A vote on new data center regulations in DeKalb County has been postponed to Dec.16 after a heated zoning meeting Thursday where residents shouted grievances, demanded answers, and some were removed from the chamber. The deferral underscores the growing frustration of South DeKalb communities — particularly Black neighborhoods like Ellenwood, where a large-scale data center […]
DeKalb County
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Social Welfare
No Water to Bathe or Drink: Black DeKalb Residents Go Months Without Service
For nearly a year, 70-year-old Simone Grier has had to start every morning using bottled water to brush her teeth and to wash her hands after a pipe burst in her home and left her without running water. The pipe burst just weeks after she moved into her home this past February. She said that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Family Questions Police Account of Fatal Buckhead Shooting by Off-Duty Officer
At a balloon release in DeKalb Memorial Park last week, dozens of friends and family members gathered to remember Linton Blackwell, a man they said would do anything for his family, especially his twin daughters. “He’s an angel gone too soon, but he will watch over us,” Faith Harper, his aunt, told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inIncarceration
Seventh Person to Die in Custody at DeKalb County Jail Raises Alarm
A 27-year-old Decatur man is the seventh person to die in custody at DeKalb County Jail this year. Larynz Redd was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday morning, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. The jail’s health care provider and DeKalb EMS unsuccessfully performed emergency medical services on-site. With seven deaths, the DeKalb […]
Posted inEducation, History
New John Lewis Mural Unveiled at DeKalb County School
In 2019, U.S. Rep. John Lewis attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a school named in his honor. Now, a mural at the DeKalb County school continues to celebrate his legacy. Unveiled Monday, the mural at John R. Lewis Elementary in Brookhaven features the colorful picture of the civil rights icon holding hands with children along […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, State Politics
Thurmond Talks Black Voter Concerns Amid ‘Moment of Political Crisis’
Gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond isn’t a fan of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act or its anticipated cuts next year to social safety net programs many Black Georgians rely on to pay bills. The 72-year-old former DeKalb County CEO spoke with Capital B Atlanta on Monday after officially launching his bid last week […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, State Politics
Michael Thurmond Launches Campaign for Governor With Catchy ‘Boots On Ground’ Ad
Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond officially launched his bid to be Georgia’s next governor on Wednesday with an attention-grabbing campaign ad that appears to take a shot at President Donald Trump. Footage of Thurmond speaking at a “No Kings” protest in Athens in June is featured in the “Boots on Georgia Ground” ad, which […]
Posted inEducation
A 6-Year-Old Faced Slurs and Violence. Then She Got Punished.
A 6-year-old Black girl was called a monkey, the N-word, and physically assaulted by her classmates at Ashford Park Elementary School in DeKalb County, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges an incident where she dodged a desk thrown at her by another student but was later given […]
Posted inCity Politics, Cop City, Policing, Public Safety
Inside ‘Cop City’: What Atlanta’s Controversial Training Center Looks Like
The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center — the southern DeKalb County facility colloquially known as “Cop City” — officially opened its doors Tuesday after four contentious years of development. The 85-acre campus will serve as the training grounds for the city’s police and firefighters, yet it has received strong pushback due to its environmental impact, $67 million […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Meet the Black Women Fighting for Clean Air and Water in Atlanta
Gwen Smith thinks lovingly of the three decades she spent living in Collier Heights, reflecting on a close-knit community filled with neighbors who knew one another’s names and were always eager to lend a helping hand when necessary. But she can’t help but to remember the stench. Smith recalls foul odors surrounding her community on […]
