When the Hyatt Regency Atlanta opened in 1967-then called the Regency Hyatt House-it celebrated a number of firsts. It would become the first Hyatt Regency property in the Hyatt Hotels & Resorts brand. The John Portman-designed building would also introduce the atrium concept to modern hotel design and it was among the first to feature a rooftop, revolving restaurant.
It would also famously become the property to host a meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after the group had been rejected from their planned venue.
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According to a Hyatt-sponsored article in The Atlantic, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., complained to the white manager of the intended property about the quality of service the group received.
Civil rights leader Xernona Clayton recalls the manager of the hotel responding, "You're the problem. We don't like you coming here. You're the problem."
In the market for a new venue, Clayton turned to the still-under-construction Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and said she would "consider this a hotel of hope."
Today, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is celebrating that moment and its 50-year history with a stirring new video called "Come Together," directed by award-winning director Simon Benjamin and starring spoken word artist Tarriona "Tank" Ball.
"When people come together, they do brilliant things," narrates Ball in the opening sequence.
"There are over seven billion in this world. And when someone joins someone and they join someone, well, that's when understanding becomes the new drum to which we collectively march. It's timbre vibrating at a frequency that shatters glass ceilings and brings down dividing poles But we cannot walk a mile in one another's shoes until we get close enough to put them on."
The message is made particularly powerful as it coincides with a weekend of racial tension and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Although the video's release this week is timely, it's concept predates the events in Charlottesville. It has been in the works for a while, according to Maryam Banikarim, chief marketing officer at Hyatt, in an interview with Ad Age magazine. She said the brand considered delaying the video release but ultimately decided to go ahead as planned.
"The hotel showed bravery 50 years ago when others didn't," said Banikarim. "On the eve of the anniversary, shouldn't we as an organization demonstrate the same bravery?"
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Hyatt says the film is an extension of its World of Hyatt brand, which is built the belief that a little understanding goes a long way.
"Understanding and the power of collaboration have been part of our DNA for years and there are few brands that can speak to it as authentically as Hyatt Regency," said Banikarim.
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