civil rights icon Xernona Clayton Honored in Atlanta

By Maxim Elramsisy CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA

Civil rights icon Xernona Clayton became the first woman to be enshrined with a statue in downtown Atlanta on March 8. The eight-foot statue with its arms open, propped high on a pedestal, looks down on Xernona Clayton Plaza, making the petite icon a giant in the cradle city of the modern Civil Rights Movement.

World renowned sculptor Ed Dwight created the bronze statue despite challenges with his vision. With Dwight by her side, Clayton announced that it would be his final commissioned project. “As he was making this statue he lost vision in his good eye,” Clayton said at a private dinner before the unveiling. “But if he could do this without seeing, imagine what he could do if he had vision.”

More than 20 speakers, including representatives from the Bahamas and Ghana, praised Clayton at the unveiling ceremony, which was followed by “High Heels in High Places,” an event honoring distinguished women in business and journalism. Among the “sheroes: honored at the dinner were California Black Media (CBM) Executive Director Regina Brown Wilson and LA Focus Publisher Lisa Collins. Clayton also acknowledged the mothers of several local celebrities, including Silvia Dickens, mother of Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens, Trice Morgan, mother

Born in Jefferson, Texas, she moved to Oakland, California to live with an older sister and later moved to Southern California in 1970 and became very much a part of civic and community life. But her Christian life was always a clear part of her commitment to all that she did.

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PHOTO: Courtesy of Leonard Thompson

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U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke speaks during a press conference at Louisville Metro Hall in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, March 8, 2023.