And Maynard Jackson became the first black mayor, and I felt a whole change in the tone of the city.

CNN: Commentary: Obama, Cosby, King and the mountaintop

As mayor of Atlanta from 1974 to 1981, a determined Maynard Jackson invested the city's money in black-controlled banks and opened construction projects to black contractors.

CNN: From Protest To Politics

She has never been elected to public office, but she is very much part of the city's political upper class, having worked for two mayors, Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young.

ECONOMIST: The race to take over from Bill Campbell