By Tom Baxter When you think about who in recent Georgia political history Stacey Abrams can be compared to, one unexpected name rises like a giant balloon above the rest. Like Abrams, Newt Gingrich was the upstart leader of a movement bent on toppling the state’s political establishment. Like her, Gingrich gained national prominence before […]
Category: Columns
Posted inColumns
In remaking part of Mechanicsville, the future may lie in the past
For the strip of Whitehall Street nestled between Castleberry Hill and Mechanicsville just southwest of Downtown, the future is easy to predict. Redevelopment.
But redevelopment into what and for whom? A skyscraper-crowned mega-project freshly announced for the strip’s Downtown end is one kind of answer. Another future, however, might lie in the past.
Posted inColumns
Creating a Buckhead City would hurt Atlanta on so many levels
The proposal to carve out a City of Buckhead out of the City of Atlanta would be detrimental – financially, politically and psychologically.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta Braves in World Series: What’s next for Native Americans?
Three incongruences around consideration of Native Americans are occurring in real-time in metro Atlanta, just as a national dialogue is spurred by the Federal Reserve, Biden administration and cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Posted inAllison Joyner
UNCF President emphasizes influx of financial support during Rotary Club meeting
Under his leadership, the nonprofit has raised over $3 billion for hundreds of thousands of students at 37 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By Allison Joyner Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), has a lot to say about why Atlantans should support their HBCUs, especially the Atlanta University Center. “The colleges […]
Posted inHannah Jones
Sustainable Fashion Week: Dress cute but make it eco-friendly
Thanks to targeted social media ads and brand deals with your favorite celebrities, it can be tempting to buy a new outfit or the latest pair of shoes. But in 2018, around 12,970 tons of clothes and shoes were manufactured, according to the most recent data provided by the EPA. About 9,070 tons, though, ended […]
Posted inColumns
‘Dune’ – a visually overwhelming sci-fi movie best seen in theaters
“Dune” didn’t do it for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t do it for you.
Posted inColumns
Congress should not raise taxes on investments that create Black-owned business
By Guest Columnist MELINDA SYLVESTER, president of the Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce
Across the 50 states, there are 2.6 million Black-owned businesses that generate more than $138 billion in revenue annually. Georgia is among the nation’s leaders as Black entrepreneurs and Black enterprise flock to our state to launch new business to create jobs and wealth.
Posted inLatest News
APS recognizes baseball hall-of-famer by renaming academy
The school was previously named after Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Bedford Forrest. By Allison Joyner On Wednesday, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) took another step to further distance its institutions from honoring problematic historical figures. The former Forrest Hill Academy — named after the Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford […]
Posted inTom Baxter
From sea to sea, extracting the politics from redistricting proves hard to do
By the time the General Assembly convenes in a couple of weeks, legislatures around the country will be fully engaged in the struggle between turf protection and political overreach that we call redistricting. What we can tell from what’s been going on elsewhere is that even when states change the rules to depoliticize the process of drawing political maps, it’s proving very hard to do.
Posted inColumns
Will Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ push in suburban city elections drown nonpartisan tradition?
From Tucker to Sandy Springs, the state Democratic Party is making good on plans to run candidates in suburban city elections. Think local ripples from the “blue wave” that already washed Republicans out of north metro Congressional and General Assembly seats, helped flip Georgia to Biden, and, Democrats hope, puts one of their own in the Governor’s Office in 2022.
Posted inColumns
ATL BeltLine: Third rail of Atlanta’s 2021 elections, the dream too big to fail
The Atlanta BeltLine may be the third rail in this year’s city politics, as well as a near mystical vision so deep in the city’s psyche that failure to fulfill could be disastrous – the very definition of “too big to fail.”
Posted inAllison Joyner
Interactive children’s book presents HBCUs during story time
The book’s purpose is to introduce a new generation of children (and some adults) to the possibilities that Historically Black Colleges and Universities can provide. By Allison Joyner A new children’s book, “A is for Ancestors: My Black College ABCs”, uses an interactive approach to teach young children about Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). […]
Posted inColumns
LINK trip to Chicago to explore fixes for race and income inequities
The regional leadership delegation – LINK – will be going to Chicago at the end of October where it will focus on the issues of historic racial inequities, the wealth gap as well as transit and economic development.
Posted inHannah Jones
East Point resident fills local elections information gap with “East Point Votes”
Who is running for office? What is their stance on issues that matter most to me? These are a few questions that East Point resident Seth Rikard struggled to find an answer to during the 2017 election cycle. While the decisions of local elected officials impact us daily, finding information on the races and candidates […]
Posted inColumns
‘The Velvet Underground’ – a worthwhile portrait of Lou Reed
One reason I’m somewhat neutral on the new documentary, “The Velvet Underground,” may be that I dated a guy in the early ‘70s who loved Lou Reed more than he loved me.
