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Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, will deliver the keynote address for Washington and Lee University’s weeklong celebration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Bottoms’ talk will occur at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, in the Lenfest Center’s Keller Theatre. The talk is free and open to the public. However, tickets are required and can be reserved at https://wlulenfestcenter. universitytickets.com/w/ event.aspx?id=1461. Those unable to attend in person can also register online to experience the keynote address via Zoom at https:// wlu.zoom.us/webinar/register/ WN_6792TTNmS_ KC D1 n 1T Q T 2 4 Q # / registration.
Considered a visionary leader in bringing equitable outcomes to the forefront of government and commerce, Bottoms was sworn in as the 60th mayor of Atlanta on Jan. 2, 2018. Her four-year term occurred during one of the most challenging times in the city’s history, and she led her constituents through a global pandemic while also navigating a racial justice movement.
Bottoms led her administration to undertake numerous initiatives aimed at eradicating systemic issues facing the city, becoming a model for other cities to follow. These efforts included attracting nine Fortune 500 companies to establish global or regional headquarters in Atlanta, adding billions of dollars to the city’s economic output; revamping the city’s jail policies to prioritize rehabilitation; taking action against the federal government to ensure all federal agents were required to wear body cameras; adding affordable housing; financing city infrastructure projects; establishing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; increasing governmental transparency; establishing additional emergency and police services; and ensuring that Atlanta’s historical inequities were respectfully remembered.
Her leadership and equityfocused philosophy have led to numerous leadership positions, including senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. She also served as chair of the Community Development and Housing Committee, the Census Task Force for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and trustee for the African American Mayor’s Association. Furthermore, Bottoms was selected to chair the Platform Committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC), and she serves as the DNC’s vice chair of civic engagement and voter protection.
Bottoms was named the 2020 Georgian of the Year by Georgia Trend magazine. She was selected as one of Glamour magazine’s 2020 Women of the Year and was named to Ebony magazine’s prestigious Power 100 List for 2018.
An attorney by trade, Bottoms was raised in Atlanta and traces her family’s roots to a Georgian slave plantation. She received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida A&M University and later earned a juris doctor from the Georgia State University College of Law.
The university’s MLK Commemorative Planning Committee and The Class of 1994 Office of Inclusion and Engagement at Washington and Lee University were supported in offering this year’s events by the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, the Institute for Honor, Washington and Lee University School of Law, Student Activities, the History Department, the Division of Student Affairs and Virginia Military Institute’s Office of Diversity, Opportunity, & Inclusion.
