Atlanta's 1st Black First Lady Bunnie Jackson-Ransom laid to rest
Bunnie Jackson-Ransom
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, a woman who made history as the first Black "First Lady" of Atlanta, was laid to rest Monday after her loved ones held a private funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
When the news broke that Jackson-Ransom passed on Feb. 2, city officials poured in their condolences.
"The City of Atlanta is sending prayers of comfort and peace to the family of Bunnie Jackson-Ransom. The former wife of Mayor Maynard Jackson was an incredible force of her own," said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
"Bunnie" was an endearing nickname for Burnella Hayes. The Atlanta businesswoman was born in Louisburg, North Carolina in 1940. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business and a minor in education from North Carolina College. She pursued a master's degree in business from North Carolina Central University School of Business and Economics. Before completing it in 1969, she met up-and-coming politician, Maynard H. Jackson Jr. They were married by 1965. With both of her degrees in hand, she and Maynard broke Atlanta's political color barrier. They became Atlanta's first Black mayor and first lady in 1973.
"She was a trailblazer in whatever venture in which she pursued. Intellectual, gracious, and everlastingly beautiful," Atlanta City Council member Michael Julian Bond wrote in a statement.
After the two divorced in 1976, Bunnie went on to become one of Atlanta's most influential businesswomen and community leaders.
She was successful in public relations and marketing. She was a music executive, an educator and an author. Even in her passing, loved ones still consider her a mentor and inspiration to young entrepreneurs throughout the country.
Family and friends turned Bunnie's funeral Monday into a celebration of her 82 full years of life.
"Good night, sweet princess, and may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest," Bond wrote at the end of his statement.
FOX 5 Atlanta has a full biography on the pioneer here.