Downtown Atlanta condo owner Tracie Howard says thieves have tried to break into her car twice in the past four months.
Howard, a novelist, is worried about crime in her native city and is looking to the mayoral candidates for solutions.
“It’s not the city I knew growing up,” Howard said Thursday, waiting to have her hair washed and styled at Like the River Salon in Inman Park. “[Atlanta’s] not like the wild, wild west yet, but it’s getting that way.”
Like many African-American women, Howard is still trying to decide which candidate she’ll support Nov. 3. African-American women make up nearly 30 percent of the city’s registered voters, according to Fulton County election data, more than any other demographic group.
In 2001, Shirley Franklin rode a wave of support from African-American women to be elected mayor, becoming the first black woman to lead a major Southern city.
This year, African-American women do not appear to be galvanized behind one candidate. In interviews, they say neither race nor gender will be a factor in their vote, though there are two black women campaigning for mayor.
The leading black female candidate, City Council President Lisa Borders, says she’s heeding advice from African-American women to improve Atlanta’s finances to fund more police officers.
Write-in candidate Tiffany Brown, who has degrees from Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College, says she will rotate employees in the city department that awards contracts every two years to prevent cronyism and to give black women a better chance at getting contracts.
The salon’s customers said they want to feel safer, they want programs to keep their children safe, and they want economic development across the city.
West End resident Natasha Jones, 34, said she is considering Borders or Councilwoman Mary Norwood. Jones works at Clark Atlanta, and the recent killing of a Spelman student in the area has her worried about crime.
Sandra Gill, 55, sitting under a dryer, said she is urging her 80-year-old mother to vote for former state Sen. Kasim Reed. She likes his talk on crime and plans to reopen recreation centers.
“I’m very concerned about my mother’s safety and well-being,” said Gill, whose mother lives in East Atlanta.
The candidates have stumped for African-American women, but it’s not like the targeted outreach of the 2001 Franklin campaign, which included a fund-raiser headlined by acclaimed poet Maya Angelou.
“In the end, [targeting African-American women] helped us out a lot,” said Verna Cleveland, who was Franklin’s finance director.
Franklin cannot run this year. She hasn’t announced what candidate she supports.
Last Tuesday, Reed held a fund-raising luncheon that drew about 200 women to the Georgia Freight Depot. Nearly all of them were black. The crowd included several state lawmakers, Shaw University President Dorothy Yancy and former Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett.
Reed, who was Franklin’s campaign manager, reminded the crowd of that work.
“When the time came to elect a female mayor, I answered the call,” he said.
Howard said several older African-American women have told her they’re supporting Norwood because she’s been visible in their neighborhoods through her eight years on the council. They are women like Rosel Fann, whose name adorns a recreation center in southeast Atlanta.
“[Norwood] didn’t get lost,” said Fann, 76. “She was calling to see if there’s anything you need. I wasn’t used to that.”
Cascade area resident Martha Williams said she’s supporting candidate Jesse Spikes because she likes the former Rhodes Scholar’s credentials.
“He seems very introspective and thoughtful,” said Williams, 59, customer service director for AirTran Airways.
Jodi Merriday, a senior adviser to Reed’s campaign, said she’s with the candidate because of his plans to open recreation centers and reduce gang violence.
“[African-American women] live in the communities with the highest crime rates,” she said. “We live in the communities that are most disadvantaged.”
Back at Like the River, Howard said she has studied the candidates’ platforms. She said she’s leaning toward Borders, saying she likes her judgment and stability. It’s a difficult choice.
“It’s very tough,” Howard said. “At the end of the day, the best you can do is take the relationships out of it and look at who’s best for the city.”
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He currently writes about higher education and has assisted in the newsroom’s COVID-19 vaccine coverage. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
