Calling her “generational, historical and significant,” the National Center for Civil and Human Rights announced on Thursday that one of two new wings currently being constructed at the 10-year-old facility will be named after former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
“Our center honors the big names of the past: Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Nelson Mandela, the Freedom Riders,” said A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress and vice chair of the center’s board.
“We are now proud to announce that this fall, when we reopen, we will have another name among those icons. When we invite people to gather and learn at the NCCHR they will do so in the Shirley Clarke Franklin Pavilion.”
Franklin, who was standing on stage with Robinson for the announcement, appeared genuinely stunned before saying she was grateful and humbled.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
“You don’t do this work for recognition and all of you in this room have contributed to a better America, a better Atlanta and a better state,” Franklin said. “So, I am at a loss for words.”
Franklin, who was Atlanta’s first female mayor and the first Black woman to lead a Southern city, often tries to shy away from the recognition she talked about.
That didn’t stop the more than 600 people from packing into the Georgia Aquarium’s Oceans Ballroom for the NCCHR’s Power to Inspire Celebration in her honor.
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
In a room lined with Atlanta’s business, political, cultural and philanthropic elite, including another former mayor, Andrew Young, current mayor Andre Dickens stunned the crowd by announcing that the city and the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority would be donating $10 million to the center.
“I can’t come here empty-handed,” said Dickens, who counts Franklin as a political mentor. “This grant will help ensure that the National Center for Civil and Human Rights can continue its mission to inspire and empower future generations. We are honored to contribute to this legacy, and I hope that this donation will help propel the center into its next chapter.”
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
That next chapter will begin this fall, when the center reopens after a $56 million expansion.
A new, three-story west wing will be named after Arthur M. Blank, who had previously committed $15 million toward the center’s capital campaign.
The Shirley Clarke Franklin Pavilion, which will be the building’s one-story east wing, will have classrooms, and spaces for large-scale dinners, performances and conferences. The wing’s roof will accommodate a new ticketing experience and outdoor event space.
“Mayor Franklin’s extraordinary leadership includes her tireless efforts to create the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and continued service on our board of directors,” said Jill Savitt, the Center’s president. “It’s an incredible moment to honor her with the naming of the Pavilion just months before we open the expanded building, coming ever closer to fulfilling the vision for our organization that she set out roughly 20 years ago.”
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
It is a full circle moment.
Along with her short blonde hair, Franklin was known for wearing giant flowers on her lapel as a visual signal to soften her tough image when she served as mayor. At the dinner, a printed paper flower featuring her smiling image was displayed at each table setting.
If it was a metaphor, she got her flowers Thursday night in what has been a season of honoring her.
In February, the Atlanta City Council passed legislation to rename Westside Reservoir Park to Shirley Clarke Franklin Park. They also renamed a portion of Central Avenue SW to Shirley Clarke Franklin Boulevard.
Credit: BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
Credit: BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
Franklin, who was elected in 2001, has widely been credited as the driving force behind the creation of the center. She told a story of a meeting she had, right after she was elected, with Rev. Joseph Lowery and his wife, Evelyn Lowery. A week later, Young came and visited her.
During both meetings, the civil rights warriors told her the city needed a civil rights museum.
“Mrs. Lowery and Andy and others who got on board early knew that we needed a place to talk about, recognize, celebrate and argue about our history,” Franklin said. “We also knew that we needed a place where people could have dialogue, get to know each other and be inspired to take action. That is why it is a center instead of a museum.”
The existing $75 million, 42,000-square-foot center was built with private and public money, and sits in the heart of Atlanta’s growing tourist corridor alongside the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame and Centennial Olympic Park.
In 2006, Franklin orchestrated the $32 million purchase of what is now called the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. The collection of more than 10,000 papers and books, spanning from 1944 to 1968, were days away from being auctioned off and scattered.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
Now they serve as the centerpiece of the museum.
“Leading the acquisition of the Morehouse College Collection of Martin Luther King Jr. Papers … is an enduring part of Mayor Franklin’s legacy,” said Egbert Perry, who chair’s the center’s board. “She had the foresight to create a place where we can learn about the history of rights in America.”
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