LGBTQ Candidate Larry Carter II On Bid For Atlanta City Council: ‘I Want To Celebrate Our Differences And Find Ways To Represent Everyone’
From his grandfather, Johnny Foreman, Larry Carter II learned one important lesson—service first.
Foreman served as a former bishop in New York and Virginia for the United Methodist Church.
“He taught us that being of service is all about what is best for the community,” said Carter. “He used to always say, ‘You can't take things for granted. Life is fleeting, but it is also important to do what you can when you have the time’.”
Foreman’s guidance has been the driving force for Carter’s life and is at the root of his current endeavor—a campaign for Atlanta City Council.
Carter once worked as a teacher, as well as diversity coordinator for Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School in Grant Park. A longtime resident of the district he is looking to represent, his community work includes serving as treasurer of the West End Neighborhood Development and vice-chair for Neighborhood Planning Unit T.
Presently, Carter is a project manager for the U.S. Census Bureau and as of March 2021, one of a handful of candidates seeking to unseat Cleta Winslow, the current city council representative of District 4.
“I am running because everyone deserves to live in a healthy community,” he told The Reckoning. “You want to be able to afford your home. You want a safe place for your family to live. You want to be included in the spaces you desire to call home.”
Considering his extensive and unique background, and the number of years he has lived in the district, Carter believes that sometimes it's necessary for those who have led to move out of the way in the name of progress.
“City council should be an act of service, not a career plan.”
“I am a person who believes there should be term limits on city council. I say that because Atlanta 10 years ago is not the same Atlanta today,” he said. “Just like any major corporation, the board of directors are going to select a new CEO every few years. We need to start thinking of the city council in the same way. City council should be an act of service, not a career plan.”
He believes that to be the international city Atlanta desires to be, the best and brightest minds must be at the table to move the city forward. That cannot happen if the same people are serving uninterrupted terms for over 20 years. From his purview, the ways of old, including some of the city’s business and permitting practices, are obsolete. And in a changing city like Atlanta, there is a need for new leadership with new ideas to face the new challenges.
Carter highlights many of the challenges the city faced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as the perfect case study for the need for leadership with new ideas.
“When not everyone has access to broadband and internet, they are forced to make health jeopardizing decisions or be left out of the process,” he said. “We have to engage and educate our citizens in a different way. How do we ensure that every community member is an active, informed, and engaged member of the community?”
By tackling three issues at the core of Carter’s campaign—issues he believes impact all citizens of Atlanta, especially those living on the margins, including Black LGBTQ citizens—Carter believes Atlanta will do a better job of serving its citizens.
Affordable Housing, Public Safety, and Inclusive Development
Carter references the mismanagement of Atlanta’s Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS program, also known as HOPWA, when explaining his first campaign issue: affordable housing.
Fixing the city’s antiquated processes is one step toward finding a solution.
“But it is just one step to the city’s larger housing issue. We know that only a third of African American gay men in Atlanta are thriving,” he said. “When thinking about affordable housing, not only are we discussing the cost of housing, being part of the city, and having access to it; we are talking about making sure what is coming to the community is available to the community that exists, not a targeted group.”
Benefitting targeted groups who do not look like what's currently in the community is real and has gone on in the West End since Carter moved into the district in 2009.
“Affordable housing means affordable rents. It means fixing what's broken with HOPWA,” he said. “It means giving access to the resources needed by the people currently living in the community, including fresh food options and affordable restaurants.”
“Instead of criminalizing the issues, non-emergency services can better assess and respond to citizens’ needs. But we also need to think about providing funding for programs that will take us where we want to go.”
Besides housing, Carter believes creating wrap-around services is a solution to curbing the public safety issues in the district. Instead of citizens calling 911 when there is a need for mental health services, they can better utilize 311 for non-emergency services.
“Instead of criminalizing the issues, non-emergency services can better assess and respond to citizens’ needs,” said Carter. “But we also need to think about providing funding for programs that will take us where we want to go.”
A lot of crimes, said Carter, are committed by young people who believe they have no other options. They are 16-year-olds who are competing for jobs at the local Boston Market against their aunts, uncles, cousins, maybe even parents because of the lag in the local economy. They do not have cars and can’t find jobs close to home, so now they are creating opportunities.
“Water boys, selling bottles of water in traffic, teens breaking into neighborhood cars to see what they can get,” said Carter. “When you leave young people unengaged, they seek alternatives for their survival. Instead of criminalizing them, we prepare them for the tech boom already happening in the city, and the booms coming.”
Larry Carter II (Image courtesy of subject)
That is not the only issue with the city’s public safety, said Carter, adding that many areas in the district have gone underserved for decades and given excuse after excuse. There is a need for crosswalks, along with better lighting and signage, so that citizens feel safer in the community.
For his third issue, Carter pulls on his experience as project manager for the Census. Understanding data and its benefits, Carter believes the city council needs someone capable of utilizing data to help advance growth in the district and across the city.
“Men lie. Women lie. Data doesn’t. Numbers are scientific and demo data can help,” he said. “Kroger and Publix look at census data to see if their stores will work in particular areas. With demo data, we can help them see how they fit into our community. We can do this with any top 20 retailers we identify and want in our community.”
These components can be included in an inclusive development plan.
Carter believes there are no limitations. He is running because he believes anything is possible. He is not running because he is attracted to the historical nature of city politics in Atlanta and seeking community celebrity. He is committed to creating equity in the city, which is another lesson he learned from his grandfather.
"He also taught us to celebrate our differences. He led by celebrating differences,” said Carter. “I do not want anyone to be marginalized in the City of Atlanta; ever. I want to celebrate our differences and find ways to represent everyone. That is my commitment and my motivation."
Editor’s Note: The Reckoning will profile several Black openly LGBTQ+ candidates running for office in the city of Atlanta during this election season. Be sure to check back to learn more about the candidates and their platforms each week leading up to November 2.
Mashaun D. Simon is an equity and inclusion advocate who centers his preaching, writing, and scholarship on cultural competency, identity, and equity.
He has written for NBC News and the Atlanta Daily World, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Black Enterprise, Bloomberg News, TheGrio.com, Ebony Magazine, BelieveOutLoud.com, and Essence Magazine. He has also created and managed cultural competency and affirmative action programming and training and in 2018, Mashaun organized and facilitated Kennesaw State University’s Faith and Sexuality Symposium on behalf of KSU’s Presidential Commission for LGBT Initiatives. In 2021, Mashaun was selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of the Rising Leaders Fellowship.
He holds a professional writing degree from Georgia Perimeter College, a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Kennesaw State University, and a Master of Divinity from Emory University's Candler School of Theology.