Arthur Blank is firmly in Joe Biden's corner. Blank told Business Insider that despite their political differences, their different leanings never got in the way of their ability to work together as partners or as friends. A little shaky now. Proceeds from sales of Good Companygo to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. 17. In a statement released on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Twitter account, attributed to Blank, he said Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation leadership conveyed his sentiment directly to state officials in recent weeks. Owner, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC. Scott Jensens Unanswered $15,000,000,000 Question. 1, I think at that time I didn't probably fully appreciate the environment, the communities and neighborhood that Michael was raised in, an area called New Newport News. How do I do my part in it? GALEO strives for a better Georgia where the Latino community is engagedcivically, and its contributions and concerns are recognized. Georgia businessman Arthur Blank joins with voting groups on Democracy Class Atlanta The Jolt: Arthur Blank teams with voting groups to forge 'Democracy Class Atlanta' Caption Credit:. Marcus handed the CEO reigns to Blank in 1997; Blank held the position until a new president and CEO was hired in 2000. I mean, you know, all those things. She was a woman of great principle, great personal authority. Though the 78-year-old who's now the owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team was aware of their political differences, he said it never had any bearing on their shared values. After cofounding Home Depot in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1978, Blank and Marcus helped put the do-it-yourself phenomenon on the map by offering the tools for personal home renovations. "I know what he cares about and he cares about a lot of the same things that I care about.". The portfolio includes nearly $10 million in grants to 12 nonprofits that represent a diverse set of organizations with a strong presence in Georgia and the Southeast. /Producer ( Q t 4 . Sign up for notifications from Insider! The 79-year-old philanthropist has supported educational projects to promote civil rights and racial justice. The documentary will premiere exclusively Nov. 23, 2020 at 8 p.m.on Georgia Public Broadcasting. << No. And that's one of our core values as well: Include everybody. Big Game by New York Times Magazine writer Mark Leibovich, BLM Has Achieved Much More Than Its Critics. Given its footprint, we have good rights to expect a lot more from this monolith. However, the Atlanta Falcons new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, may foster a new era of stadium construction and community engagement. Paul, are you there? The ones in Atlanta on Friday started off peaceful but later turned into violent demonstrations and looting of local businesses. (And Im not forgetting Colin Kaepernicks protests against police violence, and how the league effectively blackballed him before paying him off to avoid a certain-to-be-nightmarish public trial.). << There was a six-year period in there, when things went a little south. Lawlessness, vandalism and intentionally upending the peace with any form of violence has never been productive and is not the answer. And myself, if you will, I'm at the very bottom of the pyramid as a servant leader and somebody who is there to provide leadership, but also provide whatever that needs to be done for us to be successful. (Confidentiality, you know.) So we had 35, 40 players kneeling before that, after that speech, we had close to 300 players kneeling because they took it personally and their families took it personally and their parents and their siblings and their grandparents and their heritage was being challenged. I have many friends who are no longer fervent Braves supporters. He had a gun on his lap, sitting on his right thigh. One of the robbers tied me up in the bathroom, the bathtub, and I said a few things to him, which, at 10 years old, I don't think my mother even knew I knew those words. Pictured is the famous napkin deal that sealed Arthur Blanks agreement with Taylor Smith to purchase the Atlanta Falcons for $545 million in 2001. This is chaos. I listen to what he says and sometimes I'll cringe. We've broken every season ticket record per game. When GALEO was established, Georgias Latino community was not well represented, nor was it a viable electoral force; today, there are over 385,000 registered Latino voters in the state. "This notion of divisiveness has become, in my humble opinion, maybe, post-Civil War, probably one of the most stressful times I've ever seen in our country," he said. But, you know, I needed to change my view on what I could give back and how it could be connected to other people.. 2023 Cox Media Group. Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur M. Blank released a statement Monday on the importance of fair elections and democracy: "Free and fair elections are vital to the health of our. They all have a great set of values. (Airlines resisting vaccination mandates for passengers are another prime example of failure of true leadership.) In a time when more than half of Americans are dissatisfied with the state of our democracy, the most powerful way to demonstrate and have our voices heard is through the vote. It Now Actually Matters, a Lot. OMG, Democrats Are Criminally Bad At Marketing What They Accomplish. 1 0 obj We Have Every Reason To Expect a Lot More from the NFL, no promises that it will reveal everything it has found out. 6 Blank was the 2003 Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. But its the NFL itself that should be held to greater account and responsibility than it ever is. No, I'm not. The foundation is . NOW WATCH: We combined Trump and Biden's separate town halls so you can watch an actual debate between the presidential candidates, Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. He details the inception and rapid success of Atlanta United, and responding to the NFL protests that began in 2016. Our Family Foundation and the rest of our businesses here in Atlanta and elsewhere remain committed to being part of the solution., Together for Atlanta. By Bob Bahr October 12, 2021, 5:48 pm. But staying in the city and trying to work with the community definitely beats the usual stadium construction scam and unwanted racial division that has become far too common in sports today. << In 2022, they plan to connect with over 1 million voters/ potential voters through phone banking, text banking, in-person canvassing events, and going door to door. And in fact, one of her famous expressions was: You do the right things for the right reasons and live with the consequences of them. And I'm trying to build that into my life as well. They put my mother, my brother and I in the living room with one of them and the other was searching the house, looking for cash that wasn't there. Expand. Home Depot co-founders pictured in 1979, a year after the first store opened. Scott Jensens Dramatic Fall Shows Ads Still Matter. And we need to figure out, you know, how do we move past that and how do we learn from that and how do we get connected with our current reality? The Braves leaving town also represented an end to the multicultural hub in the heart of the city that was forged by those Olympics. ,> U#kw1%dHT6qZq]9Ki o 1 2 . He received his MBA from Harvard. 