From the Magazine

From Black-owned financial institutions and restaurants to Ebenezer Baptist Church, the NAACP, and the legendary Royal Peacock nightclub, Atlanta’s Black history makers have always made their way to Auburn Avenue. So it should be no surprise that, tucked away in a small brick building on that iconic street, is the site of the first Black-owned radio station in the United States, WERD.

When Susie Grant went to the National Christmas Tree Association convention in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1986, she was one of the few female farmers there. She ran a small farm in Mississippi at the time. In the exhibit hall, she met a father and son from Stockbridge, who were demonstrating a revolutionary tree trimmer they had invented. “I just walked by and started talking about the trimmer,” says Susie. She and the son, Allen Grant, have been together ever since. Today they own Yule Forest in Stockbridge, and Christmas trees remain an inextricable part of their lives.

Known as the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali is a time when worshippers light clay lamps to celebrate the inner glow that repels spiritual darkness. Celebrations are rooted in traditions of oral storytelling and joyful revelry, including mounds of decadent treats, festive finery, and fireworks. For many, it represents their faith in the goodness of humanity.

Movie theaters have famously struggled to get a streaming-obsessed audience out of their Cloud sofas and back into the multiplex—with the exception of Atlanta’s historic Plaza Theatre. Working alongside another bastion of Atlanta film culture, Videodrome, the Plaza has become a buzzing nexus of cinema since owner Chris Escobar took over in 2017. With the launch of “Plazadrome” collaborations in 2018, the film synergy has been off the charts.

The Atlanta University Center has shaped generations of leaders—for the nation and for their home city. Atlanta would be nothing like it is today without it.

Atlanta hip-hop would not be what it is today without the Atlanta University Center. It’s a bold statement, but one that rings true—the roster of artists, DJs, and music executives who’ve graced the AUC campuses is a veritable who’s who of the music industry, and the AUC has been instrumental in molding the fabric of Atlanta’s hip-hop culture.

When it comes to HBCU homecomings, we all think our school does it best. In fairness, the title, according to pretty much everybody, has long been held by Howard University. That is, until now. Brothers and sisters, there’s a new champion, it’s right here in ATL, and it’s called “SpelHouse.”

Morris Brown College has made many comebacks in its nearly 140-year history. This may be the biggest one yet.

New Student Orientation at Spelman and Morehouse was a bittersweet rite of passage for the class of 2027 and their parents.

This summer, we gathered Spelman College alumnae from across different generations to talk about how the school shaped their lives. They talked about sisterhood, scholarship, and how their college days intersected with pivotal moments in Atlanta history, from the civil rights movement to the pandemic.