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[[caption]]Former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson was honored by minority contractors for his strong support of minority participation in the construction of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. Shown with Jackson (third from left) are: George Berry, Atlanta commissioner of aviation; Leroy Ozanne, Ozanne Construction Co.; Herman Russell, H.J. Russel & Co.; and Lydon Wade, Wade & Wade Ice Cream Company. [[/caption]]

"The core of economic development is not only to create jobs but to make sure the people who are unemployed can fill those jobs," he said. "How can we do that? How can we do that with the effects on day care? When people can't pay their phone bills?"

Oscar Harris, a contractor with Turner Associates, the black architectural firm that worked on the Atlanta airport project, views private industry -- especially black industry -- as a partial solution to the problem.

As the government helps safeguard jobs in the private sector, then private businesses can help stimulate the local job market, Harris feels.

The dilemma facing cities that don't have black mayors, or influential legislators who are sympathetic towards the minority community, is that no one may be available to protect the gains of black businesses and workers, Harris said. 

"Reaganomics is saying we'll send the dollars to the states and the states can decide what to do with it. You don't have a lot of minority folks in many states who have enough say about what's done and who is involved in it."
 
Over the past 12 years Turner Associates has grown into a 30-member firm with offices in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., Harris said. 

Multi-million dollar projects have included work in the Atlanta airport project, Reedsville State Prison, and a Saudi Arabia project with the Army Corps of Engineers. Federal and state funds in these projects have helped. 

Harris said he is confident that Mayor Young will we able to preserve and help strengthen Atlanta's economic base because of his extensive political experience in national and international politics. 

Meanwhile, he said, the business community would form "political action groups to deal with the state." Candidates in the upcoming Georgia governor's race will be watched closely to determine their views on minority firms and builders.

Where Reaganomics will hit black developers hardest, Harris maintains, is in states where there is no strong, black political base. 

In Atlanta, state legislators are from rural areas. Given that factor, it's going to be hard for someone like Mayor Young to get them to empathize with black concerns," Harris said. 

"But in some states it's going to be impossible. When the dollars hit, wherever they trickle down, there might not be any minority influence behind those dollars."

DOLLARS & SENSE

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ATLANTA IS ALSO THE CENTER OF BLACK BUSINESS

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