Idling trains that block streets and walkways in Atlanta’s Hunter Hills neighborhood for several hours are “inexcusable,” railroad officials from CSX Transportation told residents in a community meeting Wednesday night. But shorter blockages that have obstructed motorists, school children, and emergency vehicles may be unavoidable right now, they said. The railroad officials said government intervention […]
Chauncey Alcorn
Chauncey Alcorn is Capital B Atlanta's state and local politics reporter.
Posted inNews
Bertha Darden, a Champion for Black Homeowners’ Rights, Has Died
Peoplestown community activist Bertha Darden — a former homeowner whose years-long eminent domain battle against the city of Atlanta gained international media attention — has died. Her passing on Monday came about a year after she reluctantly sold her house to the city, a three-bedroom bungalow where she had lived with her family for more […]
Posted inPolitics
Why the Latest Trump Indictment Matters More for Black Atlanta
Donald Trump and 18 of his associates were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury Monday evening on charges related to alleged efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. It was the former president’s fourth indictment in less than five months, and experts say it could be the most consequential for Black voters. Concluding more than two years of […]
Posted inNews
Atlanta Has a New NAACP President. These Are His Top Priorities.
Securing justice for police brutality victims is among the top priorities for Atlanta’s next NAACP chapter president, attorney Gerald Griggs, who announced his ascension to the role on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Griggs, 45, took over a day after the chapter’s former leader, Richard Rose, announced he was stepping down. As the chapter’s first vice […]
Posted inNews
Trains Keep Blocking a Main Road in Hunter Hills. Residents Want to Know Why.
Hunter Hills resident Deborah Wright says she’s typically the one who calls CSX Corp. to complain when one of the company’s trains gets parked at the railroad crossing up the street from the home where she’s lived for the past four decades. In all that time, the retired flight attendant — now in her early […]
Posted inNews
Atlanta Could Soon Join the Reparations Movement
Atlanta, in the very near future, will join the growing ranks of state and local governments forming their own reparations study task forces, if Sheila Flemming and her allies get their way. Flemming is a historian and veteran reparations researcher who serves as social action chair of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s Atlanta alumnae chapter. […]
Posted inCity Politics
Will Council Members Who Voted to Fund ‘Cop City’ Lose Black Support?
Controversy over the Atlanta City Council’s decision to fund construction for the divisive public safety training center — nicknamed “Cop City” by critics — continues this week as activists in opposition prepare for an entrenched political battle. Stop Cop City organizers launched their week of action over the weekend, with events planned through July 1. […]
Posted inCity Politics
City Council Approves Largest Budget in Atlanta History
The largest proposed budget in Atlanta history received a stamp of approval from the Atlanta City Council. Members voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon in favor of the estimated $790 million general fund budget, which Mayor Andre Dickens is due to sign into law by June 30. Dickens joined the meeting and thanked the council for approving […]
Posted inCapital B ATL Events
Here’s a Rundown of Juneteenth Events in Your Community
Black Americans have celebrated Juneteenth for decades, but the anniversary gained added recognition in 2021 when President Joe Biden made it a federal holiday. Gov. Brian Kemp followed suit in April 2022 when he signed a measure making Juneteenth a paid day off for state employees. Juneteenth commemorates the day — June 19, 1865 — […]
Posted inCity Politics, Jobs, Public Services
Atlanta’s City Planning Leaders Are Struggling to Hire People. They’re Not Alone.
Could change be in store for Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit system? At a recent budget hearing for Atlanta’s Department of City Planning, leaders discussed the program aimed at giving residents a voice in how policy decisions affect their communities. Leaders of the department — responsible for long-term planning of how the city will look […]