--- title: SR 205. Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection; Fulton County; dedicate collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr205 cite_as: SR 205, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr205 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr205.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr205/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70453 date: 2025-02-19 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr204.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr206.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr205.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 205 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-18 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Nan Orrock - Harold Jones - Elena Parent - David Lucas - Emanuel Jones - Donzella James - Kim Jackson - Gail Davenport - Jason Esteves - RaShaun Kemp - Kenya Wicks - Sonya Halpern - Nikki Merritt - Sally Harrell - Josh McLaurin - Freddie Sims - Michael Rhett - Randal Mangham - Nabilah Islam Parkes - Ed Harbison text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR205/2025 upstream_id: 1974282 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - memorial resolution - Fulton County - road dedication - Georgia legislature history --- # SR 205. Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection; Fulton County; dedicate ## Text Senate Resolution 205 By: Senators Orrock of the 36th, Jones II of the 22nd, Parent of the 44th, Lucas of the 26th, Jones of the 10th and others A RESOLUTION Honoring the life and memory of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort and dedicating an intersection in his memory; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was born on April 28, 1956, in New Britain, Connecticut, a beloved son of Charles Fort, Sr., and Clara Hutchinson Fort; and WHEREAS, after completing his higher education, he settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where he became a respected historian, taught at Morehouse College and Morris Brown College, and served as assistant director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project; and WHEREAS, he served as a Georgia State Senator for the 39th District from 1996 to 2017, representing parts of Atlanta, East Point, College Park, Union City, and unincorporated Fulton County as well as consistently advocating for justice and equity for all; and WHEREAS, in 2001, Senator Fort authored Georgia's first hate crimes law, ensuring harsher penalties for crimes motivated by bias, as well as the Georgia Fair Lending Act, which stood at the time as the strongest anti-predatory lending legislation in the nation and protected consumers from abusive practices; and WHEREAS, in 2011, he was elected as Georgia's Democratic Whip, during which time he championed legislation against discrimination, racial profiling, environmental racism, and labor injustices while supporting fair wages, labor unions, and stronger community protections; and WHEREAS, he was named "Legislator of the Year" in 2017 by the Georgia Association of Educators for his advocacy of Senate Bill 30, which aimed to improve public education funding and enhance community schools; and WHEREAS, he was united in love and marriage to his wife, Cheryl, and the two were blessed with three remarkable children, Nyahuma, Clara-Faith, and Zoë, as well as three wonderful grandchildren, Gizelle, Chloe, and Sunday; and WHEREAS, Senator Fort was a powerful voice for economic and racial equality, and his commitment to the people will leave a lasting impact on the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia; and WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized by dedicating an intersection in his memory. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the intersection of State Route 139/Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Lee Street Southwest in Fulton County is dedicated as the Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the family of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort and to the Department of Transportation. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution would dedicate the intersection of State Route 139/Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Lee Street Southwest in Fulton County in memory of former state Senator Vincent D. Fort. ### Plain-language summary This resolution honors the late Vincent D. Fort, who represented Georgia's 39th Senate District from 1996 to 2017 and was known for authoring the state's first hate crimes law and the Georgia Fair Lending Act. The resolution recounts his career, family, and public service. The operative part of the resolution names the intersection of State Route 139/Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Lee Street Southwest in Fulton County as the Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection. It directs the Georgia Department of Transportation to put up and maintain signs marking the dedication, and it directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies of the resolution to Fort's family and to the Department of Transportation. ### What it does - Dedicates the intersection of State Route 139/Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Lee Street Southwest in Fulton County as the Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection. - Directs the Georgia Department of Transportation to erect and maintain signs marking the dedicated intersection. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to Fort's family and to the Department of Transportation. ### Who it affects The Georgia Department of Transportation, which must install and maintain the memorial signage, the family of the late Senator Vincent D. Fort, and residents and travelers who use the intersection in Fulton County. ### Why it matters The resolution creates a permanent public marker recognizing a former state senator's decades of legislative work, including Georgia's first hate crimes law. It requires no funding beyond signage and does not change any substantive law. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses summarize Vincent D. Fort's biography, his service as a state senator from 1996 to 2017, and his legislative record. - The operative resolution clause names the intersection of State Route 139/Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Lee Street Southwest as the Senator Vincent D. Fort Memorial Intersection. - A further resolved clause authorizes and directs the Department of Transportation to erect and maintain appropriate signs. - A further resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to Fort's family and the Department of Transportation. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-18) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-19) - Sponsors: Nan Orrock, Harold Jones, Elena Parent, David Lucas, Emanuel Jones, Donzella James, Kim Jackson, Gail Davenport, Jason Esteves, RaShaun Kemp, Kenya Wicks, Sonya Halpern, Nikki Merritt, Sally Harrell, Josh McLaurin, Freddie Sims, Michael Rhett, Randal Mangham, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Ed Harbison - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70453 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr205.md?full=1