Honoring Frankie Mae Arnold, the first African American woman elected to Fairburn City Council – Atlanta News First

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – February is Black History Month, and this Black History Month, Atlanta News First honors Frankie Mae Arnold, who made history when she became the first Black woman elected to the Fairburn City Council in 1995.
But before that, her life was a testament to service, dedication and determination. She was a woman who was determined to change her community.
“I got to know Miss Frankie when I was 10 years old because she worked in the cafeteria and she served me my lunch every day,” Mae Frankie’s friend Barkley Russell said. “I loved watching her on the city council because she could persuade anybody to do just about anything.
Her family remembers her as “a loyal wife of 65 years.” She had seven children, three biological and four adopted.
She was a true mama bear.
Throughout her lifetime, Mae Arnold was recognized and honored for her contributions, including getting a fire truck named after her and the Miss Frankie Mae Arnold Stage in the city square in Fairburn.
Mae Arnold passed away last week at the age of 95. But given the legacy she left — a trailblazer, politician, wife, mother, advocate and friend — Frankie Mae Arnold is a name that will live on.

source