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For more than 20 years, Sally Bethea was the voice of the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta. Back in the early 1990s, hardly anyone wanted anything to do with this urban river once it flowed through the city. For nearly 60 miles downstream it was off-putting and off-limits because of sewage, litter, runoff and erosion.
Starting in 1994, Sally was named Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and took charge. She and her organization with downstream communities sued the City of Atlanta under the Clean Water Act. With the collaboration and leadership of Mayor Shirley Franklin (aka The Sewer Mayor), the city invested a whopping $4 billion to upgrade the sewer and water system.
Sally and Shirley weren’t the only ones fighting for the river. In the 1970s, members of the Junior League led by Kay McKenzie started Friends of the River. Jimmy Carter defended the river vigorously for over a decade. Now we have a new generation of environmental leaders not only on the Chattahoochee but also the South and Flint Rivers.
The documentary (42 min.) takes a more personal look at Sally, one of the first women riverkeepers in the U.S. It's about how she stepped up to become the face of the river at a pivotal moment in Atlanta's development, while also being a single parent to two sons. How she teamed up with Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, the first Black female mayor of a major southern city, to change the course of the river's future.
Sally Bethea and Shirley Franklin's story is also part of a bigger picture of Atlanta women who have led -- and continue to lead -- efforts to protect our rivers and streams.
No one owns the water.
It belongs to all of us.
The film provides a call to action for others to get involved in their communities following the example of these dedicated river advocates.
Saving the Chattahoochee is co-sponsored by Georgia Humanities, University of Georgia Special Collections, and WSB-TV.
Bethea’s memoir, Keeping the Chattahoochee, was published in 2023 by University of Georgia Press.
For more details, see https://www.hjacobscreative.com/savingchattahoochee.