Atlanta City Council Member Cleta Winslow to Be Honored as Part of “Unsung Heroines” Mural Photo Shoot Friday
ATLANTA — District 4 Council member Cleta Winslow will be honored as part of a photo shoot celebrating the “Unsung Heroines” mural being held Friday, Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. near the Goodwill Thrift Store, 888 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
Living heroines, family, and friends are welcome to drop by between 3-4 p.m. to take photos and meet the artists and other heroines. Wearing of face masks and social distancing is encouraged.
“This is a true honor. I’m so humbled and proud to be a part of this,” Winslow said. “This mural is a wonderful visual representation of this community that I’ve been so blessed to serve. I’m hopeful that when people see this mural, it will provide a sense of inspiration and a showing of the love and dedication we have toward our community. I’m grateful to take part in this celebration and be joined by so many outstanding and remarkable women in our historic West End community. I’m here as a result of the sacrifice and dedication of so many other heroines who are connected to this community. It is a great honor to share this mural with other outstanding and influential female leaders.”
First elected to Council in 1993, Winslow graduated from Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and earned a master’s degree from the Clark Atlanta University School of Social Work. She has worked at the Carrie-Steele-Pitts Children’s Home and served as housing director for the Atlanta Urban League. She also worked for the City of Atlanta as a Human Service Planner and as a Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) coordinator in the Bureau of Planning. In addition to her elected duties, Winslow spends much of her time as a community activist. She is a former leader of the West End Neighborhood Development Organization and initiated both a youth scholarship program for college-bound students and a youth leadership project focusing on community service.
The “Unsung Heroines” mural is part of this year’s ELEVATE Art Festival. The festival’s virtual programming will take place from Oct. 4-10. Ashley Dopson’s “Unsung Heroines” pays homage to locally famous women who hail from the West End and Atlanta University neighborhoods.
In addition to Winslow, the mural will honor:
• Janice Sykes Rogers, librarian, public historian, and community advocate;
• Abiodun Henderson, community activist and founder of Gangstas to Growers;
• Hattie Guinn Watkins, mother of Willie Watkins, who helped him start Watkins Funeral Home;
• Pearl Cleage, daughter of the founder of The Shrine of the Black Madonna, speech writer for Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, renowned playwright and author, and Spelman College alumna;
• Lottie Watkins, first African American woman to become a fully licensed real estate agent in Atlanta and philanthropist to numerous civil rights and social justice causes;
• Irene Dobbs Jackson, Maynard Jackson’s mother, French professor at Spelman College, and first African American to integrate the Atlanta Public Library System;
• Arianna Dane Sykes, community outreach coordinator and activist;
• Kiyomi Rollins, entrepreneur, social and economic rights activist, and owner of The Good Hair Shop and The Ke’nekt;
• Ayanna Gabriel, Diversity and Community Director for the Arthur Blank Foundation, former Diversity Director for Teach for America, and former Westview Community President; and
• Woody Neal Pearsons, founder of Gate City School of Excellence and an educator and social advocate in the West End community for more than 30 years.
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