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October 16, 1981 Atlanta, Georgia Vol. XXV, No. 3 Atlanta’s Mayoral Race: Black Vs. White? by Valerie Peete Political Reporter One candidate is Black. The other is white. One candidate did well in Southwest. The other did well in Northeast. One candidate is liberal. The other candidate is mid-conservative. One candidate travels with a live band singing, “Ain’t No Stop ping Us Now”. The other can didate modestly shakes hands of prospective voters. It is rumored that one candidate paid AUC students$35 to work on election day while the other candidate did not. In the very end, one candidate will emerge on top, while the other will face the cold, harsh reality of defeat. Andrew Young vs. Sidney Marcus. Will the majority of the people split down the line - the Blacks following Andrew Young and the whites following Sidney Marcus? Can the people of Atlanta see behind the can didates’ exernal smiles and the pigmentation oftheirskin? Isthis a racial issue? Or, is this a political issue? At Young's headquarters, there are a substantial amount of whites working in support of Andrew Young, just as there are many Blacks handing out “Mar cus For Mayor” buttons and literature. However, one cannot ignore the fact that Andrew Young only received 7 percent of the white vote and that Sidney Marcus received equally minimal Black support. This in itself says something about the mayoral race. It will not be decided by issues and past accomplishments, but by how many blacks and whites get out and vote. It will not be decided by who is proven to be the best candidate for the job, but by how many people believe Marcus is the “Great White Hope”. There has never been a second Black mayor of any city and Andrew Young wants to make history.Is it wrong therefore for Black peo ple to support Young for this reason? And, is it right for the city to pretend it has no racial problem when indeed it does? Are we separately Black people and white people, or in some point in time do we come together? When it is over... when all the television and radio coverage has diminished, after all the signs and bill-boards have been stripped down and after the defeated candidate’s name fades into the limelight of yester day, will it be a Black victory, a white victory, or a people vic tory?