Jackson, Maynard, 1938-2003

Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. (March 23, 1938 – June 23, 2003) was an American politician and attorney from Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in 1973 at the age of 35 as the first black mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. Served three terms from 1974 to 1982 and 1990 to 1994, he is the second longest-serving mayor of Atlanta after six-term mayor William B. Hartsfield.

Born in Dallas, Texas, he attended David T. Howard High School in Atlanta and Morehouse College, a historically black college for men in Atlanta, graduating in 1956 at the age of eighteen. After attending the Boston University Law School for a short time, Jackson held several jobs, including selling encyclopedias. He returned to graduate studies, attending the North Carolina Central University Law School. He graduated with a law degree in 1964. After work with the National Labor Relations Board and a neighborhood law office, 30-year-old Jackson mounted an underfunded populist challenge to veteran Georgia segregationist Senator Herman Talmadge in 1968. Despite the odds against him, and the conservative racial climate in the state, he surprised many political observers by winning 200,000 votes, one third of the total vote, and garnering the support of many white small farmers. He also ran well in Atlanta, reflecting the growing influence of African American voters.

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