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Atlanta City Council president under fire over committee chair assignments
Two African-American members of the Atlanta City Council have accused the council president, who is white, of trying to "turn back the clock" when it comes to selecting Blacks for key legislative roles. The two, who have raised concerns, are Black women. Starting Tuesday they will no longer chair council committees.
ATLANTA - A political uproar has erupted over leadership positions inside the Atlanta City Council.
President Doug Shipman, who is white, decided to remove two Black women from chairing two of the seven committees.
The council committees consider and shape the local laws that Atlanta residents abide by.
The two members, Andrea Boone and Marci Collier Overstreet, went public with their opposition to the Shipman decision.
They jointly paid the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for space and wrote an opinion piece.
Both spoke to FOX 5 and criticized the council president for putting "Black women in a backseat" when it comes to playing a leadership role at City Hall.
They say Shipman interrupted a four-decade legacy in which at least one Black woman had been either a chair of a council panel, a president of council, or the mayor.
Shirley Franklin served two terms as CEO of the city.
Mr. Shipman told FOX 5 he did not intend to slight the two women.
He said he will rotate the chairman seats "to give members different experiences".
The council president said the idea that he has "disenfranchised Black women" is false.
Shipman notes he has other appointments to make outside of the council committees.
Women of color have been tapped for some of those positions.