"A lot of the bigger problems that we have to solve, that computers can't solve at this time, are problems that aren't just black and white that numbers can solve. It takes leaders and staff that are diverse in experience, in educational background-- and art helps with that."
On today's program, we are joined by a rising star of the Democratic Party, Mayor Adrian Perkins of Shreveport, Louisiana. The Mayor, who is running for the United States Senate, share his story, inspirations, and dreams in this wide-ranging conversation. He and Daniel speak about his early response to the virus for which he was nationally lauded, the role technology can play in making a city safer and more efficient, and how being a Democrat is very different in Cambridge, Massachusetts (where he went to law school at Harvard) and in Shreveport, Louisiana. He also speaks to the role the humanities and the arts can and should play in American cities.
Adrian Perkins is the Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana. He was born in the Cedar Grove neighborhood of Shreveport, attending Arthur Circle, Youree Drive Middle School, and Captain Shreve High School.In the wake of 9/11, Adrian Perkins accepted a nomination to the United States Military Academy.
There, he was the captain of the track team and the first African-American graduate elected Class President in West Point's history. Perkins deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan after graduating from West Point.
He achieved the rank of Captain and Company Commander in the United States Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.
After three tours of duty, the Tillman Foundation accepted Perkins into their Tillman Scholar Program, enabling him to attend Harvard Law School, where he was again elected Student Body President. On April 26, 2018, he announced his candidacy for Mayor of Shreveport, and on December 29th, 2018, Adrian Perkins was installed as the
56th Mayor of Shreveport.
