ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Hundreds of the nation’s Black mayors are in Atlanta this week for the annual conference of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA).
Atlanta was deliberately selected for the event as the 10th annual conference coincides with the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. Jackson, the city’s first Black mayor, was also, at the time, the first Black mayor in a major southern city.
Now, AAMA boasts over 500 members, overseeing cities with populations as small as classrooms to Mayor Eric Adams of New York City.
“I always say that mayors lead at the most granular level of government,” said president of AMMA Mayor Shawyn Patterson Howard of Mount Vernon, New York. “Our jobs are 24 hours, seven days a week. They really, really are. But we do it because we love our communities. We believe in the future of our …