Shirley Franklin

Shirley Franklin served as mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 to 2010. She was the first African American woman to be elected mayor of a major Southern city.

Franklin was born May 10, 1945, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor of arts in sociology from Howard University and her master of arts in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1978, Franklin served as the commissioner of cultural affairs under Mayor Maynard Jackson. Under the leadership of Mayor Andrew Young, she was later appointed as the nation's first woman chief administrative officer, or city manager. In 1991, Franklin joined the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as the top ranking female executive, serving as the senior vice-president for external relations. In 1997, she formed Shirley Clarke Franklin & Associates, a management and consulting firm for public affairs, community affairs and strategic planning and in 1998, became a majority partner in Urban Environmental Solutions, LLC.

During her first term as mayor, Franklin was named one of the five best big city mayors in the U.S. by TIME magazine, alongside Richard Daley and Michael Bloomberg. In 2005, she was nominated for the World Mayor Award.

Sources:

NPS (n.d.). “Shirley Franklin” NPS. Retrieved November 7, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/Shirley_Franklin.htm