Some Spelman students bash Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as commencement speaker, forcing college to shut down commenting on social media page
Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ black girl magic may have fizzled out among some millennials.
Bottoms was selected to give the May 2019 commencement speech at the prestigious Spelman College, but some students are upset at the school’s choice and have taken to social media to voice their concerns, WSBTV reports.
“I do not want her ’cause it does not seem like a good idea,” said student Atiya Ziyad.
“She’s a very good role model, but that doesn’t mean that she should be a commencement speaker,” student Alexi Dickerson explained.
Although Bottoms ran a successful campaign to become the city’s second female mayor in history, many had hoped a bigger name star would take the podium at the graduation.
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Some claim Bottoms is all for gentrification in the historic area where the college is located, and they say she hasn’t shown support for the Atlanta University Center.
“Gentrification isn’t really a good thing for black areas because it doesn’t help the black people rise up,” Dickerson told WSBTV.
Others feel like the mayor hasn’t done enough to address police brutality in metro Atlanta.
The backlash was apparently so intense the college turned off the comments section on it’s social media page.
The comments were so intense about Spelman College choosing Atlanta’s Mayor as Commencement speaker that the school turned off comments on its social media page. I’m talking to students about the choice. That’s at 6:45. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/bBMwDScPH9
— Tom Jones (@TomJonesWSBTV) April 23, 2019
The mayor’s office on the other hand is elated about the invite and released the following statement:
“The mayor is honored to deliver the commencement address and equally proud that the legacy of student engagement and activism remains vibrant at Spelman College.”
The commencement ceremony is May 19.
