Daniel's Story

Daniel Blackman is a 28-year-old husband, father, and friend to many who lives, works and worships in Fulton County. He and his wife Jeanelle live in Southwest Atlanta with their 3 year old son, Anias and their 10 month old son, Zion. His commitment to family and community has fueled his passion to serve as an environmental consultant and community organizer, while his wife Jeanelle is a graphic designer and database administrator who has a passion for mentoring young women. Additionally, the couple co-owns an Atlanta-based graphic design firm called Visual Marketing International.

While attending Clark Atlanta University, he was groomed by civil rights and community leaders including Dr. Gerald Durley, Reverend C.T. Vivian, and Attorney Janice Mathis, and soon became a tireless advocate for young professionals, becoming the youngest board member of the Atlanta Business League, a guest speaker at the Congressional Black Caucus and numerous civil rights conferences, and National Director of Programming for an influential Atlanta-based nonprofit. Politically, he has served various grassroots “Get Out The Vote” efforts, assisted with the late Maynard Jackson’s “American Voters League”, and served on various local, state, and Presidential campaigns in Georgia and throughout the United States. He is an avid believer that he must return the leadership characteristics to the next generation of young men and women because so many influential figures invested their time and energy into his future.

Currently, Daniel is pursuing public office to serve as State Representative for House District 61 in the July 15th Primary Election, and hopes to fill the vacated seat of retired Representative Bob Holmes. He serves throughout the Metropolitan Atlanta Region as a social justice advocate and a fighter for working families.

Daniel has long been active in the Fulton County community. He was appointed by Chief Justice Leah Sears to serve as a member of the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Children, Marriage, and Family Law, a commission created to study the legal consequences associated with the growing fragmentation of Georgia families, and make recommendations for addressing their root causes. He also serves as a consultant, an advisory board member, and “Young Professional” appointee to the National Wildlife Federation.

He believes in a cleaner and healthier Georgia environment where its citizens and their children are protected from air pollution and where clean water is readily available. He will continue to advocate for the conservation of our natural areas while keeping landfills out of our precious communities.

As the son of Sgt. Rudolph and Diana Blackman, both immigrants from Barbados, Daniel has traveled throughout the world living on two continents and in over five cities, but is proud to call Georgia his home. He credits his leadership and service characteristics to his father who served as a career soldier with the United States Army 75th Ranger Regiment. His parents and two brothers all reside in Austell, Georgia.