Atlanta native Akasha Lawrence dreams of owning a three-bedroom house in the city where she was born and raised, but finding one in her price range this year has been “a little difficult.” The 29-year-old Midtown resident was one of many aspiring Black homebuyers who participated in Invest Atlanta’s Homeownership Month Open House Tour in […]
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Posted inCriminal Justice, Gentrification, History
History Beneath Our Feet: Atlanta’s Gentrifying Neighborhoods Hold Haunting Stories of 24 Murdered Black Women
On a quiet stretch of White and Lawton streets, in southwest Atlanta, there’s no marker. No sign. Just a patch of sidewalk, cars passing, and weeds curling from a cracked curb that offers no clues to its past. But in the summer of 1911, this is where Lizzie Watts was found — her throat slashed, […]
Posted inHousing
From Care Packs to 311 Calls: 5 Ways to Help the Unhoused Now
In a city grappling with an affordable housing crisis, within a state that’s banned rent control, Atlanta’s mostly Black homeless population continues to increase. The annual survey of homeless people in the metro area revealed a 1% rise in Atlanta’s overall homeless population. The city saw a 7% year-over-year increase in 2024, and a 33% […]
Posted inHousing
Thrown Away ‘Like Trash’: Displaced Tenants Speak Out After Complex Is Condemned
Quentin Carey is a single father who lived with his 16-year-old son at a dilapidated apartment complex in College Park for three years. In March, the unemployed warehouse worker received a notice saying he had seven days to move out because the property was unsafe. Carolyn Huitt, a retired home health aid, lived at the […]
Posted inEconomic Justice
National Baptist Convention President Under Fire After Accepting Target Donation Amid DEI Boycott
When the Rev. Boise Kimber was first installed as the president of the National Baptist Convention USA in January, he announced the creation of an economic development committee to meet with politicians and major corporations that have been rolling back their initiatives to address diversity, equity and inclusion. “Many of our people buy from Walmart, […]
Posted inHousing
Evicted and Soon Homeless: How Metro Atlanta Landlords Put Black Families on the Streets
Keita Martin worries he’ll be homeless again before the end of the summer. The 32-year-old Marietta native is one of several tenants at Campus Edge Apartments, who say they’re being booted out of the complex near Kennesaw State University by its new owners. Campus Realty Advisors, an Atlanta-based real estate development company, confirmed it officially […]
Posted inHousing
What to Do If You’re Being Evicted in Metro Atlanta
Protests over controversial evictions have occurred across metro Atlanta recently, and local tenant attorneys say Black Georgians make up the majority of those involved in cases they encounter in court. Many renters who receive troubling calls or letters from their landlords move out prematurely when they should fight back, according to tenant attorney Michael Lucas, […]
Posted inCity Politics, Housing
If Atlanta Is a Black Mecca, Why Are 8 Out of 10 Homeless People Black?
Forty-seven percent of Atlanta residents are Black, but the city commonly referred to as the Black Mecca had a homeless population in January that was 80% Black, according to the latest Point-In-Time homelessness census count released on Monday. Of equal concern, on Jan. 27, the city logged 131 homeless families, an 18% rise from the […]
Posted inEconomic Justice, Politics & Policy
Atlantans Protest Target on 5-Year Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death
To mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, hundreds gathered outside Target’s Conyers location at the behest of prominent local pastor Jamal Bryant. Bryant led protesters in a 9 minute and 29 second prayer, the same amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck, killing him in […]
Posted inHousing
Revamped Motel Gives Atlanta’s Unhoused a Second Chance — But for How Long?
Malcolm Walker was grateful to have a roof over his head on Monday after spending the past six months living under a bridge. The 32-year-old Atlanta resident was one of up to 80 unhoused people living in tents at the Pryor Street homeless encampment — located downtown under Interstate 20 — before a crew of […]