Press Releases

Mayor Andre Dickens' Second Inaugural Remarks as Prepared

ATLANTA—The following are Mayor Andre Dickens second inauguration remarks as prepared, delivered at Georgia State University’s Convocation Center.

Good afternoon, Atlanta.

What an exciting and meaningful day in the life of our city.

I am deeply humbled to stand before you today as I begin a second term as Mayor of the City of Atlanta. To the people of this great city—thank you for placing your trust in me for the past twelve years: eight years as a citywide councilmember and four years as Mayor. I would not be here without you. And thank you for sending me back to work with more than 85% of the vote in November!

Special thanks to our hosts—Georgia State University, my grad school alma mater, and President Brian Blake—for welcoming us and for hosting this beautiful ceremony. And yes, it is good to be indoors today. Four years ago, in the middle of a global pandemic, we gathered outside in 35-degree weather at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. People still say that was the coolest inauguration in the city’s history—and they may be right.

To my predecessors: Mayors Young, Campbell, Franklin, Reed, and Bottoms, and to the widows of Mayors Massell and Jackson – thank you for being here today and for giving me shoulders broad enough to stand on for this all-important group project.

To our Municipal Court Judges, thank you for your service and your commitment to justice. And to all the elected and appointed officials here today; state, local, and even the consular corps; thank you for your dedication to the people you serve.

To the greatest City Council in the world—congratulations on the start of a new term and thank you for your sacrifices and your partnership. I look forward to working together for another four years.

To faith and community leaders, business and labor leaders, educators and our seniors -- hundreds of seniors have joined us today -- thank you for all you have done for Atlanta's Group Project.

My mother, my sister and my daughter are all here with me today – thank you for your unconditional love and support.

And as a point of personal privilege, I’d like to say on this January 5th, Happy Anniversary to all my brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi! Yo!

To all my friends and extended family—you have stood with me through the highs and the lows, and you have sacrificed alongside me on this journey. You are my foundation.

And above all, I thank God—for the strength, the guidance, and the grace to meet each day as it comes. I am truly blessed.

As a sixteen-year-old boy, I set my sights on a dream: to serve the city that raised me. A city shaped by giants—Mayor Maynard Jackson, Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman John Lewis, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, I am honored to continue that calling for four more years.

From the bottom of my heart—I say thank you.

Four years ago, Atlanta faced a test unlike any we had seen before.

The questions were heavy:

• How would we recover from a global pandemic?
• Could we keep our city whole?
• How would we remove violence from our streets?
• Could we ensure an affordable place to call home for every Atlantan?
• How would we care for those struggling to make ends meet?

These were not individual questions. They were collective ones. Because Atlanta is and always will be a group project.

At a moment when the federal government has pulled back from that group project, Atlanta chooses not to retreat. I appreciate the work of our congressional delegation and want to recognize Senator Warnock, Congresswomen Williams and McBath for joining us today.

We are all choosing to lean in. We are choosing to remain indivisible! The Pledge of Allegiance we recited earlier today says “Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All”.  Atlanta, we are indivisible —committed to one city, to one future, and most importantly – to one another.

And this 2^nd term is about finishing that group project by investing where Atlanta has always drawn its strength.

When you first elected me mayor, I promised that I would set the vision, remove barriers, deliver resources, and work from “can’t see morning” to “can’t see night.” And today, I am proud of how this city responded.

My Pastor once told me that “Love oughtta look like something.” 

My love looks like all the love and energy we gave to this city over the last four years that led to truly awesome results.

I want to thank my cabinet and the over 9,000 men and women who work for the City of Atlanta for their exemplary service.

Together, with the help of the City Council, we have invested in people and neighborhoods at a historic scale.

We opened 500 rapid re-housing units to address homelessness and started or completed more than 13,000 units of affordable housing.

Through our Year of the Youth, we invested over $40 million in young people—from early childhood education and mentorship to after-school programming and college scholarships.

But we didn’t stop there: We hired more than 19,000 young people and paid every single one of them a living wage.

And the results speak clearly.

We kept our city whole, successfully fighting off the Buckhead city movement. Because of our collective efforts, Atlanta remains one city, with one bright future!

