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Remembering Atlanta drag legend Charlie Brown

Remembering Atlanta drag legend Charlie Brown

Mr. Charlie Brown, the reigning queen of Atlanta drag queens, has taken her final bow. The performer died Thursday night at Piedmont Hospital from complications following heart valve replacement surgery. He was 74. For 50 years, the self-proclaimed “Bitch of the South” entertained Atlantans with his bawdy brand of comedy, withering audience monologues, and risqué musical numbers on stage at Lips Atlanta, the Atlanta Eagle, Underground Atlanta, Illusions, and dozens of other nightlight spots.
Southeastern Center for Conservation

The Southeastern Center for Conservation works to preserve native orchids and other endangered species

While the labs of the Southeastern Center for Conservation may lack the dazzle of the Atlanta Botanical Garden's orchid show nearby, they are bursting with life, home to thousands of species of orchids and other plants—many of them endangered—native to the Southeastern United States, the Caribbean, and Central America. Growing in sealed plastic containers or tucked away in temperature-controlled seed banks, these species are an insurance policy against catastrophic climate change and human-propelled biodiversity loss—keys to the plant ecology of the entire Southeastern region.
5 things you might not have known about Freaknik, from the new Hulu documentary

5 things you might not have known about Freaknik, from the new Hulu documentary

Hulu’s new original documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told tells the story of how a 1983 picnic for Atlanta HBCU students in the meadow at Piedmont Park became, by the mid-1990s, a national Spring Break destination for hundreds of thousands of young people each April. Here’s five things highlighted in the new Hulu doc that even long-time Atlantans might not know about Freaknik’s enduring legacy.
Guarenteed Income Atlanta

Does Atlanta have guaranteed-income programs?

Universal basic income (UBI) isn’t a new idea, but in a dystopian world with pandemics and a growing wealth divide, the utopian concept seems more practical than ever before. Some of Atlanta’s biggest players have bought in and are investing in small-scale guaranteed-income pilot programs.
Photos: Burna Boy performs at State Farm Arena

Photos: Burna Boy performs at State Farm Arena

Nigerian singer and songwriter Burna Boy brought his I Told Them tour to a sold-out State Farm Arena on March 9.
Madame C.J. Walker Museum

Get lost in Atlanta’s small, independent museums

Small, independent museums like the Madame C.J. Walker Museum dot Atlanta, commemorating underrepresented or unique histories and art. They operate out of storefronts or houses and largely rely on a team of one, who keeps the museum afloat through donations or their day job. At the Walker Museum, Ricci de Forest charges a $7 admission, collects donations, and will sometimes cut hair right there in the museum to help keep things running.
AJC Best-Dressed Lawmakers

The competition is fierce for the AJC’s “Best-Dressed Lawmakers”

Maya T. Prabhu launched her “Best-Dressed Lawmakers” list in 2019, a year after joining the AJC as a legislative correspondent. “Best-Dressed Lawmakers” has since become a hotly anticipated event of the legislative session, with elected representatives elbowing fiercely for Prabhu’s favor.
Genius: MLK/X showrunners speak on behind-the-scenes motivations and how filming in Atlanta helped the show

Genius: MLK/X showrunners on behind-the-scenes motivations and how filming in Atlanta helped the show

While previous seasons of National Geographic's Genius series told the story of just one person, the most recent season, MLK/X, parallels and contrasts the life journeys of two iconic Black leaders: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Here, showrunners Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Macedon discuss creating the series and filming in Atlanta.
5 of the most Atlanta moments in RuPaul's new memoir

5 of the most Atlanta moments in RuPaul’s new memoir

12-time Emmy-winning global drag superstar RuPaul fondly recalls his star-making days in Atlanta in the late 1970s and early 80s in his new memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings, released this week. Here are five of the most Atlanta-centric moments recounted in the new book.
Atlanta used to have extensive public transit, actually

Atlanta used to have extensive public transit, actually

It may be hard to imagine today, when gridlock traffic is synonymous with Atlanta, but riding public transit was once the norm. Here, a brief look at the city's former streetcar system and why Atlanta's public transit had such a decline.

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