Capital B Atlanta will host a discussion on Wednesday, Dec. 14, on the future of Atlanta’s police department and improving public safety in Black communities. Join us at Wild Heaven Brewery, 1010 White St., in Atlanta. Concerned parents and community members who gathered at an Atlanta public safety meeting Tuesday night called for more after-school […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inElections
These Black Residents Don’t Vote. Here’s Why.
Georgia residents have turned out in record numbers to vote early in the U.S. Senate runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker. In the historic election — the first statewide race between two Black major-party candidates — more than 1.8 million people cast in-person ballots during the early voting period, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
After the Shooting Death of Two Black Teens, Residents Are Looking for Answers
The Monday after Thanksgiving, seventh-graders at KIPP Soul Academy were reeling from the news that their classmate, 12-year-old Zyion Charles, had been shot and killed over the weekend. KIPP Soul had extra counselors from other area schools on site to support staff their own staff and mourning students. “From the time they arrived, we were […]
Posted inTransportation
Flying While Black at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
On Oct. 21, Tabari Sturdivant was at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, waiting to board a flight to Los Angeles. The filmmaker was standing in front of the gate desk because he was flying standby and wanted a status update. When Sturdivant was approached by a person asking questions about his destination and travel plans, he […]
Posted inElections
Runoff Elections Have a Racist Past: What That Means for December
On Dec. 6, Georgia will hold a runoff election between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker for a U.S. Senate seat. Georgia is one of 10 states that use runoffs when no candidate has gotten over 50% of the vote in the general election. Since they were introduced in Georgia in the 1960s, some experts […]
Posted inVoting
Despite New Restrictions, Black Voters Remain Energized on Election Day
Ahead of Election Day, voters, advocates, and political pundits have debated over whether Georgia’s updated voting laws would suppress the Black electorate. The new law, SB 202, has provisions barring volunteers from giving food and water to voters standing in line outside polling stations — within 150 feet of a precinct. The measure also adds […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Dickens Picks Interim Chief to Head APD
It’s official: Atlanta has a new top cop. Mayor Andre Dickens appointed interim chief Darin Schierbaum to the permanent position. Schierbaum will be the 26th chief of the Atlanta Police Department. “During his service as Interim Chief, we have seen crime drop, significant arrests of gang leaders, and partnership with the community increase,” Dickens said […]
Posted inVoting
How to Vote In Georgia if You Have a Felony Conviction
When it comes to voting, Georgia is tough on felons. In fact, the state denies the vote to its citizens with a felony conviction at almost twice the national rate — 3.8% of the state’s voting-age population, versus 2.3% nationally — according to a study from the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization focused on incarceration […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Fulton Jail Study Will Continue as Planned
The Justice Policy Board — a group of city and county leaders working with local organizations to develop arrest and incarceration diversion resources — will have to finish its jail population review before Fulton County is allowed to begin moving inmates into the Atlanta City Detention Center. By a vote of 9-5, the Atlanta City […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Fulton Jail Study Could be Sidestepped by City Council
There is a new development in the proposed plan to lease space in the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County. The Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee voted to introduce legislation that would repeal an amendment requiring a jail population review before the agreement can go into effect. When the City Council voted to […]
