But in his memoir, he recalls being among those who believed the first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson, had “divided the city along racial lines.” Much of Buckhead’s business community was ready to support a white candidate to replace Jackson in 1981.īut Loudermilk became a staunch supporter – and campaign co-chair – of Black candidate Andrew Young, a Civil Rights activist who won and became a transformative mayor for a decade. Feeling sympathy for the “underdogs” who paid the rental fee in small change, he wrote, he and a friend joined part of the third march.īack in Atlanta, Loudermilk was among the conservative white business leaders who believed Black political leadership of city government was inevitable. In his memoir, he recalls renting furniture to Martin Luther King Jr.’s team for some of the organizing for the historic voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama. The business also drew his first involvement in the Civil Rights movement. In 1955, Loudermilk started Aaron’s, which grew rapidly. ![]() He praised her as the inspiration for his work ethic in his memoir, titled after her supportive advice in times of challenges: “Charlie, Just Do Better Next Time.” His mother Addie ran restaurants, a business he joined her in for about 15 years. in Northwest Atlanta’s Howell Mill Road corridor and spent much of his childhood playing – and selling goods on the street –- in nearby Buckhead, where he was nicknamed “Jeep” after a “Popeye” cartoon character. His death was announced in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution obituary.Ĭharles Loudermilk Sr. He will forever be remembered as a pillar of the community.” He always looked to the future of our city and his life was a shining example of philanthropy and hard work. We are greatly saddened to hear of his passing and our thoughts are with his family. The entire Atlanta City Council issued a joint statement saying Loudermilk “loved the city of Atlanta and remained committed to building civic pride and uniting the community throughout his life. “From his philanthropic efforts to his work integrating marginalized Atlanta businesses into the larger business community, his accomplishments were many and his actions matched his mantra of ‘work hard, dream big.’ My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.” “Throughout his life, he remained devoted to ensuring Atlanta is a prosperous, unified and forward-thinking community,” said Dickens. Mayor Andre Dickens said in a written statement that he was “deeply saddened” by Loudermilk’s death. I’ve had a near perfect life, though, like most mortals, I’m an imperfect person.” ![]() “Most amazing, I’ve been blessed with the means and desire to change things for the better while I still can. “I’ve been blessed with a loving family, lifelong friends, robust health, and a successful company founded a long time ago on a shoestring,” he wrote in a 2011 memoir. Locally, he paid for the 2008 rehabilitation of the historic Buckhead Theatre on Roswell Road and is lionized across the street in Charlie Loudermilk Park, a virtual shrine that includes a replica of the clock tower at his college and a statue of the man himself giving the thumbs-up sign.
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