Kwanza Hall (born May 1, 1971) is an American politician and businessman who briefly served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for Georgia's 5th congressional district. He previously served as a member of the

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...

for the 2nd district. He was first elected in 2005 and re-elected without opposition in 2009. He represented the neighborhoods of

Atlantic Station Atlantic Station is a neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States comprising a retail district, office space, condominiums, townhomes and apartment buildings. First planned in the mid-1990s and officially op ...

Castleberry Hill Castleberry Hill is a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, adjacent to and southwest of Downtown Atlanta. It is a federally recognized historic district since 1985 and became a City of Atlanta Landmark District in 2006. History The area in the cit ...

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901.

Inman Park Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman. History Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated * Inman Park p ...

, the Marietta Artery, Sweet Auburn and the Martin Luther King Historic District, Midtown, Poncey-Highland, and the

Old Fourth Ward The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an intown neighborhood on the eastside of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site. Geography The Old Fourth Wa ...

. He opted to not run for re-election in 2017, and was a candidate in the

2017 Atlanta mayoral election The 2017 Atlanta mayoral election occurred on November 7, 2017, with a runoff election held on December 5, 2017. Incumbent mayor Kasim Reed, a member of the Democratic Party who had been in office since 2010, was ineligible to run for reelection ...

. In the runoff for mayor, he endorsed

Keisha Lance Bottoms Keisha Lance Bottoms (born January 18, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 60th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2018 to 2022. She was elected mayor in 2017. Before becoming mayor, she was a member of the Atlanta City C ...

. In 2018, he was hired as senior political advisor in her administration, violating a city charter provision that bars elected city officials employment for one year after leaving office, followed by the position of director of development for Procter Creek for Invest Atlanta, which also came under scrutiny. He chose to run for Georgia's 5th congressional district in the 2020 special election, following the death of incumbent congressman

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

. He finished first in the first round of voting on September 29, but did not receive a majority, and thus the race was decided in a runoff against

Robert Michael Franklin Robert Michael Franklin Jr. (born February 22, 1954) is an American author, theologian, ordained minister, and academic administrator who served as the tenth president of Morehouse College from 2007 to 2012. Franklin is a visiting scholar in resi ...

on December 1, which Hall won by nearly nine points. Hall was sworn in two days later and served the final month of Lewis's term;

Nikema Williams Nikema Natassha Williams (born July 30, 1978) is an American politician and political executive serving as the representative for . The district includes almost three-fourths of Atlanta. She was a member of the Georgia State Senate for the 39th d ...

had been chosen by the

Georgia Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Georgia is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the two major political parties in the state and is chaired by Nikema Williams. President Jimmy Carter was a Georgia Democrat. Sin ...

to run in the general election in Lewis's stead.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Hall graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School. Hall attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, where he studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, but withdrew during his senior year.

Early career

Before holding elected office, Hall worked in the

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

government and served as vice president of technology for GoodWorks International, a human rights and public service consulting firm co-chaired by

Andrew Young Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christian L ...

. He then became the director of business development for MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc. In 2002, Hall was elected to the

Atlanta Board of Education The Atlanta Board of Education is the governing body of Atlanta Public Schools. The board has nine members: six are elected by geographical districts and three are elected citywide. All serve four-year terms. While the board establishes and appro ...

, where he served for three years prior to his election to the

. During his time on the Atlanta Board of Education, Hall worked toward closing the achievement gap and contributed to reforms that improved the performance of Atlanta Public Schools on statewide tests. Hall represented District 2 on the Atlanta City Council, a post he was elected to in 2005. He was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013. Among the most notable of the initiatives he has been involved in during his tenure is the

Atlanta Beltline The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect neig ...

project. Hall has also focused strongly on community improvement including land use, historical preservation, and sustainable development of in-town neighborhoods.

2017 Atlanta mayoral election

Hall filed to run in the 2017 Atlanta mayoral election in January 2017. During the campaign, Hall focused on public safety, transportation, and affordable housing. Hall placed seventh in a field of 12 candidates.

U.S. House of Representatives

Election

2020 Georgia's 5th district special election

After the death of incumbent Congressman

, Hall announced his candidacy for the September 2020 special election to succeed him. Hall placed first in the September 29, 2020 general election. As no candidate earned 50 percent of votes cast, Hall and the second place finisher, Robert Michael Franklin Jr., advanced to a December runoff election. He won the runoff election on December 1, 2020.

After Congress

Hall ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Georgia The lieutenant governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the State of Georgia, elected to a four-year term by popular vote. Unlike in some other U.S. states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the Governor of ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, and placed first in the Democratic primary, but lost the primary runoff to Charlie Bailey. On November 4, 2022, Hall endorsed Republican Governor

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 t ...

for re-election, joining 2 other Democrats in crossing party lines.

Personal life

Hall is divorced and lives in the Martin Luther King Historic District. In August 2020, Hall tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

External links

*
"Interview with Kwanza Hall" (video), ''East Atlanta Patch''/''Midtown Patch'', February 4, 2011

City of Atlanta Online

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Kwanza 1971 births Living people African-American city council members in Georgia (U.S. state) African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American school board members Atlanta City Council members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) School board members in Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people