“Maynard was a trailblazer and Action Jackson is what they called him,” — Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation
When discussing Georgia civil rights leaders, Maynard Jackson Jr. stands out among the many. He was Atlanta’s first African American mayor. He’s an International Civil Rights Walk of Fame inductee. Most Atlanta residents will recognize his name from one place in particular, the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
“Jackson is best known for improving opportunities for African Americans to do business with the City of Atlanta,” the National Park Service reported. Jackson was integral to the expansion of the airport, which is why its name was changed from Hartsfield to Hartsfield-Jackson. Aiding the airport was just one piece of Jackson legacy, however.
Born in Dallas, Texas on March 23, 1938, Jackson group up in a religious home. His father was a Baptist minister, and his mother was a professor of French. By 1956, the civil rights leader had completed his studies at Morehouse College — having earned a B.A. in political science.
After earning a law degree in 1964 at North Carolina Central University School of Law, Jackson found work as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Atlanta. From there, he set his sights on politics.
African American contracts with the City of Atlanta increased from less than 1% to 35% under Jackson’s mayoral leadership. The Atlanta mayor also reformed the local police department. In 1992, he founded the Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation “to give Atlanta’s youth a place to grow and a place to learn to lead.”
Later Jackson’s Atlanta firm, Jackson Securities, earned a reputation as one of the top Black investment companies.
By 2001, the civil rights leader had founded the African American Voters League and worked to help elect Atlanta’s first female mayor. He passed away just two years later, but his legacy lives on.
