expected at the $75-per-plate brunch, but that Sunday’s crowd swelled to more than 700.