ATLANTA - Governor Perdue ordered flags on state buildings lowered to half-staff Wednesday for the death of former Governor Lester Maddox, but he faced criticism for not immediately doing the same for Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first black mayor.
The governor's office insisted they were just following protocol and meant no insult to Jackson.
But black officials, including current Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, complained that Jackson had been snubbed in favor of a segregationist.
Jackson died Monday of heart failure at the age of 65. He became the first black mayor of a major Southern city in 1974 and pioneered the use of affirmative action in government contracts.
Maddox, who was governor from 1967 to 1971, died early Wednesday of pneumonia. He was 87 and best remembered for his criticism of forced integration in the South.
Perdue decided yesterday that flags would be lowered for Jackson on Saturday, the day of his funeral. It is apparently the first time a former mayor of Atlanta has received the honor.
But a day later, when Maddox died, state flags were immediately lowered.
Governors have complete discretion about when to order flags to fly at half-staff. Perdue, the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction, had never issued a flag order until this week.
Former honorees include governors, former legislators and Georgia Supreme Court members. Nongovernment notables have also been honored, including popular columnist Lewis Grizzard in 1994 and the nine people killed in a 1999 Atlanta shooting spree by day trader Mark Barton. In most cases, the flags go to half-staff immediately and stay there until the person is buried.
Wednesday
July 16th, 2025
7:41AM
