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On the evening of Feb. 20 at an assisted living facility just on the edge of Southwest Atlanta, Ernestine Mann stood in front of her peers to read aloud a proclamation commemorating Black History Month. She was dressed for the occasion: delicate earrings and a flowy blouse with a little hint of shimmer.

"Good evening everyone," Mann said, as her daughter Karla McKinney filmed. "This is my first year living here and I'm having a great time."

Mann moved into this facility, Arbor Terrace at Cascade, in August 2019 and quickly became a prominent community member. She was a leader in a group tasked with welcoming newcomers; Once, she'd greeted a woman who was deaf by seamlessly switching to American Sign Language, a skill she'd learned years ago.

"She was not over there wasting away," said McKinney. "She wasn't the resident that just kind of showed up for the dining hall and then just stayed in her room. She had a really nice social life."

That particular night in February, Mann was standing before her new neighbors, reading a document celebrating "the remarkable accomplishments and lasting impact of our country's great African-American leaders and citizens."