The Atlanta Voice is celebrating its 60th anniversary this month and reflecting on decades of covering the issues and politics shaping Atlanta and Black communities. As the newspaper marks the milestone, publisher Janis L. Ware is turning over the reins to a new generation of leadership after nearly five decades helping guide the publication.
The new publisher was not officially named.
A celebration was held on May 11 at the newspaper’s office on Pryor Street on the exact anniversary date of its first publication. Guests poured into the former printing press space, now transformed into a digital studio and gathering space.
Ware has served the newspaper organization for 49 years and became publisher in 1991 following the death of her father, Atlanta Voice co-founder J. Lowell Ware. She said she is most proud of continuing the newspaper’s legacy while adapting and pivoting through changing times, whether in the world, in the news industry or in life.
In recent years, Ware has navigated the deaths of both her husband, James Washington, and mother, Dr. Alice M. Ware, while continuing to helm the newspaper.
“Things will continue to change. You have to be able to adapt to the change,” Ware told SaportaReport. “I’m proud that I was able to do that. I’m proud that I managed the [fiduciary responsibility] well.”
Ware was joined at the celebration by civil rights icon Xernona Clayton, Ware’s nephew and CEO Richard Dunn, and a host of family members and longtime supporters.
Clayton’s late husband, Ed Clayton, co-founded The Atlanta Voice with J. Lowell Ware. Dunn told the crowd that Ed Clayton died shortly before the newspaper’s first publication was produced.
Ware said she graduated from the University of Georgia on a Friday in 1977 and began working with her father the following Monday. What was intended to be a short-term plan to help repay college tuition evolved into a nearly five-decade career with the publication.
“My father was a great teacher and allowed me to learn every aspect of business that he had going,” she said during a conversation with SaportaReport.
Ware said that as a woman publisher, there were moments when people underestimated her leadership or attempted to take advantage of vulnerable periods for the newspaper.
“A man told me one time, ‘either you sell me the paper or I will put you out of business,’” she recalled. “That’s the arrogance of people. You cannot be threatened by that.”
The man has since died. “But I didn’t have anything to do with his demise,” she said jokingly.
Now, Ware said, she is comfortable stepping aside because she believes the next generation of leadership is prepared for the future of journalism and the pace of technology and cultural trends.
“Change is inevitable. It’s going to take place,” Ware said. “It’s about how we adapt. Younger people can adapt a whole lot faster than someone at my age. Their minds think faster. They’re not as set in their ways.”
That next generation includes editor-in-chief Donnell Suggs, who has led the newsroom since 2022 and expanded the publication’s political coverage while continuing its community focus.
“Georgia politics is literally helping shape how this country is run,” Suggs said. “So much so that the president called [state officials] and said, ‘I need this many votes out of Georgia.’”
Suggs said the publication has turned away from crime coverage, as Georgia has become increasingly central to political conversations.
“We need to be in the same room as The Wall Street Journal,” he added. “This morning I was with CBS News. We were both on the corner of Auburn Avenue and Jesse Hill Jr. Drive interviewing [governor candidate] Geoff Duncan.”
Suggs said he is especially proud of The Atlanta Voice’s coverage of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, which included traveling across seven states over six months.
“We covered Kamala Harris all the way to the end,” Suggs said.
He described leading the city’s only Black-owned newspaper as both an honor and a responsibility.
“I think it’s very important,” Suggs said. “It’s an honor to be the [editor].”
Ware acknowledged that journalism and public discourse have changed since she first entered the business nearly five decades ago. She said she hopes future generations honor a time when people with opposing political views could disagree without becoming hostile toward one another.
She said there is no official final day at the newspaper and that she still plans to help if needed.
But after decades of helping lead The Atlanta Voice through personal loss, industry shifts and political change, Ware said the next chapter of her life will focus more intentionally on her own happiness and wellbeing.
“It’s a great feeling that you did a good thing for people who loved, admired and respected you,” she said. “I have enjoyed my time at the paper. As of next year, it would be 50 years.”
