Cherie Miller was angry Monday morning when she heard that city leaders had announced plans to send $10 million in unused COVID-19 rent relief funds back to the federal government. The 55-year-old grandmother is in the process of being evicted from the Capitol Gateway Apartments near Downtown, where she’s been renting for the past 11 […]
Chauncey Alcorn
Chauncey Alcorn is Capital B Atlanta's state and local politics reporter.
Posted inTransportation
MARTA CEO Wants to Improve Transit Experience for Black Riders
MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood wants Black bus and train riders in the Atlanta area to know their local travel needs will remain top of mind for him as the transit authority moves forward with its planned infrastructure ventures this year. Greenwood joined MARTA as its chief of bus operations in June 2019 before replacing former […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Are Relationships Between Black Residents and APD Improving? Mayor Dickens Thinks So.
Mayor Andre Dickens says the rapport between Atlanta police and the city’s Black residents is better now than it was before he took office more than a year ago, despite recent protests over the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by Memphis, Tennessee, police. “I would say it has improved over the last year,” Dickens said […]
Posted inHousing, Money
Can This Community Activist Get Rent Control on the Ballot?
Community activist Margie McLeod spent years watching gentrification spread across Atlanta before deciding to do something about it last year. The 75-year-old retired bus driver grew tired of seeing her neighbors in Cascade kicked out of their homes after landlords dramatically raised their rents. Rates in South Atlanta soared during the first half of 2022 […]
Posted inCity Politics
Black Atlantans Keep Getting Hit By Cars. This City Lawmaker Is Trying to Change That.
Getting hit by a car is a personal experience that Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier doesn’t want any of his constituents to endure the way he did years ago. On Jan. 3, Dozier, who represents District 4, introduced a set of proposed changes to zoning laws around the Atlanta BeltLine. If the zoning changes […]
Posted inCity Politics
Black Atlantans Rate Dickens on His First Year As Mayor
Joyland resident Christopher Hill is a retired insurance and real estate professional who has lived in Atlanta since 1992. When Hill got to the southeast Atlanta neighborhood, Maynard Jackson was in his second term of office as mayor. Five administrations later, the 69-year-old stopped to think when asked about how Mayor Andre Dickens had done […]
Posted inCulture
Meet Ranger Marty, the Man Tasked With Preserving Martin Luther King’s Legacy
Just the mention of Coretta Scott King’s name is enough to bring a reflective smile to the face of park ranger Marty Smith, aka Ranger Marty, the man tasked with preserving part of her life’s work and the legacy of her husband, slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. “We wouldn’t be here today […]
Posted inState Politics
Five Issues Black State Lawmakers Plan to Tackle in 2023
The Georgia General Assembly’s next legislative session is set to begin on Jan. 9. Some of its highest ranking Black lawmakers, all of whom are Democrats, recently spoke with Capital B Atlanta to explain their policy agenda for next year and how it will impact Black voters. House Minority Leader James Beverly said Democrats’ overall […]
Posted inState Politics
Meet the New Chairman of Georgia’s Legislative Black Caucus
State Rep. Carl Gilliard has a simple message for Black folks as he prepares to take on a critical new leadership role in the Georgia General Assembly. “It’s movement time,” Gilliard said. “We are going to have to be more unified than ever. We need an agenda. We just can’t be reactive.” On Dec. 15, […]
Posted in2022 Midterm Election, Elections, Voting
Democrats Wary of Call to End Runoffs
Democratic lawmakers say they aren’t sure yet how Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s proposal to eliminate Georgia’s general election runoffs would affect Black voters, but they plan to find out before agreeing to support the move. State House Minority Leader James Beverly, a Democrat, said he was in Washington, D.C., preparing for a meeting with […]
