Celebrating Black History Month: Flynn Broady Jr.

Feb. 8—EDITOR'S NOTE — In recognition of Black History Month, the MDJ is asking community leaders how they are celebrating and what the month means to them. Today, we feature Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady Jr.

For Flynn Broady Jr., the district attorney for Cobb County, Black History Month is a call to Americans to continue appreciating the diversity of minority groups in the U.S.

"I think it's important because it recognizes the diversity that we have in our nation and all the work that everybody has done to build the nation to make it what it is," he said.

Broady said he takes the month to read about influential people in African-American history.

Much of his past research during the month has centered around Black war heroes, like the Harlem Hellfighters, a regiment of Black soldiers that fought in World War I and II, and the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of fighter pilots in World War II.

This month, Broady is reading about African-American scientists, such as George Washington Carver, who is known for his promotion of peanut planting, but who made other significant contributions to farming as a researcher and professor at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Regarding what Broady's office will be doing for Black History Month, he said it would not be any different from what it normally does.

"Our focus is just bringing equality and equity to the criminal justice system for all people involved, and I think that's something that we haven't seen a lot of throughout our nation's history," Broady said. "So just making sure that that's what we stand for and that's what we work towards, to make sure everybody feels that the criminal justice system works for them."