It was indeed a festive and glamorous evening at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel, recently, when friends, family and well-wishers gathered to celebrate Ambassador Joe Beasley as he marked his 80th birthday in style. The event which was hosted by the African Leadership Magazine, was also used to launch the Joe Beasley Foundation.
Mr. Beasley, a foremost civil right leader and Chairman African Leadership Advisory Board, is celebrated throughout North America, South America, Africa and the Caribbean for his extraordinary service to underdeveloped communities and underserved African-descendant populations around the world.
Since 1985, he has been the Human Services Director at Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, a position that has been the foundation for his global activism. During the 1994 election in South Africa that swept the late President Nelson Mandela into office, Beasley worked with the African National Congress to register voters. During Haiti’s second democratically held election in 1995, he served as an election monitor.
For more than a decade, Beasley has also served as the Southern Regional Director for Rainbow PUSH, another platform for his work to affect social change. In 2014, the US Library of Congress recognized Beasley’s contributions to the betterment of underserved communities when it inducted his oral interview into its historical archives.
On the occasion of his 80th birthday celebration, the evening was filled with unforgettable moments including the viewing of a short biopic documentary and the conferral of an honorary Doctorate upon Mr. Beasley.
Guests at the ceremony enjoyed a 3 course meal, danced to a colorful mix of international music and were delighted in the experience of a night of global greatness shared through the achievements of African Leaders and Atlanta’s very own, “Hometown Hero,” Mr. Joe H. Beasley.
