Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Congressman Kwanza Hall is the son of the late Leon W. Hall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest lieutenant. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an alumnus of Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta. Hall dedicated the first half of his life to public service in a variety of capacities.
For 15 years, Hall served as an elected official on Atlanta City Council and on the Atlanta School Board. He represented the city’s most socially and economically diverse council district. As Councilman for District 2, Hall has been recognized for leadership in many arenas, including economic inclusion, workforce development, urban design, and arts and culture. In 2013, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation recognized his initiative to expand opportunities to families in an Atlanta neighborhood with the highest concentration of poverty in the southeastern United States.
Prior to his election to the Atlanta City Council, Hall served as Vice Chair of the Audit Committee for the Atlanta Board of Education and the appointee to Atlanta Development Authority. Hall has been a member of the City of Atlanta Pension Board and is the past chair of the Atlanta City Council’s International Relations Committee. He has been a fellow of the German Marshall Fund and a number of U.S. State Department programs. Hall served on the numerous nonprofit board of directors including but limited to the World Affairs Council, Leadership Atlanta, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
Kwanza was appointed as a Senior Fellow of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils. In 2012, Georgia State University honored him with the Pioneer Award, its highest recognition for leadership promoting arts and culture in downtown Atlanta. In 2011, Atlanta’s Park Pride honored Kwanza for governmental leadership in parks and greenspace advocacy.
He was also voted by an independent media panel as one of the 100 Most Influential Atlantans. Atlanta’s American Institute of Architects chapter created the Kwanza Hall Award for civic leadership in architectural design. In 2009, Creative Loafing named Kwanza Atlanta’s “Best Local Political Figure.”
Most recently, Hall served as United States Representative for Georgia’s 5th district, completing the late Congressman John Lewis’ term. Although he only served briefly, many historians have said this period has proven to be one of the most consequential periods in US history. In the spirit of continuing the legacy of leadership and activism passed down from Ambassador Andrew Young and Congressman Lewis, Hall introduced 6 pieces of legislation requesting funding for transit oriented development on Atlanta’s Southside, cosponsored 14 additional bills, advocated on the floor of Congress 18 times and voted on 25 separate occasions for over $3trillion in the combined Covid Relief, Omnibus and Military budgets. The Hallmark of his service has been about being a bridge for the next generation of leaders in social justice, job creation and equal economic opportunity for all. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Development Authority of Fulton County and currently leads in government affairs bridging the public and private sector for economic growth.