With Christmas and Kwanzaa right around the corner, it’s time to get started on those holiday shopping lists. In Georgia, 10% of all businesses are owned by people who identify as Black or African American, more than triple the nationwide average, according to Pew Research. It also found that 90% of Black-owned businesses operate in […]
Money
Posted inGentrification, Housing, Politics & Policy
Mayor’s TAD Plan Sparks Gentrification Fears for Southwest Atlanta Activists
Atlanta community activists advocating on behalf of low-income Black families are raising gentrification concerns about Mayor Andre Dickens’ $5 billion neighborhood reinvestment initiative. The program calls for the extension of existing tax allocation districts (TADs) to help pay for revamping majority-Black neighborhoods on the city’s southwest side. TADs — also referred to as tax incremental […]
Posted inCommunity, Economic Development, Politics & Policy
For the Love of Atlanta: Connected on the Westside
Last Friday, I headed over to The Gathering Spot for the Transform Westside Summit, hosted by the Westside Future Fund. This month’s theme hit close to home: “Connected on the Westside — Building Pathways to Parks, Jobs, and Opportunity Without Displacement.” Westside Future Fund is a nonprofit committed to helping the historic neighborhoods of Vine […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Economy
‘Work Evaporated Overnight’: Georgia’s Film Industry Weathers a Brutal Downturn
Atlanta has long been the scene where Black creatives could thrive both behind and in front of the camera. Since the 1970s, when then-Gov. Jimmy Carter launched the Georgia Film Office, the opening of Tyler Perry studios and other large-scale production facilities over the past twenty years, and a favorable film tax credit, the state […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Environmental Justice, Politics & Policy
Georgia’s Data Centers Are Multiplying Fast — and Largely Untracked
Georgia’s data center expansion is rapidly transforming the state’s economic and physical landscape, from metro Atlanta to rural counties. Major tech companies like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are investing heavily in the Peach State, buying up land and building massive server farms to power the digital age. Rising utility bills and environmental impacts caused by […]
Posted inCulture, Economic Development, Politics & Policy
Georgia’s Highest Court Sides With Sapelo Island Residents to Put Land Battle on Ballot
In a win for Black landowners, Georgia’s highest court unanimously sided with Gullah Geechee communities in a long-standing zoning battle on Sapelo Island. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that had stopped a referendum to consider repealing a revised zoning ordinance passed by McIntosh County officials two years ago. A […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics & Policy
U.S. District Judge Blocks Lisa Cook’s Removal From the Federal Reserve
A federal district court judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the removal of Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Last month, Cook came under fire from President Donald Trump in a social media post alleging that she committed mortgage fraud. While Cook has not officially been charged with any crimes, he called for […]
Posted inElections, Housing, Politics & Policy
Ossoff Talks Affordable Housing, Delivering for Black Voters
Lack of affordable housing is “probably the number one issue” impacting everyone in metro Atlanta, especially the region’s Black community, according to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. It’s why he says he’s spent years combatting abusive corporate landlords and promoting affordable home construction across the state. “I’m in the midst now of an ongoing investigation of […]
Posted inCommunity, Economic Development, Food Access
Atlanta’s New Market Brings Fresh Food to a Former Food Desert
To combat food insecurity, Atlanta officials partnered with local companies to provide fresh and affordable options to downtown residents, workers, and college students. The two-story Azalea Market, located at 25 Peachtree St., plans to serve 5,500 shoppers per day. “We have been in a food desert for far too long. We have to make sure […]
Posted inBlack Businesses
To Combat a Food Desert, an Atlanta Mom Launched a Food Market with Black Vendors
To celebrate Black Business Month, Capital B Atlanta is profiling innovative entrepreneurs in Atlanta. When you walk through the Fickett Farmers Market, operated by Westside Farmers Markets, you’re greeted by Ali Washington. The 38-year-old’s vibrant energy sets the tone as you take in the spread of fresh, locally made goods, from sea moss and chicken […]