16 Blanks son, Kenny Blank, also sits on the foundations board and is the executive director of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. In order to put this grinding pandemic behind us once and for all? Mercedes-Benz Stadium will also be home to Atlantas MLS team, Atlanta United FC. follow. A Handful of Things I Could Not Care Less About, Matt Birk: Rape Victims Are Playing the Rape Card?, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Why Is Doc Jensen Still So Obsessed With His Long-Disproven COVID Claims? endobj They said it would take an act of courage on your part to go out on the field and and to be recognized. And, you know, people stood up! They have no serious public, political advocates. You know, better than in the 40s and 50s, but not where we should be. We need to recognize those truths. So it really never defined me. The views expressed here are the authors' alone, not necessarily the views of their clients, employers or families. He notes pervasive cynicism about corporate leaders and perceptions that the drive for profit comes at the expense of public good. It's hard to believe. Kirk Cousins Failed His Character Test, But the NFL Gives Him Its Highest Award for Character Anyway, Bidens Junk Fee Fight Should Include Broders Deli as Well as Las Vegas. Its also part memoir of how his ethics evolved from watching his father run a neighborhood pharmacy in Queens, New York, to launching multi-billion dollar ventures. But there was nothing I could say better than what Mayor @KeishaBottoms said last night! Were trying to do the exact opposite of that.. And my mother was giving him a lecture saying, You realize this is not what your parents would want you to do. Atlanta Falcons vNew Orleans Saints Owner Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Flacons reacts before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on November 10, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. We believe that voting rights are critically important, and our home state of Georgia is at the center of the struggle. Of the other 60% who do come, half are rooting for the other team. So I understood what they were saying: They just wanted support noise. All of which is, yknow, really classy stuff. "People are coming from different places, which is okay, but it's not okay when they're disrespectful; it's not okay when they're not kind. And that's all part of his story of redemption and his story of being a changed person. The Arthur M. Blank Foundation announced on Wednesday a new series of grants focusing on mental health and well-being in response to America's growing mental health crisis. We were living in a single-bedroom apartment in Queens. Home Depot cofounders Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus have long been on separate sides of the fence when it comes to politics. But we both said, you know, if we ever had to compete with Handy Dan that was the most successful conventional chain of home improvement center stores in the country at that time it would be with a large, no frills, downmarket store. Left to right: Dennis Ross, Arthur Blank, Bernie Marcus, Pat Farrah, Ron Brill. Blank donated another $35,500 to the Democratic National Committee, according to Federal Election Commission filings. This is not a protest. Which country do you come from? Falcons owner Arthur Blank is weighing in on Georgia's sweeping overhaul of election laws. Atlanta, GA 30318 I think when the president [Donald Trump] in the fall of 2017 commented during his speech in Alabama about I don't want to use the words, you know what they were but he termed the players that were kneeling, in my view, in a very derogatory way. So we spent six months maybe talking to fans, or people that were not fans, but were, you know, living in the Atlanta area at that time, and we found out that there were four or five things we had to fix. He's committed to his wife now, his children. The Falcons were the first pro football team in the South, founded during the civil rights era in 1965. . It starts with respect. "I think one of the things that is wrong with America today that we can work on and become better at is that we need to become better listeners to each other and we need to be better about understanding where people are coming from," Blank said. You know, dig in [your] heels and it becomes, "My territory, your territory," etc. The NFL owners club is a remarkable collection of avaricious gargoyles. GPB is committedto bringing you comprehensive news coverage from Georgia, across the country and around the world. "He cares deeply about giving back and making a difference in people's lives. Our history of voting rights is a constant struggle, a repetitive cycle of expansion followed by restriction. And he had to mop the floors for weeks and months on end. But he did. And it was early on a Sunday morning. And I told him before, You get in a convertible and drive around the field and Michael, there are 73,000 people in the building. In 1978, both he and future Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were fired during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan. And so from there, since the 2001- 2002 season, we've only had three games that were not sold out during the season. Politicians, business owners and celebrities are speaking out to share their thoughts on Floyds death, the issues his killing have brought to the forefront and the protests that turned to chaos, specifically in Atlanta. Then I would not be bashful about asking questions. A co-founder of Home Depot increased his giving for children in the pandemic because, he said, "they don't always have the tools to deal with what's happened to them.". My dad didn't look at who it was. Today, Blank is the Chairman of AMB Group LLC, parent company of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. And part of that is reducing our environmental impact.. that those rights were not being fully reflected in our society today. The latest of Blank's many charitable endeavors is aimed at helping the museum expand its reach. Owner Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Flacons reacts before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on November 10, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. So it was a great story and is a great story. To many Atlantans, myself included, leaving Turner Field was symbolic of the white flight that has defined the city since the 1960s. During the 2020 elections, Blank contributed $300,000 to Biden Victory Fund, $35,000 to the Democratic National Convention, and tens of thousands of dollars to state Democratic Party committees.