Floyd Adams, Jr.

Floyd Adams, Jr., a Geechee man, was born in Savannah on May 11, 1945. He would’ve been 75 today. His parents were Wilhelmina Adams and Floyd Adams, Sr.

He was raised on the West Side and went to St. Pius, a Catholic high school. After graduating, in 1964, he was admitted to Armstrong College, a historically white college. He was one of the first black students to attend and graduated with a degree in business.

The same year he was born, his parents co-founded Savannah Herald. His dad, Floyd Sr., earned the nickname “Pressboy” when he was young because he used to work for Savannah Morning News, back when it was called Savannah News Press. Floyd Jr, always up under his daddy, earned the nickname “Little Press Boy.” Savannah Herald was considered “Savannah’s Black Voice.” Floyd Jr. was involved with the Herald since 5th grade, sweeping floors and running errands for 10 cents an hour. 

Floyd Sr. also had two friends as business partners: Augustus Hayes, who owned Gus’ Lounge, a bbq stop, a motel, and a drive-in theater in Garden City; and Houston Tolbert, a World War I vet and master printer. But in 1949, Floyd Sr. bought ‘em out, regaining sole ownership. After Floyd Jr. graduated Armstrong in 1968, he became an editor for the paper. 

In 1972, Floyd Jr. was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Big ups! Delegates choose who will be the democrats’ presidential nominees. In 2016, delegates chose Hillary Clinton + Tim Kaine. In 1972, the year Floyd was there, Shirley Chisholm was on the ballot but delegates chose George McGovern (who lost against Richard Nixon).

Back to Floyd though…

• In 1982, he was elected a City Council Alderman. (That alderman is who you hit up for needs/problems in your community, and each district votes for its alderman.)
• In 1983, when his father passed, Floyd Adams Jr. became the CEO of Savannah Herald.

According to Kareem Ali (on @KrakTeet May 5th, 2020 IG post): “I remember walking all over the westside of Savannah putting flyers on mailboxes every election year when he was an alderman. Then he would have a little hotdog or ice cream party for all the kids that helped.” Dope.

As a member of Savannah’s city council, which had been integrated for less than 10 years by that time, Adams stood up tall for Savannah’s majority black community:

• In 1989, he created a seat for himself on the Savannah Arts Commission, which he said overlooked black artists.
• In 1990, he tried convincing the city not to renew a contract with Southside Fire Department, because it wasn’t hiring black folk and didn’t have an on-paper plan on when/how they’d start.
• In 1991, he was elected Alderman-at-Large. (The Aldermen-at-Large are voted on by the whole city, not just one district. He also earned Mayor Pro-Tem (which is like vice mayor).
• In 1992, he accused Susan Weiner, the mayor at the time, of further dividing black and white folk in Savannah. “We are in a war between the white community and the black community,” he said.
• In 1995, he ran against Susan Weiner for mayor. She spent more than $150,000 on her campaign and he had less than a third of that and still won. His slogan: “It’s okay to be for Floyd.”

He credited his win to the fact that black women ran his grass-roots campaign, increasing voter turnout among black folk by almost 25%. That’s a lot! Meanwhile, Susan claimed he won ‘cause of voter fraud (insert eye roll). She combed through voter records for cheating but found nothing.

He took office on January 2, 1996, becoming the city’s first black mayor—although he didn’t care for that being pointed out. In his inaugural address, as quoted by the Savannah Morning News, he said:

“During the last few weeks, I’ve gotten many calls from across the country. They all say, ‘Floyd, congratulations on being the first black mayor of Savannah.’ I really wished they would have said, ’Congratulations, Floyd, on becoming the mayor of Savannah.’ My race, or gender for that matter, has no bearing on how well I can lead Savannah during the next four years.”

He was all about bringing black and white folk in Savannah together. So much so that he often made moves that still have me scratching my head to this day—like participating in event that celebrate confederate history. His goal was figuring out how to spread the wealth through the city, to eliminate the problem of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

One of the biggest events during his mayorship (is that a word?) was the Summer Olympics of 1996. Most of the events were held in Atlanta but the 10 yachting events were held off Savannah’s coast at Wassaw Sound (near Wilmington River). Closing ceremonies were held on River Street. 

Floyd Jr. was re-elected in 1999 and tried running again but was prevented from doing so because you can’t serve three consecutive terms in Georgia. He ran again in 2007 but lost. In 2008, he was appointed to the Board of Education. Before that, after that, and during that time, he served on all kinda boards and won all kinda awards.

On February 1, 2014, he passed away at the age of 68. Keeping it in the family, his children, Kenneth and Khristi, who worked as editors for the Savannah Herald, took over when their father passed away. 

In 2018,  the section of the I-516 bridge that passes over West Bay Street was renamed the Mayor Floyd Adams Jr. Bridge. 

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