I have sold shirts, hats, jerseys and snacks to excited, loyal Braves fans for more than 20 years. Thanks to street vending, I own my own business, have created jobs, and have bought a home in which I’ve raised my children and grandchildren. The city must not want that. It has made operating my business a crime.
Last month, Mayor Kasim Reed ordered Atlanta police to shut down street vendors, threatening us with fines and even jail time for doing what we’ve done for years. Police even arrested a vendor over the Final Four weekend for selling hot dogs to hungry tourists. Rather than let vendors serve the thousands of commuters who travel into Atlanta each day, or the almost 2.5 million baseball fans who will visit Turner Field this season, the city now threatens to destroy the self-made jobs that we rely on.
This isn’t the first time Atlanta officials have tried to wipe us out. In 2009, the city handed over street vending to one out-of-state company. We vendors were given a “choice”: Shut down altogether, or rent tiny kiosks for up to $20,000 a year and sell only what the company wanted us to sell. About 16 independent businesses closed forever, costing dozens of people their jobs.
To defend my right to economic liberty, I teamed up with the Institute for Justice to sue the city. In December, we won when a judge struck down this arrangement. Our struggle should have ended then, but Reed and the City Council are now punishing us for defending our rights by refusing to renew our vending permits.
The city is bizarrely claiming that our victory in December requires this crackdown. The court said only that the city could not turn over all street vending to one company, not that the city had to shut down street vending. In fact, the court’s order specifically told the city that its ruling was “limited to any decision made pursuant to [the parts of the law authorizing the monopoly] and the city may continue its other licensing and regulatory operations.”
The city is perfectly free to let street vendors operate. Atlanta officials shouldn’t continue to claim otherwise. The city could stop its crackdown immediately if it wanted to. Instead, it has decided to harass us and throw us out of business.
Strong-arm tactics like these are why I and my fellow vendors started the Atlanta Vendors Association to stand up for our rights. Civil rights groups like the NAACP, National Action Network, and Institute for Justice are standing by our side. Vendors have a right to pursue the American Dream. Through hard work, we create jobs that help families escape poverty, satisfy thousands of customers every day, and make Atlanta a better place to live and work. City officials need to respect what we do for our communities and let us get back to work.
I am not a criminal. I am not asking for a handout. All I ask is that Atlanta let me run my business in peace.
Larry Miller is president of the Atlanta Vendors Association.
