Nearly three weeks after a pivotal runoff election, gubernatorial candidates Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson are focusing on broadening their appeal to Georgia voters outside of their respective political tribes. It’s been nearly 30 years since a Democrat was elected to serve in the governor’s mansion, and the state has never chosen a Black […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Technology
DeKalb Rejects Data Center Regulations, Leaving Future Expansion Uncertain
After nearly a year of contention and outcry from residents, DeKalb County officials voted down legislation last month that sought to regulate data center development in the county. While some count it as a victory in the fight to stop data centers, others believe the county is now in a vulnerable position. At a June […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
For Atlanta Haitians, World Cup Pride Gives Way to Deportation Fears
When Haiti scored at the World Cup for the first time in more than 50 years, it was about so much more than goals in a soccer game. It was a chance for Haitian Americans to express their pride in a country that has been through hard times. Sergo Bellefleur drove 6½ hours from Orlando, […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics & Policy
Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Attempt to Fire Lisa Cook from Federal Reserve Board
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday blocked President Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, leaving her job secure for now. A distinguished economist, the Georgia native and Spelman College grad is the first Black woman to sit on the Fed’s board. She also held roles in the Clinton, […]
Posted inCommunity, Politics & Policy
The Black Seniors Who Remember Atlanta Before the Stadiums
This story first appeared on For the Record: A Black Oral History Archive. The archive is a collection of over 100 firsthand stories of Black life in America. Tillman Ward, 80, recalls his father building him and his siblings a home on Chestnut Place in Vine City in southwest Atlanta during the 1950s. He remembers watching […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Georgia Republicans Back Away From Redistricting Plan After Outcry
Efforts to begin redrawing Georgia’s voting district maps through a special session of the General Assembly have been canceled. The Republicans’ plan, which many feared would disenfranchise Black and brown voters, had already sparked multiple protests Wednesday at the Georgia State Capitol. “Changes to Georgia’s maps should take place only when members of the General […]
Posted inCommunity, Politics & Policy
Black Residents Say Moving the Olympic Cauldron Would Erase History
Whenever longtime Summerhill resident Mary Gay drives into her Atlanta neighborhood, the first thing she’s greeted with is the Olympic Cauldron — an artifact that once held the fiery torch for the 1996 Olympic Games. Seeing the historic structure puts a smile on her face because once she sees it, she knows she’s “home.” Last […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Keisha Lance Bottoms to Face Rick Jackson in Heated Georgia Governor Race
The former Atlanta mayor will square off against the healthcare billionaire in November.
Posted inCity Politics, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
She Avoided Jail and Rebuilt Her Life, but Others May Not Get the Same Chance
Tanesha Door said she doesn’t know where she would be today without the Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative and its case managers helping her to get her life back on track. Door, an Atlanta-native and Grady Hospital baby, moved back to Atlanta in 2018 with her infant son less than a year after leaving the […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, State Politics, Voting
Black Elders Warn Georgia Voters Not to Let Their Voice Slip Away
Columbus resident Dorris Porter Edgerton is aware of the Republican-led redistricting efforts looming in the General Assembly, but she’s more concerned about a lack of Black voter engagement in the state’s second-most populous city. “We have lots of people who really just do not vote at all because they say it won’t make a difference,” […]
