By Laura Moody, Founding Partner – Purpose Possible, CVC Atlanta Communications Co-Chair
On a chilly fall morning, intrepid members of CVC Atlanta braved the mist to attend “RIP (Rest in Philanthropy): A Tour of Historic Changemakers of Oakland Cemetery. This special tour, guided by Oakland employees Erica Glasener, Garden Volunteer Manager, and Abra Lee, Director of Horticulture, highlighted the legacy of social impact and civic activism in Atlanta. Some notable ‘residents’, as Oakland refers to the interred, include:
Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. (1911-2003) and Louise Richardson Allen (1917-2008) were a true power couple. Allen served two terms as Atlanta’s mayor during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He worked with community leaders to end segregation in Atlanta and was the only white southern elected official to endorse the bill that became the Civil Rights Act. Louise was a prominent philanthropist who played a key role in the creation of the Atlanta History Center. She was also a founding member of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and the Historic Oakland Foundation.
Nellie Peters Black (1851-1919) devoted her life to the causes she passionately supported. She advocated for free kindergartens, free hospitals, compulsory education, enforcement of child labor laws, and the admission of women to the Georgia Bar and the University of Georgia.
Mayor Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. (1938-2003) became Atlanta’s first African American mayor in 1974. During three terms, he was instrumental in bringing the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta and expanding the airport – especially the international terminal, which was named after him. Jackson raised the profile of Atlanta’s arts scene through initiatives creating the Atlanta Jazz Festival, leveraging vacant school buildings for arts organizations, and funding the Neighborhood Arts Center. His administration supported local artists and fostered a vibrant creative community through grants, festivals, and the establishment of a cultural affairs office for the City.
Rhoda Kaufman (1888-1956) was the executive secretary of the Georgia Board of Public Welfare and became an outspoken advocate for social reform. Despite anti-semitic and defamatory letters from the Ku Klux Klan, she continued to fight for social change. In 1932, Kaufman was invited by President Herbert Hoover to speak at the National Conference of Social Works.
Carrie Steele Logan (1829-1900). Logan’s epitaph reads, “The Mother of Orphans. She hath done what she could.” In 1888, this formerly enslaved woman was a resourceful, enterprising, and compassionate woman who used her $100 a month salary as a stewardess for the Central Railroad to become one of the first black landowners in Atlanta. Then she founded the first African American Orphanage in Atlanta, an institution that has endured for more than a century, providing a home for more than 20,000 children.
Reflecting on these (and many other) remarkable Oakland residents, the CVC members agreed that Atlanta’s history is not just carved in granite; it’s a living, breathing testament to leaders who did the hard, essential work. The legacy of leadership in Atlanta isn’t reserved for elected officials or those with prominent titles; it belongs to the volunteers, mentors, advocates, and philanthropists of every giving capacity investing in a sustainable future. As local response to the changes in federal funding and the current government shutdown becomes ever more vital, the baton of civic duty has passed directly to us. Atlanta’s greatest leaders, from Ivan Allen, Jr. to Carrie Steele Logan, answered the call when their city and neighbors needed them most. CVC Atlanta members are already discussing how their companies and employees might be part of the solution. Will your story be shared 100 years from now as one of the people who stepped up when your community’s future depended on local resolve? Our history is being written in real-time, and this is your moment to lead.
