As Americans are laser-focused on the upcoming presidential election on November 3, there’s another local election that may have slipped under the radar for some, but like all down-ballot races, is equally important. Longtime Atlanta politician, Kwanza Hall (D-District 5), 49, a former member of the Atlanta City Council and a former mayoral candidate, is facing a runoff on December 1 against challenger Dr. Robert Franklin (D-District 5) after neither candidate secured fifty-percent of the vote during a special election in September to fill the District 5 congressional seat left vacant after the death of the late civil rights icon John Lewis. 

The Reckoning spoke with Hall, who has been endorsed by Lewis’s son, John Miles-Lewis, about his campaign, his political platform, his allyship to the LGBT community, and his agenda for his short stay in Congress, if elected. 

“I’ve known Kwanza Hall for decades,” John-Miles Lewis said in a news release announcing the endorsement, according to a report from the AJC. 

"He is the perfect candidate to complete my father’s term and maintain his legacy, if only for a short time. He is the right choice.”

According to Hall, his campaign has also received endorsements from The Human Rights Campaign and Georgia Equality. 

Check out what Hall had to say about his political future and how having him in Congress would impact the lives of his constituents in District 5 and Atlanta’s LGBTQ community. 

You’re currently headed for a runoff on Dec 1st, and it’s happening in a presidential election year that is pulling all focus. How has your campaign shifted after the results of the special election? 

Our country is in a very dire situation—there’s a lot of challenges related to COVID, related to the pandemic, and frankly, we want to be considerate of social distancing and trying to be engaged with individuals, while at the same time not doing anything if individuals on our team are asymptomatic. Safety first. We’re trying to stay in the conversation, not to be out of sight and out of mind for voters. We’ve pivoted to doing community engagement by showing up where the other candidates that we support are and participating in their events. We’ve also had a lot of phone time and Zoom calls with people. 

If elected, you will serve in Congress for an extremely short amount of time—about a month. How effective do you think you can be in such a short amount of time? 

If you’ve been in government like I have…and I have a long track record, and I say that with all humility, of getting things done in a legislative body—750 pieces of legislation that I passed as a council member, in addition to that—helping to bring dollars to District 2. I’ve been navigating the government very effectively. And usually, what happens, you’ve gotta be nimble, you’ve gotta have an agenda, and you’ve gotta be able to negotiate and get in the middle of deals when they’re going down. I’m probably best equipped to deal with this short time period and still get something done. 

It’s like the kitchen: you can put some family members in the kitchen and nothing would be cooked for Thanksgiving, and you can put your auntie or grandmother in there and she can whip something up in less than 30 minutes while she’s making the main dish. Not everyone knows how to do that. In this particular instance, we need a leader who has the ability, track record, and experience for getting things done to be in that position if we’re gonna have a representative in that 30-day period or sooner. 

Do you think that Franklin should withdraw his bid for the seat so you can immediately step in given the short amount of time you’ll be in Congress?

I think we have a leadership moment in front of all of us. Our country is divided. Our community is divided—our Democratic community, our African-American community. This is a unique and special moment in history for us to look at unifying around the bigger mission of having representation in Washington. I’m open to us working in a very collaborative fashion. If he were to choose to withdraw by the letter of the law, and we get certified, we could all go up to Washington and work on the variety of matters that we placed on the table. We could be a unified force. What would that say to the world on the heels of Congressman Lewis’ passing, that all of the candidates came together to work on what really matters, and that is representation for our constituents in District 5. That’s a hero's moment for me.

It’s well-documented that you grew up in the same neighborhood as John Lewis and that you count him as a “longtime friend” and “source of inspiration.” Can you speak to how your relationship with Lewis influences how you approach policy and how you plan to continue his legacy? 

I am absolutely not trying to fill his shoes. I have my own shoes, they fit my feet, and I’m walking in my legacy that I’m creating and building. Based on everything that I’ve learned from him and everything that’s he’s ever shared with me, he and his wife Lillian, it was ‘Kwanza be your own person, learn from us, stand on our shoulders, glean all of the history, knowledge, and wisdom that we can share with you. What I learned most from him is that you’ve got to have courage. You’ve got to have courage and be willing to stand up, speak out, in times when no one else is willing to do it. And it may cost you, it may cost you financially, it may cost you physically—you could lose your life, and not everyone is willing to do that. My role as a Generation X’er is to be the bridge between the Boomer Generation and the next generations behind me. I’m in a unique position to grab the baton and to pass it on. 

John Lewis had a long track record of supporting the LGBTQ community. Do you consider yourself an ally? And can you speak to specific personal interactions and/or policy that you’ve championed that directly impacts our community? 

I’ve been an ally of my life. My parents were the type of parents…we had everyone in our house. I have cousins who are gay. I’ve always been around diversity. In the role of public service, if a person is in that job and they don’t treat everyone as if they have a seat at the table—you’re doing less than your job. I learned early in life from my parents and also from the jobs that I had that you’ve gotta know how to treat people right. You’ve gotta know how to be inclusive. So that means that you think of all the matters that affect their lives—all the choice of speech and choice of words. 

As a council member, I supported every measure related to equality for all people. I brought the rainbow crosswalks. I did that. No one even knows. Mayor Reed got credit, but I brought the first one, and then they took them up and had to do them right. I made sure it got done against people’s wishes because they thought it was a political message. No, it was just a way of celebrating a community, like we celebrate every other community. We’ve made some positive strides, but now I think we’ve got to double down on ensuring that every sexuality and sexual identity is included and respected at every level of life. 

Support for funding for HIV research and services is a part of your platform? As you know, we continue to see an increase in diagnoses among Black, gay, and bisexual men. Will your efforts specifically prioritize Black, gay, and bisexual men for HIV prevention and treatment? 

Absolutely. I think we have let this conversation evaporate into thin air, and nobody is talking about it. I’m willing and ready to do it. You can count on me to be a voice. This is what’s good about times like this in Washington. We go up there and we make the ask. We say, where is the funding for this in our community, and let District 5 be a pilot place on how we’re gonna reinvest in research, supportive services, the whole 360 that’s needed. How can they deny it? It’s a conversation that used to be so relevant and there were tons of dollars going into it and it has slowly evaporated. So by raising it on the heels of Congressman Lewis’ passing, it’s a fair question and it’s a fair request that I think I can get some dollars on. You can count on me to be an ally, a resource, and a person who will lead. 

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

The Reckoning has also reached out to Dr. Robert Franklin for coverage of his campaign, but we have not received a response. We are committed to covering both candidates equally and fairly. We look forward to publishing a piece on the Franklin campaign soon.