MARTA unveils bus honoring the late Juanita Abernathy
Civil rights leader Juanita Jones Abernathy was honored by MARTA leaders — past and present — for her contributions to public transportation, equity and service on Thursday, April 11.
Abernathy, who died in 2019, served on MARTA’s board for more than 16 years as a City of Atlanta representative. She was the widow of fellow civil rights leader – Ralph David Abernathy Sr.
Many family members attended the event across from MARTA’s headquarters, including her daughter Donzaleigh Abernathy and her son, Kwame Abernathy. Several other family members, including her grandchildren, attended the event when a MARTA bus was unveiled wrapped with images honoring Juanita Jones Abernathy.
Back in 1955, Mrs. Abernathy helped organize the Montgomery bus boycott that made Rosa Parks famous. The boycott lasted a year until the courts declared that segregated seating on public buses was unconstitutional, according to Collie Greenwood, MARTA’s general manager.
Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell appointed Abernathy to the MARTA board in 2001. She served on the transit agency until 2017.
— Maria Saporta
Agnes Scott receives $1 million in federal funding to train physicians, mental health counselors
Last week, Agnes Scott College (ASC) announced that it was awarded $1 million to train physician assistants and clinical mental health counselors in maternal and pediatric care, which is part of the 2024 omnibus appropriations bill signed by President Joe Biden last month.
The grant will provide resources for their physician assistant and clinical mental health counseling graduate programs.
Leocadia Zak, president of ASC was grateful to Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock for their support of the appropriations act.
“This legislation makes strong investment that will lower childcare costs, support small businesses, strengthen rural health care and more,” Warnock said.
Click here for more information.
— Allison Joyner
Atlanta celebrates Francis Coppola’s 85th birthday
Hundreds of Atlantans lifted up glasses of champagne on April 7 at the Plaza Theatre to celebrate the 85th birthday of legendary filmmaker Francis Coppola.
After the toast, attendees were treated to one of Coppola’s masterpieces — “The Cotton Club Encore” — on the 40th anniversary since the original film was released.
Coppola, who calls Atlanta home, was visibly moved by the celebration.
Plaza Theatre owner Chris Escobar engaged Coppola in a conversation that covered several topics.
For example, Coppola finds that people with three names seem pretentious, so he prefers not to include Ford as a middle name, though that’s how most people refer to him.
“The Cotton Club Encore” includes several dancing scenes that were not in the original film.
Coppola revealed that 40 years ago, there was pushback to having as much of a Black focus to the movie as well as extensive dancing scenes. Coppola had the last word by releasing the “Encore” version that included many scenes that had been cut. As Coppola stated, the movie was about the Cotton Club — how could it not be focused on Black performers?
Coppola said when casting Richard Gere, the actor wanted to play the cornet in the movie. The scenes of Gere playing the cornet and the piano in the movie are genuine.
— Maria Saporta
SCAD, Writers Guild Foundation partners for TVfest
Earlier this week, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) announced it is partnering with the Writers Guild Foundation to host an exclusive pop-up version of their library during SCAD TVfest.
On April 19, visitors will have the opportunity to check out famous film and television scripts including Oscar-winning and nominated films like “Barbie,” American Fiction,” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the Emmy-winning and nominated shows like “Friends,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Game of Thrones,” “Black-ish,” and “Golden Girls.”
Tickets for SCAD students, faculty and staff are free, for alumni $ and $10 for the general public.
Click here to purchase tickets.
— Allison Joyner
Eugene Jones, former Atlanta Housing CEO, has a new gig
The Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority has a new executive director — Atlanta’s own Eugene Jones.
In a recent release, the VIHFA said Jones had a reputation for being “Mr. Fix-It” in the public housing sector – being instrumental in revitalizing troubled housing agencies in Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, New Orleans and Detroit.
Jones served as president and CEO of Atlanta Housing for more than four years until early February, when he was succeeded by his No. 2, Terri Lee.
VIHFA said his appointment as head of the finance agency comes at a critical time for the U.S. territory as it deals with recovery efforts following the 2017 hurricanes and an affordable housing crisis.
Jenifer O’Neal, board chair of VIHFA, said she was “thrilled” to announce Jones’ appointment after a rigorous search process.
“His leadership and vision will undoubtedly steer our organization towards greater heights, furthering our mission of providing affordable housing solutions to the residents of the Virgin Islands,” O’Neal said in the release. “As chair of the board, I join the other members in extending a warm welcome to Mr. Jones as he embarks on this new journey with us.”
In a brief telephone conversation on April 10, Jones said he would continue to have an apartment in Atlanta, at least for the foreseeable future.
— Maria Saporta
AUC team awarded $14 million National Science Foundation grant
This week, Morehouse School of Medicine announced that the Atlanta University Consortium Team was awarded a $14 competitive million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation as part of its Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRATED) initiative.
The grant is part of a $20 million investment across eight institutions through its GRANTED initiative.
The Consortium, which consists of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College, will participate in the AUC-GRANTED project designed to exchange best practices by research leadership, enhance research development capacity to support ideation and competitive proposal development, strengthen the research administration infrastructure and create an AUC-wide office for research and technology commercialization.
