GABEO was formed in the years after the civil rights movement to teach blacks how to win election to offices that had been denied them in the past.”

      The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials was formed in 1970, as a statewide political group composed of elected officials on all levels of Georgia government – municipal, county, state, and national. The main objectives of the organization were to provide exemplary representation for constituents, use political clout to address issues of concern in communities, and work in conjunction with colleagues to create and establish laws which were sensitive to the needs of all people, especially people of color. In the early years the organization was led by several former presidents including: former state representatives Ben Brown and Bobby Hill, former mayor of Augusta Ed McIntyre, former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, State Representative Calvin Smyre, former Fulton County commissioner A. Reginald Eaves, and former state representative Mary Young-Cummings.

      After the election of State Representative Tyrone Brooks as president of the organization in 1993, GABEO took on a new stance and broadened its focus of leadership to become a more grass roots activist-oriented body. Its new agenda included championing the rights of the poor, assisting victims of discrimination, and investigating allegations of mistreatment in the state’s prison population. Brooks’ strong yet compassionate style of activism has included sit-ins, boycotts and demonstrations, touring jails and prisons, filing lawsuits, and serving on committees recommending change in governmental and legislative policy.

      Currently, GABEO meets three times each year in facilities in the heart of communities which the organization serves. The annual winter board meeting is held on the last weekend each February at Paschals Center Clark Atlanta University. The summer convention is held the last weekend in June at Savannah State University. And the annual fall meeting is held the last weekend in October at a different church location each year.

      Now with more than 800 members statewide, GABEO’s main focus is on developing programs which will provide deterrents to violence and crime among youth; promoting voter registration, education and participation; forming literacy programs to battle the growing problem of illiteracy in the state; securing economic parity for all Georgians; preserving minority voting strength; and removing the divisive Confederate emblem from the Georgia state flag. GABEO often works in conjunction with the NAACP, SCLC, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Coalition for a Peoples Agenda and the National Youth Connection on issues vital to the community.

      GABEO has come a long way in three decades of service and leadership, and there is still a long way to go. In the words of Tyrone Brooks: “We’ve enjoyed over 30 years of public service. ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now !’ ”

"Firsts" Among GABEO Membership

* Former senator and Atty. Leroy Johnson, the first black elected to the Georgia General Assembly since Reconstruction.

* United States Representative Cynthia McKinney, the first black woman from Georgia elected to Congress.

* Justice Robert Benham, the first black appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court and the first to serve as chief justice.

* Justice Leah Ward Sears, the first black woman to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court.

* Former state representative and Atty. Michael Thurmond, the first African-American elected to hold the statewide office of Labor Commissioner.

* Senator Charles Walker, the first black majority leader of the Georgia Senate.

* Senator David Scott, the first African-American chairman of the powerful Senate Rules Committee.

* Rep. Calvin Smyre, the first African-American appointed to serve as the Governor’s Administration Floor Leader during the Joe Frank Harris Administration. Also the first black to serve as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, and chair of the Majority Caucus.

* Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett, the first black woman elected sheriff in the state of Georgia.

* Betty Hill of Hancock County, the first black woman in Georgia elected chairperson of a county commission.

* Ed McIntyre, the first African-American commissioner of Richmond County. Also, the first black mayor of Augusta

* Edith Ingram, the first African-American elected probate judge of Hancock County.

* Robert Albritton, the first black mayor of Dawson.

* Emma Gresham, the first black mayor of Keysville.

* Jack Ellis, the first black mayor of Macon.

* Floyd Adams, the first black mayor of Savannah.

* A. Reginald Eaves, the first black public safety commissioner in the city of Atlanta.

* Atty. Paul Howard, the first black district attorney in Fulton County.

* Atty. Maynard Jackson, the first African-American vice mayor of Atlanta. Also, the first black mayor of Atlanta.