We strengthened public safety through smart policing and addressing the root causes of crime. As a result – Atlanta has experienced one of the largest drops in violent crime in the nation. For the first time in years, we finished 2025 with fewer than 100 homicides.

While youth-related crime decreased by 56 percent through programs like Midnight Basketball, Atlanta Public Schools achieved the highest graduation rate in its history.

We expanded access to parks, expanded the BeltLine, and connected to the Chattahoochee river, reclaiming public space for public good.

We invested in small businesses, reduced food deserts, built the city’s first municipal grocery store, created an Atlanta Department of Labor, and raised the city’s minimum wage to $17.50 an hour.

And for the first time in our history – Atlanta earned a triple-A bond rating.

Atlanta has been named the best city in the nation to live, start a business, start a career—and the most educated city in America.

Across every measure, the Phoenix of Atlanta continues to rise.

But I am not satisfied.

How can we be satisfied when too many of our neighbors still sleep on our streets?

How can we be satisfied when poverty and inequality continue to divide our city?

How can we be satisfied when too many families live check-to-check, often finding themselves with more MONTH than they have MONEY?

These answers are yet to be written.

And to write them, we must be honest about who we are—and where we come from.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Right now, in this city, WHERE a child is born, still determines how LONG he or she will live.

This is unacceptable, and Atlanta’s future hinges on how we confront that truth.

As a young man growing up in the church, I identified with the story of David. And although he becomes king, David’s leadership does not begin in the palace. It begins in the field—formed by responsibility and perseverance – long before recognition ever comes.

Atlanta knows that story, because David’s leadership truly began in the neighborhood.

Neighborhoods like Adamsville—where opportunity was scarce but resilience was abundant.

Places that were underestimated. Places asked to endure more with less. And yet, time and again, they have produced strength, leadership, and possibility.

That is why the defining work of this next term is the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative—an effort to ensure that every neighborhood in Atlanta is safe, connected, healthy, and whole.

Many of our neighborhoods have been underserved and disinvested—without access to food, amenities, jobs, and strong educational opportunities—and, as a result, some of the most impacted by violence.

Poverty and inequality are our most persistent enemies.

They are Atlanta’s Goliath.

And as we all remember from Sunday School – when David faced Goliath, he didn’t bring an army—he brought five smooth stones.

Atlanta’s five stones in this fight are:

1. Affordable Housing.
2. Investing in neighborhoods.
3. Opportunities for our youth.
4. Keeping residents and visitors safe
5. All while prioritizing ethics, financial stewardship, and good government.

Where we've thrown those stones, the results have been undeniable.

Across public safety and academic achievement

Providing access to transit and job opportunities

Promoting healthy foods and greenspace

Every investment has paid outsized dividends, not just for those immediately impacted, but for the entire city.

The group project is working. We are no longer guessing.

We are not debating whether this approach works.

We have seen the results with our own eyes, and we’re ready to face Goliath head-on.

Which brings us back to the story:

David does not negotiate with Goliath.

He does not manage him.

He does not accept him as inevitable.

HE DEFEATS HIM.

And like David, Atlanta has never backed down from hard work.

In our Atlanta, we are DONE managing poverty.

We are DONE tolerating inequality.

We are DONE accepting violence as destiny.

These forces are NOT permanent.

They are NOT unbeatable.

And they do NOT get the final word.

When we invest in people—families—neighborhoods:

We don’t just reduce harm; we dismantle the conditions that caused the harm to exist in the first place.

That is how Atlanta defeats its giants.

That is how the group project will continue to deliver.

Everything we’ve achieved—and everything we will accomplish —moves us toward a shared, long-term vision: that Atlanta will be the best place to thrive and raise a child.

This is not just a slogan; it is our promise.

Every investment in youth, safety, and neighborhoods is a step toward a city where EVERY child has opportunity, EVERY family can prosper, and EVERY community is whole.

And together, as one indivisible community, we will close the book on a tale of two cities—and build a brighter future for ALL of Atlanta.

Let’s continue to Move Atlanta Forward, Together!

God bless you.

God bless this city.

Now, let’s get to work ATLANTA.

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For more information about the City of Atlanta, please visit www.atlantaga.gov or watch City Channel 26. Follow the City of Atlanta on Facebook and Twitter @CityofAtlanta.