Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, September 3, 2003
Tribute
THE MAROON TIGER
www.maroontiger.net
Page 11
Maroon Tiger says goodbye to 'Legendaiy Lion'
by Christian Nwachukwu, Jr
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CNN was turned off. My
computer had a blank word
document page and I did not
know if I would be able to fill it
that day. My cell phone, gripped
to keep it too from falling, echoed
the voice of Jeffrey Tate.
.In Reagan National.
Maynard is gone,” Tate said.
Not even two weeks earlier I
was in Atlanta. Organizing an
Atlanta based college newspaper
is difficult to do from North
Carolina. Jeffrey, who was the
acting SGA president this
summer, and I were invited to a
luncheon hosted by Daniel
Halpem, President and CEO of
Jackmont Hospitality, Inc. and D.
Yvonne Garret, Marketing
Manager for Jackmont. We
were told, “Mr. Jackson
is anxious to meet
you.” We hurried. We
parked. We ran. We
were late.
“He stayed as long
as he could,”
Jackson’s secretary
told us. “Maybe we
can arrange another
time.” Perhaps that
day Death stood still
for such a soul. It is
-no surprise, however,
that such a soul
could wait for no
one.
We have seen the
programs. The
“Celebration of the
Community Spirit”
done by his alma
mater, “Celebration
of the Life of
Maynard Holbrook
Jackson, Jr.” held in
his family’s honor by Coca-Cola,
the celebration held by Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, Inc. We have -
seen the video and the newspaper
tributes. The city still is awash
with the mandate that whatever is
done for Maynard, must be
done “big.” What can we
add to the chorus that
sang such tribute to
such a man? “We
must do something,”
was our steady answer.
I sat in the Alumni
Affairs boardroom and
poured over the
College’s file on its
‘Distinguished Son of
Morehouse.’ I was
awestruck.
Sometimes our
giants walk
amg
us as if on tiptoe—quiet and
unassuming. They become apart
of the landscape; their
accomplishments become the
substance of lore for us but
remain the standard for them.
And we foiget, occasionally, just
how very lucky we are.
When Jackson was elected the
first African-American mayor of
Atlanta in 1974, he tore through
City Hall and ripped the ‘White’
and ‘Colored Only’ signs down
one by one. When the white
establishment refused to promote
black leadership, Jackson
threatened to remove all the city’s
money from the white banks and
place it into black banks. Almost
overnight, blacks became
corporation vice-presidents. He
created the model for affirmative
action and the promotion of
African-American economic
interests that the nation’s mayors
still follow.
An iron will can make the
world pause and take notice. The
will of Maynard Jackson made
the world stand and salute.
There are those that cany
the world upon their
k \ shoulders and bear the
F i struggle for us all;
J J Jackson was one. He
' / was the torchbearer,
the visionary, and the
\ j protector of both
legacy and legend He
was Atlas and he
‘ never shrugged.
Because even giants
must finally rest, we
say good-bye and
thank you.
Illustration by Justin
Ford
THE LIFE OF MAYNARD JACKSON
March 23,1938: Maynard
Jackson is bom in Dallas, Texas
1945: Jackson family moves to
Atlanta when his father becomes
pastor of Friendship Baptist
Church
1956: Earns BA in political science
and history from Morehouse
College at age 18
1964: Receives JD cum laude
form North Carolina Central
University
1965: Returns to Atlanta as an
attorney for the National Labor
Relations Board
December 1965: Marries divorcee
Bumella "Bunnie" Hayes Burke and
has three children, Elizabeth
(Bunnie's daughter adopted by
Jackson), Brooke and Maynard III.
1967: Joins a public interest, low-
income legal service firm.
1968: First foray into politics with an
unsuccessful challenge to the U.S.
Senate seat held by Sen. Herman
Talmadge.
Jan. 5,1970: Sworn in as Atlanta's
first African-American vice mayor.
1973: Runs for mayor against the
incumbent, Sam Massell, and
wins with 59 percent of the vote.
Timeline continued on next page.