“We should try to achieve things for ourselves and not rely on former or past family glories with which we have no connection but the arbitrary nature of our birth.” - Shirley Franklin   #BHM Born on May 10, 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Shirley Clarke Franklin received her B.A. in sociology from Howard University. She is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 58th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 to 2010. She was elected the first African American woman mayor of a major southern city and the fourth African American mayor of Atlanta in 2002 where she served two-terms.    During her term she worked diligently to stop human trafficking and to reduce the crime in Atlanta. She launched the “Dear John” public education program to bring attention to the problem of child prostitution in the city of Atlanta. The powerful and hard-hitting campaign encouraged audiences to eliminate the exploitation of young children who were victims of poverty and di...