Black male voter turn out in Georgia is a problem. Participation declined in 2024 from the levels it reached in 2020, when Democrats won two U.S. Senate seats for the first time in decades. Nationally, it hasn’t reached the same levels it peaked at during Barack Obama’s historic runs in 2008 and 2012. And news […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Trump’s Racist Obama Video Is Not a Deal Breaker for Some Black Ga. Republicans
Grove Park resident Andre Dennis — a self-described pro-life, religious conservative — is no fan of Barack Obama. But even he doesn’t think it was wise for President Donald Trump or Trump’s staff to share an AI video depicting the nation’s first Black president and first lady as apes. “Do I think that it was […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy
The Data Center Atlanta Thought Was Dead Is Back on the Table
A data center proposal that was previously shot down has resurfaced in southwest Atlanta along with the debate over land use, equity, and who benefits from development in historically disinvested communities. The project, planned for a site near the West End MARTA station and bordering communities like Adair Park, Pittsburgh, and Mechanicsville, has been hotly […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Fulton County Commissioner Says Black Votes Are Under Threat
Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett is sounding the alarm for Black voters in Georgia amid calls by President Donald Trump to nationalize elections. Barrett, who announced her run for secretary of state in January, sounded exasperated over the phone last Wednesday shortly after learning the FBI had raided Fulton County’s Election Hub and Operation Center […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
After Months in ICE Detention, Morehouse Alum Is Deported to Mexico
After Morehouse College alum Alex Maganda was picked up by immigration agents last June, his Spelhouse community rallied for his release with the hashtag #FreeAlexMaganda. It was an urgent call to Morehouse College and Spelman College’s network to help their former classmate, who had been brought to America at the age of 5 by his […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Family of Rapper Shot 17 Times by Atlanta Officer Demands Accountability
Family and friends of Linton Blackwell took to the podium at City Hall on Monday to express their frustration with the Atlanta City Council over the lack of accountability for police officers who use lethal force. “I want to understand why this officer, Gerald Walker, is not being held accountable for my brother’s death. He […]
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 inPolitics & Policy
Atlanta’s Black Veterans See a Warning in the Killing of VA Nurse Alex Pretti
When Alex Pretti was killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents last week, the shock rippled far beyond Minneapolis, where the Veterans Affairs nurse worked. Black veterans and nurses in Atlanta say his death has forced a reckoning, not only with the federal government’s expanding use of force, but with what it means to serve a […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
FBI Seizes 2020 Ballots in Surprise Raid of Atlanta Election Office
Confusion swirled outside the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center in Union City on Wednesday as FBI agents executed a search warrant, catching county commissioners and other elected leaders unaware. According to state Sen. Josh McLaurin, who told Capital B Atlanta he was briefed by a county official, the FBI’s Evidence Response Team showed […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
College Park Leaders Seek Answers as ICE Activity Raises Community Fears
While much of the country has eyes trained on the unrest in Minneapolis after the shooting death of Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents, some in metro Atlanta are concerned as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders appear to be expanding operations in College Park. Elected officials in the southwest Atlanta suburb say the […]
