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If Black people can't be a priority in a city that is 90 percent Black, then where in America can we be a priority?
-Councilman khalid America's first #BlackLivesMatter organizer elected to public office — featured by CBS, The Nation, Jacobin, Governing Magazine and other national media — Councilman khalid (pronounced cuh-LEED) is leading a generation of young activists from protests to politics in South Fulton, GA: Atlanta's new twin city & the Blackest City in America. He is the first member of South Fulton's City Council born & raised South Fulton, Georgia. With a population that is 90 percent African American, South Fulton, Georgia is now the blackest big city in America. khalid is a mission to make America's Blackest City Black. On Purupose — which means a city that is not just unapologetic about its demographics, but moving on purpose to be a laboratory for economic, housing and restorative justice policies aimed at improving the lives of African Americans. His vision is to build a real-life Wakanda that empowers its citizens' success like legendary African-American cities of Greenwood (Tulsa), Oklahoma or Rosewood, Florida. |
One of the first events khalid organized as a co-convener of Atlanta's #BlackLivesMatter chapter was an intergenerational dialogue with 1960 Civil Rights Leaders, including Congressman John Lewis
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Raised on Old National Highway, khalid attended the original Old National Christian Academy (on the grounds of what is now World Changer's Ministries), Love T. Nolan Elementary and Ronald E. McNair Middle schools. His father, an accountant for Atlanta Workforce Development, and mother, manager of Grady's Bankhead clinic, instilled in him Christ's teaching that "whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me." His lower-cased name comes from the Yoruba tradition, where the community is emphasized over the individual. Many people stumble over his Yoruba last name — pronounced cuh-MAH-oo — so citizens simply refer to him as "Councilman khalid."
After college, khalid spent his early adulthood working as a Financial Analyst and Operations Manager for non-profit agencies in New York, Los Angeles & Atlanta, including Harlem United, Girls Prep Charter Schools, Morehouse College and the Black AIDS Institute before attending John Marshall Law School in Atlanta.
khalid first became involved in City government through Maynard Jackson's Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) system. In 2005, under the tutelage of the inimitable Peggy Harper, he organized renters in Atlanta's rapidly gentrifying Mechanicsville neighborhood.  Atlanta Activists Shut Down KKK Rally at Stone Mountain Park
"When there’s a call to action on issues of social justice, some people stand silent while others lead. One such person who is ready to act is khalid."
-RollingOut.com |
What is in a Name?The Origin of Councilman khalid's unique name.
By middle school, khalid — a voracious reader since birth — began studying African History from the books in my father’s library. At 16, khalid asked his parents' permission to take African name as a way of reclaiming their family's African heritage & culture. His quick-witted mother responded: “When you turn 18 you can do anything you want.” So when he turned 18 during his first year at college, khalid went down the courthouse — and with the help of a friendly clerk in Fulton County's legal library — changed his name. He selected khalid, the name of a prince who united the Arabian peninsula and defeated European invaders during the Crusades. khalid means “Eternal.” kamau, his last name, is common Yoruba first name meaning, “Quiet Warrior.” It is all lower-cased in accordance with a Yoruba spiritual tradition that prioritizes the Community over the individual. For khalid, that a child activist would one day become an "Eternal Quiet Warrior" prioritizing Community over individuals would grow up in — and one day become the Councilman of — the heart of the largest commercial district of the Blackest City in America is evidence of the divine providence of God. |
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When the economy took a downturn, khalid took a series of blue-collar jobs, working as bus driver for MARTA, and an AT&T Wire Tech, installing & repairing service in every weather condition. These jobs gave him first-hand experience with organized labor and unions fighting to hold on to living wages and employee benefits that are vanishing due to corporate greed. khalid's personal experience with America's — and Atlanta's — shrinking middle class, increased his compassion for working class families.
In fact, it was his experience fighting the outsourcing of MARTA's Mobility Service workers that lead khalid into politics full time; first as labor activist with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), then as a volunteer with the Bernie Sanders campaign, the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. An activist with prophetic vision to pursue progressive policies ' in the streets & the suites,' khalid enrolled and graduated from Fulton County Citizens University, while being an active member of Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs) V (Mechanichsville), where he organized a neighborhood watch program; and NPUs P (Camp Creek) & L (Vine City), where he participated in Economic Development negotiations around the new Mercedes-Benz arena. |
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Click Picture to Read New York Times Article
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khalid with Senator Bernie Sanders & President Jimmy Carter at Carter Center's Human Rights Forum
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Click Picture above to Listen to The Nation Magazine Interview
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Councilman khalid Remembers Congressman John Lewis in CBS Tribute
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Days before his death, Congressman John Lewis penned a letter, published in the New York Times, in support of the Movement for Black Lives. This week Councilman khalid joined Oprah, Tyler Perry, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Trevor Noah and more to remember the legacy of John Lewis and discuss his marching orders for the next generation.
The one-hour special is currently re-airing on BET and OWN. Check your local listings or click the link below to watch on CBS All Access On Demand. |
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khalid helped organize the Atlanta chapter of #BlackLivesMatter and served as a Field Organizer for the Georgia House Democratic Caucus. In 2016, he was elected as an At-Large Delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
In his first three years in office, Councilman khalid authored legislation to make Election Day a full, paid Holiday — making South Fulton the first city in the South, and one of the first in the nation to do so. He created an annual, companion event called the Electoral College to teach citizens how local & state government works. He then led South Fulton to create a second, Paid City Holiday for Juneteenth. A self-declared "Sewer Socialist," khalid created a Blighted Property Fund to demolished blighted & abandoned properties left standing for decades by county government, and sponsored legislation to secure $500,000 in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for affordable housing. He also co-sponsored and supported legislation to raise the city's minimum wage to $15/hr., decriminalize marijuana for less than an ounce, "ban the box" asking applicants for city jobs about their previous criminal history and eliminate Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous People's Day, and for 8 Can't Wait. |
khalid & Dr. Cornel West at 2016 DNC Platform Meeting
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A college-educated, community activist with a career in nonprofit management and experience in blue-collar jobs; a Southern, Black, Christian Socialist — Councilman khalid brings a unique blend of professionalism, passion and authenticity to government to build a table big enough for everyone to have a seat.
Help Councilman khalid make America's Blackest City Black On Purpose.