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Public commenter urges Atlanta officials to address homelessness, rising taxes and civil-rights concerns
Summary
During public comment, Anthony Muhammad urged the Committee on Council to act to help people living on the street, cited historic civil-rights statutes and said rising local taxes are causing hardship for some residents.
During the Committee on Council public comment period, Anthony Muhammad addressed the committee for six minutes and urged Atlanta officials to take action to help people sleeping on the streets and to address what he described as economic and civil-rights harms.
Muhammad said elected leaders were not doing enough to help people living outdoors and accused officials of lacking ‘‘love and empathy for your own people.’’ He told the committee that hundreds of people have died in Atlanta while living outside and asked, “How long must I continue to beg?”
Muhammad referenced historical civil-rights sources in his remarks, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, and cited what he referred to as “section 1981.” He said those laws prohibit discrimination in government and private transactions. The transcript records his account of those statutes and his urging for officials to act; the committee did not issue any immediate policy response during public comment.
Muhammad also said his property tax burden has increased substantially, stating his tax rose by “300%” and by “almost $3,000.” He described difficulties accessing city sewer services at his location and said he had discussed his rights with an attorney; those claims were made in public comment and were not adjudicated or verified in the meeting record.
The committee chair thanked Muhammad and moved the meeting to its legislative agenda; there was no committee action recorded in response to his remarks during this meeting.
