Albany State University sophomore Leah Cowen dreams of owning a home in Georgia one day, but worries she’ll never be able to afford it. “It’s so important to me, because I do have parents who pay mortgages,” Cowen, 20, told Capital B Atlanta. “Seeing how it’s affecting them personally, and knowing that I’m gonna have […]
Money
Posted inHousing
Eviction Crisis in Metro Atlanta Disproportionately Impacts Black Residents
Anxious. Annoyed. Angry. Those are just a few of the emotions expressed by the steady stream of Black folks seen walking in and out of the magistrate case information office inside the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday as some desperately sought legal aid before appearing in court for pending eviction cases. Metro Atlanta […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Politics & Policy, State Politics
Gubernatorial Candidates Make Their Case to Black Business Owners
Local small-business owner Abigail Baker has seen profits soar for her artificial intelligence integration company, Centient Imagine LLC, over the past three years as more companies embrace the technology and hire her to train their employees to do the same. She wants the next governor of Georgia to help other Black entrepreneurs grow their businesses […]
Posted inCommunity, Housing, Politics & Policy, Public Services
Atlanta Spent $60 Million to Address Homelessness, but the Crisis Persists
As the temperature dropped to around 35 degrees last Wednesday night, Yered Israel wasn’t sure where he’d be sleeping — or whether he’d sleep at all. The 36-year-old, self-identified unhoused man was sitting in the entryway of a Georgia State University garage with his belongings around 9 p.m. last week when he was approached by […]
Posted inHousing
Advocates Say ‘Landlord Friendly’ Laws Are Fueling Evictions, Homelessness in Atlanta
Monae Edgerson Pettaway was already in a state of “financial crisis” before she was forced to move out of her one-bedroom apartment at McAuley Station in Atlanta in December. The 55-year-old disabled Atlanta native says the management team at the 170-unit apartment complex — located near Selena S. Butler Park in the city’s Sweet Auburn […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Local Politics, Politics & Policy
Organize, Educate, Win: How Atlanta Residents Are Blocking Data Centers
From DeKalb County to Southwest Atlanta in Fulton County, residents are organizing against the rapid expansion of data centers. Some Atlantans are fighting back and logging small and major wins to protect their communities from what they say are the harmful impacts of the data center boom here in metro Atlanta. “We’ve really been pretty […]
Posted inCity Politics, Housing, Politics & Policy
As Atlanta Prepares for MLK Day, Bernice King Urges Action on Homelessness
This year’s MLK Jr. Day celebration in Atlanta is on Monday, but last week King Center CEO Bernice A. King was reflecting on a recent tragic milestone. Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the killing of Cornelius Taylor. Witnesses said the 46-year-old unhoused Black man was sleeping in a tent across from Ebenezer Baptist Church on […]
Posted inCommunity, Housing
For One Atlanta Family, a New Home Arrived Just in Time for Christmas
Atlanta native Quanta and her family on Tuesday received what for them was the ultimate Christmas gift from Habitat for Humanity and its partnership with Atlanta Falcons legend Warrick Dunn. The 35-year-old engaged mother of three, her children, her fiancé, Antione, and her mother, Geraldine, were visibly shocked during the morning as they toured their […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Culture
For 25 Years, Atlanta’s Black Santa Has Helped Families Feel Seen at Christmas
It’s nearly a week before Christmas, and throughout Atlanta, Santa Claus is busy making holiday wishes come true. D. Sinclair, who at 61 goes by the name The Real Black Santa, has been putting smiles on children’s faces for over two decades through a series of events, sometimes totaling up to 50 per year. And […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Environmental Justice, Gentrification, Politics & Policy
How 20 Years of the Atlanta Beltline Made the City Cleaner and Greener
In the new series From Harm to Healing, Capital B is putting a spotlight on how pollution and environmental dangers are threatening Black communities, and the people who are working to fight back against these threats to health. For longtime resident Tristain O’Donnell, who has lived in the southwest Atlanta neighborhoods of Capitol View and […]