Boy, that was fast. The year 2023 blew by in a hurry, but not without twists and turns that will impact Black Atlanta, and the region overall, for years to come. From courtroom battles that could reshape how creatives in hip-hop put out their work to those that could shape the next presidential election, Fulton County’s first elected Black woman prosecutor, Fani Willis, stayed in the news cycle. So, too, did economic and policy changes that had real impact on whether Atlanta families have access to the ballot box, health care and adequate food.
Capital B Atlanta was there for it all, tapping into the concerns of the communities we cover and applying our dogged reporting to shed light and get answers. Here’s a quick recap of some of our most read stories for 2023.
Georgia aggressively kicked families off Medicaid in 2023
This past April, the state of Georgia began reviewing and reevaluating eligibility for the 2.7 million people on Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, the state’s family Medicaid plan.
Since the “unwinding” process has begun, more than 170,000 residents across the state have already lost their health care coverage, with 90% of the losses attributable to procedural errors during the renewal process, according to a recent report from the Georgia Policy & Budget Institute. That ranks the state third, behind only Texas and Florida, in the number of people to lose their taxpayer-funded health care plans after pandemic-era funding expired earlier this year. We explored why.
Read more: Your Medicaid Coverage Could Change Next Month. Here’s What to Know.
Jimmy Carter’s pivotal role in Georgia’s Black civil rights struggle
The death of Rosalynn Carter, wife of former President Jimmy Carter, in late November, brought the work of both Carters on racial equity back in the spotlight. Several months before her passing, Capital B examined President Carter’s unexpected and underplayed legacy on race in a story that profiled his transformation into an advocate for racial justice.
Carter wasn’t as outspoken about racial politics on the campaign trail during his second run for governor in 1970, but after winning the race, he made his then-controversial position on integration clear.
“The time for racial discrimination is over,” Carter declared on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol after becoming the state’s 76th governor. “No poor, rural, weak, or Black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity of an education, a job, or simple justice.”
Read more: Jimmy Carter’s Pivotal Role in Georgia’s Black Civil Rights Struggle
Your elected officials were busy passing laws that affect you. Here’s a recap.
Black lawmakers in Georgia’s General Assembly are ending 2023 fighting new voting maps, which they say are an attempt to weaken Black voters’ political clout via illegal, racial gerrymandering. But they began the year with a big victory, helping Democrats in the state House and Senate kill a controversial measure that would have created a school voucher program that critics said threatened to harm majority-Black school districts.
The bill’s demise was one of the few highlights for Black lawmakers in 2023.
Read more: Your Elected Officials Were Busy Passing Laws That Affect You. Here’s a Recap.
What to do about Stone Mountain? Black residents talk park’s racist past.
Far east of Atlanta’s skyline, if you look in the distance, you may see what appears to be a large rock.
You aren’t wrong: The massive exposed granite outcrop, the largest in the world, is not only known historically for its natural wonders but also as home to the country’s largest Confederate monument, a massive carving of Confederate figures Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
Nearly 51 years later, as state lawmakers begin to push to terminate a state law preservation mandate that bars deconstruction or changing of the monument, state and local politics reporter Chauncey Alcorn talked to Black residents of Stone Mountain to learn if the community is actually concerned.
Read more: What to Do About Stone Mountain? Black Residents Talk Park’s Racist Past.
Why more Black people are showing up for Atlanta NPU meetings
Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit system will turn 50 years old in 2024. The system is a sprawling network of advisory councils created by the city’s first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson, as a means of informing city officials of needs and concerns on the neighborhood level. But the groups have historically lacked organization, leaving some residents feeling that unfair practices are a representation of lack of true engagement from the city in representing Atlanta’s Black population.
Today, NPU leaders say Black resident participation is beginning to increase, thanks in part to recommendations calling for change from city officials.
Read more: Why More Black People Are Showing Up for Atlanta NPU Meetings
Atlanta’s growing food insecurity problem and the free grocery store trying to solve it
As the holidays approached, Atlanta’s food insecurity problem expanded. Despite inflation’s ease on a national level, food prices continued to rise, exacerbating the problem and putting more strain on local food pantries trying to ease the pain of local families. In 2023, at least one Grove Park establishment pushed a novel way to help people on the brink.
Read more: This Free Grocery Store is Trying to Address Atlanta’s Food Access Problems
Bye-bye parking boots? A new law could make them illegal. We explain.
In early 2023, a Republican Georgia lawmaker proposed a new bill that could mean the end of a private industry many Atlanta locals have fallen victim to at least once … or twice.
Community engagement reporter Sydney Sims explains what the proposed law means on a statewide level and what local protections Atlanta residents have when it comes to the parking boot industry.
Read more: Bye-Bye Parking Boots? A New Law Could Make Them Illegal. We Explain.
How Morehouse College is challenging what it means to be a Black man
A culture shift is underway at Morehouse College.
“We don’t want to put masculinity in a box,” said freshman LaQuinton Gaines. “We’re confronting the norms. The Morehouse man in 2023 is gay, straight, nonbinary, and maybe transitioning.”
That view is a notable shift, current students and alumni said. And, it’s an important step in making the campus — which began admitting trans men in 2020 — more accepting.
Read more: How Morehouse College Is Challenging What It Means to Be a Black Man
How to get your felony expunged in Georgia
Capital B Atlanta produced several short “explainers” in 2023, our parlance for quick pieces that served our audience by breaking down ways local residents can begin to tackle cumbersome problems. And among all of our examples of public service journalism in 2023, none was more widely read than reporter Madeline Thigpen’s examination of the difficult process of record expungement in the state of Georgia, and some resources to help. Perhaps that’s no surprise, since having a felony conviction on your record can make it difficult to find employment and housing, which contributes to higher rates of recidivism.
Read more: How To Get Your Felony Expunged in Georgia
