The Special Story Behind Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms's DNC Necklace

Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms made an appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night, and gave a powerful speech paying tribute to the late Rep. John Lewis, who passed away earlier this year.

During her speech, Bottoms said that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would follow in Lewis’ tradition as leaders "who hold justice close to their hearts and believe that the lives of my four Black children matter."

"He walked gently amongst us — not as a distant icon, but as a God-fearing man, doing what he could do to fulfill the as-yet-unfulfilled promise of America," she said.

"People often think that they can't make a difference like our civil rights icons," she said. "But every person in the movement mattered — those who made the sandwiches, swept the church floors, stuffed the envelopes. They too changed America, and so can we. The baton has now been passed to each of us. We've cried out for justice. We have gathered in our streets to demand change, and now we must pass on the gift John Lewis sacrificed to give us: We must register, and we must vote."

During the appearance, she also wore a multicolored necklace that garnered plenty of praise on Twitter.

In a video for Elle, Bottoms shared the special story behind the necklace, telling the outlet it was gifted to her.

"A delegation of students from Africa visited City Hall, and there was a young woman who was from South Africa," she said. "I complimented her on this beautiful necklace, and she took it off of her neck, and she gave it me. She told a beautiful story of Nelson Mandela and his encouragement of them to be generous and to be gracious. I wish I could remember exactly what the saying was, but it was just such a heartfelt and genuine moment, and so I knew that this necklace and all that it symbolizes, and their many tribes represented here, that this would be appropriate for today."

On Thursday night, the Democratic National Convention capped off four days of remote speeches, during which Joe Biden and Kamala Harris formally accepted their nominations for President and Vice President of the United States, respectively.

Source: Read Full Article