Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Thursday during a conference call with city council members that the same racist slur she received in a message on Twitter was also sent to her 12-year-old son.
“I was most concerned that not only did I receive it, but my 12-year-old son received it as well,” the mayor said. “So that was more concerning to me than anything.”
The mayor tweeted out a screenshot of the message on Wednesday night after she received it.
The photo of the message shows that the person used the n-word and said “just shut up and RE-OPEN ATLANTA.”
“With my daughter looking over my shoulder, I received this message on my phone. I pray for you,” the mayor tweeted then.
She added a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote in the tweet: “Conscientious stupidity or sincere ignorance.”
In Thursday’s conference call, she said she spoke afterward with Ambassador Andrew Young and discussed the incident, and that “he just reminded me that white supremacy is a sickness and we don’t run for office to.. we are not cowards.”
“I will continue to use my voice to speak on behalf of our community. Children should be off limits as it relates to any and everything, but we are fine and thank you for your concern,” she told council members.
Within minutes of her posting the photo on Twitter, it was retweeted hundreds of times; many even offered words of encouragement in the comments.
“Racism will always cut off its own nose to spite its face,” one Twitter user said in the comments. “Thank you for being vocal and wise. Georgia needs your voice to combat the overwhelming ignorance running the show.”
“This is so disgusting, Mayor Bottoms. Please know that we Atlantans truly appreciate and respect your leadership keeping us safe through this crisis,” another person said.
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