Category: Guest Column

For 35 years, Ed McBrayer’s passion for connecting people with trails reshaped the landscape of Atlanta and far beyond. His vision helped carve the face of Georgia by building pathways — bridges, tunnels, and miles of trails so that many generations will be able to walk, ride, and enjoy without ever knowing the loving and […]

On a humid summer evening in downtown Atlanta, a patient of ours living in an encampment near Peachtree Street is arrested for the minor offense of trespassing and loitering. He is then taken to Fulton County Jail. During booking, the Methadone medication he takes daily for opioid use disorder is stopped. Within 24 hours, withdrawal […]

At the end of 2025, over a span of just a few months, our family celebrated the lives and mourned the losses of five beautiful people who were our matriarchs, mentors and neighbors, ages 44, 63, 67, 68 and 81. Four were mothers, one a son and brother, all beloved in their own spheres and […]

In Atlanta, we often celebrate innovation — in business, technology and health care. Yet for many families across the metro area, the most basic part of health care remains the hardest: knowing whether they can afford the care they’re told to get. As someone who grew up translating insurance letters for my immigrant parents, and […]

The National Park Service has proposed a Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor Use Management Plan (VUMP) — again. The plan would introduce sweeping changes to the uniquely wild landscapes of Georgia’s southernmost barrier island and fundamentally alter the visitor experience. Among other recommendations, the proposal would more than double visitor capacity from 300 to 700 […]

There’s no city like Atlanta. Since the 1996 Olympics, we have grown into a global powerhouse at the intersection of culture, commerce and campuses. Our influence is undeniable, from the music that helps shape the world’s sound to the civic movements that shape the national conversation. But as the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, we […]

Get ready, Atlanta history buffs, Christmas is right around the corner. I am, of course, referring to the most exciting time of the year for those who want to learn about all things Atlanta: Phoenix Flies. During the month of March, the Atlanta Preservation Center hands out the best present any Atlantan could ask for […]

I am a kindergarten teacher, a school founder and a parent, and I have spent my life working alongside children and families at their most vulnerable, witnessing both the extraordinary resilience people carry and the devastating consequences when systems fail them. In 2018, my friend experienced a severe mental health crisis, resulting in a fatal […]

Ramadan begins when the next new moon is seen, expected on February 18th this year, 11 days earlier than last year.  Muslims in Georgia and around the world are preparing for a month defined by fasting, community, spiritual reflection and service. For billions of people, the month is joyful and deeply grounding — yet it […]

For weeks, fear spread across Minneapolis, and its tremors are being felt far beyond that city — including here in Georgia. From our largest cities to our smallest towns, congregations are anxious, families are uneasy, and communities of every faith tradition and political belief sense how close the nation feels to the edge. We speak […]

Sammy Younge, Jr., an Alabama Navy veteran who became a SNCC organizer, was murdered at a Tuskegee, Ala., gas station for trying to use the station’s “white” toilet on January 3, 1966.  The death prompted SNCC to finally take a public position against the war, despite the unwillingness of other civil rights groups to do […]

For decades, we’ve treated food systems, energy systems, and economic development as separate conversations. They aren’t. They are tightly linked parts of the same system — and when one fails, the others feel it immediately. Rising food prices, stressed power grids, supply chain disruptions, and climate volatility are not isolated problems. They’re signals that the […]

On paper, the labor market looks steady. Unemployment remains relatively low. Job growth, while slower, hasn’t collapsed. For many leaders, this has become shorthand for “things are fine.” That assumption is risky. Stability in workforce data is not the same as security in workforce reality. And right now, the gap between the two is widening […]

Across the nonprofit and arts sectors, a shared set of pressures is reshaping how organizations operate: constrained funding, heightened expectations for community impact, and growing calls for equity, accountability, and relevance. In this context, community engagement is no longer a “nice to have.” It is increasingly central to how nonprofit organizations in particular justify their […]

In 2026, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a milestone that invites every state to reflect on its own history and the legacy it hopes to carry into the next century. Georgia, one of the original thirteen colonies, stands at the heart of that story. From Savannah’s colonial […]

One of the most concerning things about President Trump’s destruction of the East Wing is his disdain for the concept of the People’s House. Not his house, the people’s. In imposing his gilded ideas on the People’s House, he acts as if he is the head of a private corporation, and can do to the […]

Georgians have endured a whirlwind of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) changes these past couple of months with no end in sight. Most recently on Nov. 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Georgia Department of Human Services announced SNAP work requirement changes for ABAWDs (able-bodied adults without dependents), following the passage […]

Bipartisanship in America can be difficult to find these days and we need more of it. In Washington, D.C., the federal government is only recently reopened after a record shutdown that saw both parties posture for the cameras.  But in Atlanta, politicians of all backgrounds have managed to come together to make things work. And […]

Since its founding in 1997, the Town Center Community Improvement District (CID) has proven that when the public and private sectors work together, incredible things can happen. As I reflect on the past year, it’s clear the Town Center Community is not only growing, it’s thriving. With a $12.6 billion annual impact on Cobb County […]

Among the founders of “The Great Speckled Bird,” Atlanta’s weekly “underground” newspaper, Tom wrote a column entitled “What’s it all about, Ralphie?” in the paper’s first issue, March 8, 1968. Its title came from a contemporary movie starring Michael Caine as “Alfie,” a priapic chauffeur; striking a note that set the subsequent tone for The […]