111-year-old Atlanta resident gets free tickets to Michelle Obama event

ATLANTA — A longtime Atlanta resident received free tickets to Michelle Obama's book tour at State Farm Arena on Saturday.

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Willie Mae Hardy, who turned 111 in March, received two complimentary tickets courtesy of Atlanta City Council member Natalyn Mosby Archibong, other local elected officials and neighbors, city officials announced Friday afternoon.

“On at least two separate occasions, our city had previously awarded Ms. Hardy with a proclamation acknowledging her longevity and her life,” Archibong said in a news release. “So, when I learned that she wanted to attend the Michelle Obama event in Atlanta, it seemed only fitting that every effort should be made to fulfill her wish.”

Obama is on a worldwide book tour for her book, "Becoming," The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.

Archibong is hoping the former first lady takes a picture with Hardy “to capture this monumental moment.”

Hardy was born on a plantation in Junction City in 1908. The granddaughter of a slave, Hardy moved to Atlanta in 1939 and then DeKalb County in 1966 to be with her daughter and care for her grandchildren.

Hardy lives in Kirkwood with her granddaughter.

“I first met Ms. Hardy in 2017 at the Annual Living Legends Cookout held in Kirkwood,” Archibong said. “Her journey from being born on a plantation to living to see the first African American become president of the United States is inspirational.”

Cox Media Group