Errin Haines Whack

For Atlantans, translating what it means to live or be from here to outsiders can prove to be a challenge, and we tend to show more than tell.

Best known for her role as sword-wielding Michonne on AMC’s The Walking Dead, the actress and writer has also emerged as a power player on the stage and the big screen. Gurira tells us about the strong, complex women she’s drawn to write and play, her life in Atlanta, and that one local craving she can’t find anywhere else.

With his 1973 election as Atlanta mayor, Jackson became the first black person to hold that role, and the first black mayor of any major Southern city.

From hundreds to thousands to tens of thousands, Freaknik grew, but during its first decade, almost all white Atlantans—and many black Atlantans over the age of 40—were oblivious. Then came Freaknik 1993.

More than 60,000 people attended the three concerts held in Centennial Olympic Park, according to Pat O’Brien of the promotions group Bowery Presents South. The economic impact to the city has not been tallied, but attendees took over surrounding downtown hotels, restaurants, and bars, paid handsomely for parking, bought T-shirts, and took plenty of $13.50 rides on the Ferris wheel.

I could tell you about the night’s earlier performances, but one does not read a restaurant review to hear about the appetizers. As I mentioned earlier, many of the people in attendance weren't there for a concert. They were there to see Outkast.

Outkast’s beats and lyrics embodied everything associated with the South. It felt good, and like your grandmama, it could charm you one minute and cuss you out the next. And unlike East Coast or West Coast hip-hop, it seldom picked a fight, but instead welcomed everybody to sit on the porch and listen.