Here Is How Black Girl Magic & Hip-Hop Helped Sway Atlanta’s Mayoral Race

Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was expected to lose Atlanta’s contentious mayoral race, narrowly defeated a White opponent, who has called for a recount.

What do Ludacris, Common, Gabrielle Union, Will Packer, 21 Savage, Migos, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker all have in common?

No, they were not part of a line-up of the latest awards show. They were just some of the national voices who weighed in on the Atlanta mayoral run-off race on behalf of candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms.

As the days wound down to the December 5 contest, Black America went on high alert, worried It was in danger of losing the nation’s Black mecca–the only blue light of hope in the red state of Georgia.

Black folks in Atlanta have been here before. In 2009, current Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed faced a run-off race against the same candidate, Mary Norwood, the White affluent self-proclaimed independent candidate, who actually displayed strong leanings to the right.

And just like after her last loss, Norwood demanded a recount after Tuesday’s election, holding off the official declaration. Being a sore loser comes with the territory for the candidate who, this time, faced attacks charging her with being a secret Trump supporter; her campaign treasurer even openly supports 45.

Getting here wasn’t easy for 47-year-old Bottoms. The Atlanta native, who hails from the same high school named for Frederick Douglass as T.I., faced far more stumbling blocks Reed. The Florida A&M University alum and attorney waded through a sea of mayoral hopefuls that included 11 candidates–all Democrats, with the exception of Norwood. She won with 26 percent of the vote to Norwood’s 21 percent in the November primary to force a run-off.

Reed’s endorsement proved highly controversial for Bottoms. Norwood hammered away, charging massive corruption during Reed’s administration, citing a federal probe that has not directly implicated him, and claiming that Bottoms would be a continuation of the alleged bad behavior. Norwood also accused Reed’s predecessor, Atlanta’s first female mayor, Shirley Franklin, of corruption in 2009.

Reed’s aggressive–some even charged bullying–style didn’t help his cause. As a result, the Howard University alum won a lot of enemies during his tenure, including Franklin, a one-time ally.

Is Atlanta in Danger of Losing its ‘Black Mecca’ Status?’

So instead of an election about Bottoms and Norwood, Reed became the focal point. Emotions were so high that Reed’s main nemesis and outgoing city council president Ceasar Mitchell, who many thought would face Norwood, challenged him to a fist fight. In lieu of a brawl, however, Mitchell, whom Reed taunted at different points during the general campaign, didn’t sit out the endorsement phase of the election and crossed party lines to support Norwood.

Franklin, who declared Norwood incompetent in 2009, even crossed party lines to make a point. Citing ethics …

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