“AUC-GRANTED will serve as a national model for collectively addressing transformative equity and diversity in the nation’s scientific research landscape,” said Rick Kittles, Senior Vice President for Research at Morehouse School of Medicine.
Click here to learn more.
— Allison Joyner
Family of Herman Russell to receive 2024 Four Pillar Award
The Council for Quality Growth announced this week that it will honor the late Herman J. Russell Sr. and his family at the 2024 Four Pillar Award on Oct. 10. Russell built one of the leading minority contracting firms in the country.
It is the first time the Council will honor the living legacy of a family with its Four Pillar award. In addition to the patriarch, Russell’s three children will be honored – Donata Russell Ross, H. Jerome Russell, and Michael Russell Sr.
The Council said the family demonstrates the Four Pillars of leadership – Quality, Responsibility, Vision and Integrity.
“You really can’t tell the story of Atlanta without talking about Herman Russell,” said Michael Paris, the Council for Quality Growth’s president and CEO. “His entrepreneurial spirit helped build our city, his leadership inspired those around him, and his legacy continues to be part of the success our region celebrates today. We’re looking forward to honoring his legacy carried on through Donata, Jerome, and Michael on this special 35th anniversary of the Four Pillar Tribute.”
The Council for Quality Growth will present the children of Herman Russell during its 2024 Four Pillar Tribute, presented by Delta Air Lines, Georgia Power, and Norfolk Southern on Oct. 10, 2024, at the Georgia World Congress Center.
— Maria Saporta
Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series hosts 2024 primary election contenders
On April 28, 2024, the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series will host primary election debates for U.S. Congressional Districts Two (R), Three (R), Six (D), Thirteen (D), Georgia Supreme Court, Fulton County District Attorney, and DeKalb County CEO.
The debates will take place at Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). They are not open to the public, but they will stream live on The Atlanta Press Club Facebook page and GPB.org. They will also air on GPB-TV and WABE.
In addition, people can watch the debate series on demand on the Atlanta Press Club YouTube page.
— Derek Prall
Editor’s note: All SaportaReport staff are members of the Atlanta Press Club and some have at times served in leadership positions.
City seeks public engagement in crafting citywide trails plan
The City of Atlanta’s Department of Parks & Recreation is undergoing a public engagement phase to understand what — and where — Atlantans want to see in their trails going forward. The feedback will be used to help craft the Trails ATL Plan, part of the Activate ATL Strategic Plan.
“Connecting Atlantans where they want to go” is the mantra of this initiative, which has already seen pop-up activations at Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs) around the city. The plan hopes to connect people with parks and natural resources, but also neighborhoods and the amenities within those neighborhoods.
Community members can give their input into the Trails ATL Plan by attending a public meeting. The latest official public meeting is being held today, April 10, with four more meetings scheduled for the month of April, including one in Spanish. Pop ups will also continue to happen at various NPU meetings.
The goal is to use the input and feedback from the community and have a public presentation of the comprehensive plan by Q1 2025, where feedback will again be solicited.
— Mark Lannaman
Decatur Children’s Book Festival Debuts in May
The inaugural Decatur Children’s Book Festival will take place May 3 to 5 in downtown Decatur
“We are thrilled to host a festival that will encourage young readers to continue exploring the world of literature,” said Diane Capriola, co-owner of Little Shop of stories, the festival’s presenter. “We feel fortunate to have such great voices joining us and hope this will foster a lifelong love of reading.”
A keynote event kicks off the festival on Friday, May 3 at First Baptist Church of Decatur. Renowned authors, Kate Dicamillo, LaDarrion Williams, and Rebecca Ross, will be delivering keynote speeches and discussing their latest literary works throughout the festival.
Click here for more information.
— Derek Prall
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia unveils $50 million renovation plan for Cumberland Medical Office Building
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia today announced commencement of a major renovation at its Cumberland Medical Office Building. Spanning 91,000 square feet, the new space will transform the facility into a full multi-specialty medical center.
“This initiative serves as a part of Kaiser Permanente’s ongoing commitment to provide state-of-the-art facilities and top-quality care to its members,” said Pam Shipley, regional president of Kaiser Permanente Georgia. “By partnering with Leapley Construction, we not only ensure the highest standards of construction but also contribute to the economic health of our communities.”
The renovation will modernize the facility to better accommodate current and future Kaiser Permanente members, with a focus on expanding medical specialties and services. Key features include:
- Addition of cardiology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, ophthalmology and optometry services.
- Enhancement of existing adult medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, dermatology, maternal and child health, weight management and podiatry practices.
- Renovations to X-ray, ultrasound, mammography and other imaging facilities.
- Expansion and upgrades to outpatient pharmacy and lab facilities.
As part of Kaiser Permanente’s Supplier Diversity Program, the $50 million project was awarded to Atlanta-based Leapley Construction, a certified woman-owned business that specializes in commercial projects for healthcare and other markets.
— Derek Prall
