AJC Sepia
AJC Sepia

Aug. 28, 2008: A coronation and family time for Shirley Franklin

Shirley Franklin at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights: “All of a sudden, I realized that you just had to be black to be lynched.” HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Credit: Hyosub Shin

Credit: Hyosub Shin

Shirley Franklin at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights: “All of a sudden, I realized that you just had to be black to be lynched.” HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
By
Updated Aug 28, 2017

Aug. 28 has somehow become a family affair for former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

In 1955, her mother sat her down at the dinner table and talked to her about Emmett Till. In 1963, her mother and two aunts took her to the March on Washington.

In 2008, her son Cabral insisted that the family go with her to the Democratic National Convention, which she was co-chairing.

It was important to Cabral – who died in 2015 -- to have the whole family together, Franklin said. And it was important for America, as Barack Obama became the first black man in this country's history to accept a major party nomination for president. 

“I went to the March with my family and I was at the Barack Obama nomination with my family,” Franklin said. “So in a way, they have been family affairs. Important ways for my family to come together.”

ExploreRead the full story behind Aug. 28 and its impact on America on myajc.com.

About the Author

Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.

Follow Ernie Suggs on facebookFollow Ernie Suggs on twitter
More Stories

Featured

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Credit: AP

Senate GOP passes budget bill Democrats describe as ‘a catastrophe’

Republicans in the U.S. Senate have passed the “big, beautiful bill” championed by President Donald Trump, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote.

State Farm Arena top 5 globally in box office — behind only Sphere, MSG in U.S.

State Farm Arena brought in about $76.2 million across 60 events.

At a store that never closes, an armed comedian keeps the midnight watch

At JJ Food Mart on the west side of Atlanta, an armed comedian keeps the midnight watch. If you misbehave, Connell Daniels Jr. might put you on Instagram.