The man sitting across from Gavin Newsomon Sunday night at the Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech. A Master of Public Administration from Georgia State University. An honorary doctorate from the Interdenominational Theological Center. He was the first in his family to attend college, the first Black alumnus elected mayor of Atlanta, and was named Georgian of the Year in 2025.
That man — Mayor Andre Dickens — was the one asking the questions when Newsom leaned forward and said, “I’m not trying to impress you. I’m just trying to impress upon you, I’m like you. I’m no better than you. I’m a 960 SAT guy.”
The clip has now been viewed over 54 million times. It launched a 48-hour firestorm over whether Newsom was being racist, tone-deaf, or simply misunderstood. But before any of that, there’s a simpler question nobody seems to be asking: Who was he talking to?…