It’s likely that only some of the roughly 300,000 people a day who pass through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal are familiar with Jackson’s story.
But the former Atlanta mayor’s persistence and political savvy combined into a legacy that is literally built into the airport itself.
That’s because the construction of the domestic terminal — completed in 1980, along with scores of airport projects in the decades since — have involved Black-owned, female-owned and other minority-owned companies that previously never had such a chance. White contractors historically received 99% of the work before, Jackson created a plan for woman and minority-owned firms to get 25% of the work.
Jackson encouraged collaboration between white and Black-owned companies, through joint ventures and partnerships for airport contracts with minority participation. Among the Black-owned businesses in Atlanta that played key roles in the new airport terminal were H.J. Russell, a construction firm, and Paschal’s, a food service firm that was a joint venture partner for concessions in the terminal. Both businesses have grown significantly in the decades since.