Icon City Endorses Khalid Kamau
Atlanta, Georgia: South Fulton councilman Khalid Kamau is running for Mayor of South Fulton. The long term community activist made history in 2017 when he became the first #BlackLivesMatter organizer to win elected office. Now he’s on a mission to further elevate one of Georgia’s newest municipalities as their lead executive.
South Fulton deserves a shout out for being an example of how municipal laws can be used by people at a grassroots level to gain greater control of their local communities. The 90% black city just south of ATL was fully incorporated in 2017, and 8 black women run its court system. On an editorial note, we'd hope to see cities like South Fulton pop up across the country! The potential benefits are countless, but we'll remind everyone that community policing effectively reduces inequality in law enforcement. Still, councilman Kamau wants us to know that this new level of independence comes with some growing pains.
Atlanta City Councilman Receives Food Stamps
A few years back, after receiving a utility disconnect notice, South Fulton, GA city council member Khalid Kamau took to social media to raise awareness on economic disparities across the country.
As part of a wave of what he describes as "elected activists,"; Kamau and other working-class politicians don't automatically have the same family fortunes or corporate connections as their predecessors. This can be a problem when some municipalities (cities and towns) cannot provide living wages.
Despite the financial hardships, Khalid Kamau didn't stop advocating for his constituents. We had an opportunity to link up with him at last year's Gentlemen's Ball, which got us thinking about compiling a list of LGBT, minority, and women voter's called the #FunnyMoneyVote Top 20. We'd love to get your input on who you think should be included. Comment below.
Kamau laid out several initiatives during his socially distanced announcement yesterday.
