Atlanta mayor says she received racist text demanding she re-open city amid COVID-19
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she was the target of a racist text message demanding she lift stay-at-home orders for the city amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Bottoms shared a screenshot of the message to Twitter late Wednesday. It read: “N----r, just shut up and RE-OPEN ATLANTA.”
The mayor said she was with one of her children when the message appeared on her phone from an unknown sender.
“With my daughter looking over my shoulder, I received this message on my phone. I pray for you,” she tweeted, finishing with a quote from civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. that read: “Conscientious stupidity or sincere ignorance.”
Bottoms has expressed reluctance to re-opening the City of Atlanta and recently criticized Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s plans to ease shelter-in-place orders across the Peach State. On Monday, Kemp announced that certain businesses would be allowed to re-open come Friday, including gyms, nail shops, hair salons, bowling alleys, massage parlors and others.
“According to the Department of Public Health, reports of emergency room visits for flu-like illnesses are declining, documented COVID-19 cases have flattened and appear to be declining, and we have seen declining emergency room visits in general,” he said in a statement this week.
As of Thursday, Georgia had more than 21,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 4,000 people hospitalized and 872 deaths, the latest state Department of Public Health data shows. Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, topped the list of total coronavirus cases with nearly 2,300 infections and 86 deaths, according to the data.
Bottoms, who issued lockdown orders for the city on March 23, said she was blindsided by Kemp’s decision to reopen Georgia.
“I have a great working relationship with our governor, but I didn’t speak with him before he made this announcement,” she told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Tuesday, saying Kemp’s decision “concerns her.”
“We’re really at a loss, and I am concerned as a mother and as mayor of our capital city,” Bottoms told CNN. “I’m perplexed that we have opened up in this way. ... I look forward to having a better understanding of what his reasoning is. But as I look at the data, and as I talk with our pubic health officials, I don’t see that it’s based on anything that’s logical.”
News of the racist text prompted plenty of reactions online, with many users offering words of support for the mayor.
“’I’m so sorry for this hatred and malevolence. But I’m grateful that your leadership is saving lives,” wrote Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress.
“Racism will always cut off its nose to spite its face,” another supporter chimed in. “Thank you for being vocal and wise. Georgia needs your voice to combat the overwhelming ignorance running the show.”
On Monday, Bottoms announced the creation of a special advisory council who will weigh in on steps that should be taken before the city’s stay-at-home order is officially lifted.
“Reopening the city must be executed in a cautious manner that is best suited for Atlanta,” the mayor said in a press release. “The Advisory Council will provide the necessary input and buy-in from Atlanta stakeholders to outline a safe and thoughtful framework to get our economy back on track without endangering public health.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment from McClatchy News on Thursday morning.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Atlanta mayor says she received racist text demanding she re-open city amid COVID-19."