Who is Barbara Asher?

October 30,2015

Barbara was a native of Wisconsin and moved to Atlanta, Georgia following her marriage to Norman Elsas in 1963.  Dedicated to the betterment of the community in which she lived, Barbara helped to open the Grady Child Care Center and was actively involved in the Atlanta Women’s Network.  In 1974, Mayor Maynard Jackson appointed her to the city’s Zoning Review Board and in 1977 she was elected to Atlanta City Council where she served for three terms. Due to Barbara Asher diligence, the zoning of the Fairlie-Poplar area of downtown Atlanta was changed renovating the look of the Five Points area.  In addition, she was able to get the zoning changed for the building of the new Ebenezer Baptist Church.   In her honor a statue exists of Barbara Asher on the greenway of Marietta Street.