Maynard Jackson—Atlanta’s first Black mayor and a fierce champion of the arts — was a transformative figure in Jim Alexander’s life and career. After meeting at a Black politicians conference in Washington, D.C., which Alexander was documenting, Jackson invited Alexander to relocate to Atlanta in 1976 to teach at the Neighborhood Arts Center. That pivotal invitation launched a new chapter in Alexander’s career, placing him at the epicenter of Atlanta’s rise as a global cultural capital. This category highlights Jackson’s leadership, his investment in the arts, and the political movement that turned Atlanta into a blueprint for Black institutional power.