NILES, Ohio – Nearly three years after announcing she would not seek a second term as mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms has finally rediscovered herself.
“So what I mean is being fearless and willing to do things differently and do things differently,” she said.
It was the first time since World War II that the city’s mayor did not seek re-election, and Lance Bottoms said it was not an easy decision. But she did it for her mental health.
The former Atlanta mayor will be the keynote speaker Friday at “Unmute the Uncomfortable – Symposium on Racial Equity, Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention,” hosted by Coleman Health Services in collaboration with the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Commission. served as The daylong event was held at the Eastwood Event Center.
“I’ve unpacked a lot since I left my job. Going through the pandemic and everything we’ve been through in 2020 has been huge for all of us,” she said. “And on the front, it’s been a very discouraging season to say the least. For me, it was about doing a health check – figuring out what I want out of my life and mentally Where are you physically and emotionally?”
These were the questions she asked herself when deciding whether to seek a second term. She is proud of her decision and said it was the right decision for her.
“I’m very happy,” Lance Bottoms said. “I’m in a better place.”
She remembered what her therapist had told her.
“When strong women push through, they get heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure,” Lance Bottoms said. “Powerful women stop and feel. They evaluate, learn their lessons, and move on.”
She was a strong woman in 2020 and remains a powerful woman, she said.
In addition to the pandemic during her term as mayor, the killing of African-American man George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer and the subsequent protests that erupted on the city’s streets all occurred during her term. At a press conference, Lance Bottoms told protesters who were damaging property to go back to her home. She told them that what they were doing was not a protest. It was chaos. She says the protests have a purpose.
Lance Bottoms served as a senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in President Joe Biden’s administration from 2022 to 2023.
“I love the name of this event, ‘Unmute the Unsavory Events,’ because so many people are afraid to talk about what’s going on in their heads,” says Lance. Bottoms said.
She said people are talking freely about the importance of mammograms, prostate exams and other tests and exams related to physical health.
“But for some reason, we still often feel uncomfortable talking about our mental and emotional health,” she says.
Her presentation at the event was a fireside chat with Youngstown District Court Judge Carla Baldwin, who moderated the event. The James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Foundation sponsored the keynote address.
Author and poet Barbara Fant led the audience through a series of writing and sharing exercises. She is originally from Youngstown, Ohio and lives in Los Angeles. Public libraries in Youngstown, Mahoning County, and Trumbull County sponsored her presentation. Fant is the author of her two poetry collections, Paint, Inside Out and Mouths of Garden.
She conducts workshops for incarcerated youth and adults and works with many gang-involved youth in East Los Angeles.
“I believe art is a source of healing and is effective,” she said.
Other speakers at the event were LaToya Logan, CEO of Project LIFT; Kamesha Spets of the University of Pittsburgh; Toni Visconti of the University of Akron.
Other major sponsors of the event include the Cafaro Foundation, Mercy Health Foundation, Mercy Health, KO Consulting, FirstEnergy, Coleman Foundation, and 717 Credit Union.
Lance Bottoms spoke about the importance of serving as a senior advisor to the president.
“To be in the White House, to be sitting in the Oval Office, and for the president to say, ‘Keisha, what do you think?’ I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this question before,” she said, drawing laughter from the audience.
She works as a consultant and just signed a book deal with HarperCollins Publishing. She is also an executive producer on a television project with Terry Vaughn, an actress, director, and producer who previously worked on “The Steve Harvey Show.” The show was just picked up by actor, director and playwright Tyler Perry and will begin filming in June.
Photo above: From left: Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Carla Baldwin. Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta; Justice Melody Stewart of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Copyright 2024 Business Journal, Youngstown, OH.
