Keisha Lance Bottoms has chosen her next step in her career after serving one term as mayor of Atlanta. In May 2021, it was announced that Keisha would not seek re-election in 2022. But there was little clarity as to where her career would go next. Then, early Monday, she touched on her upcoming role for the first time since she finished her term in early January.
“I am very pleased to officially announce that I have joined CNN as a political commentator,” Keisha tweeted. “As a @FAMU_1887 student, I applied to @CNN for the coveted VJ show and didn't get in. Now, almost 30 years later, joining the team is a reminder that a dream postponed is never a dream denied."
You may remember that Keisha made history when she secured her role as mayor of Atlanta. She was only the second black woman to hold the office and the "only female mayor to serve in all three branches of government." These roles included a judge and a city councillor.
Keisha's decision not to run for mayor again came after she "respectfully declined" a political resume builder. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris offered Keisha the opportunity to join her cabinet. She passed it on.
The decision also came after a roller coaster ride in the first quarter. Keisha has faced many obstacles, from a cyberattack on one city in 2018 to a global pandemic and a Georgia governor who challenged her security measures with a lawsuit. Then, in May 2020, George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, and protests against racial injustice reached the city of Keisha as well. Less than a month later, an Atlanta police officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks.
Keisha spoke about her experience as mayor in an article published on January 10 in Elle magazine.
“I knew she could do the job for another four years. But at what price? Immediately after I announced that I was not running, several people told me that my voice sounded different," Keisha said. "That was scary, that there was a lightness in my voice that you could already hear. People told me that I smiled more; I didn't know it wasn't me."
