May 2026
Features
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Atlanta’s progressive path across uneven terrain
The “Atlanta Way”—as city leaders liked to call their pro-business, pro-racial harmony approach—proved good for the city. Today, Atlanta has become the urban metropolis it was still striving to be in the 1960s. City leaders—Black and White alike—continue to work together to ensure it is one of the nation’s most appealing cities for business. But the city is faced with a troubling problem as vexing as any during the civil rights era: By most measures, we have one of the largest income gaps of any city in the country.
How immigrants shaped Atlanta’s dining scene
I’ve tasted plenty of trendy “fusion” food in Atlanta—much of it contrived. (Grits sushi, anyone?) Today’s chefs, many second-generation immigrants, are modernizing their menus with respect to their roots and the influences around them.
Atlanta’s long reckoning with urban renewal
Obsessed with reinvention since its inception, Atlanta today is witnessing a more piecemeal changeover, as I’ve personally seen over more than a dozen years of covering the city’s physical evolution. Instead of entire districts being flattened, it’s a row of older bungalows, an aging apartment complex, a shuttered factory—all broadly described as gentrification. But is that a gentler way of saying urban renewal never really ended?
Atlanta’s arts scene makes our city greater—if we choose to sustain it
One of the most gratifying aspects of my years at WABE was connecting listeners to our city’s cultural events. A vibrant arts community can uplift and enrich the lives of Atlantans. The challenge today is to help these organizations thrive: Funding is essential from various sources. With money allocated to the arts, we can all take pride in a city made greater by its cultural organizations.
How Atlanta media shaped our understanding of the civil rights movement
Journalism still has the power to shape the world we live in and, perhaps more importantly, shape our understanding of this place. We must hope—or perhaps demand—that Atlanta’s media can lead us to a sort of narrative renaissance.
The business blueprint for the Atlanta we know today
In the 1960s, most decisions in Atlanta could be traced to a dozen or so business leaders who called the shots. All were men. Today, many executives are transplants to Atlanta; CEOs tend to have shorter tenures, and they exert less influence. But that also means business has become more diverse, both in staffing and scope.
Holding out hope (but not holding our breath) for trains in Atlanta
With the exploding popularity of cars in the ’50s and ’60s, people stopped riding passenger trains. Car fever led to the destruction of Atlanta’s two downtown train stations, the Union and the Terminal, in the early 1970s. The late Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett called it “municipal vandalism.”
Atlanta, the city of self-made music superstars
For years, I’ve covered how radio and record-label execs flock to Atlanta’s Black strip clubs in search of the next superstar, like Future. I also remember when local radio caught on to “Old Town Road” after Atlanta’s Lil Nas X got people talking with TikTok memes. These are the stories that come to mind when I consider how R&B and rap became the most listened-to music genre in the United States—and how Atlanta made that possible.
The evolution of the shopping capital of the South
Legendary retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky recently announced he would open a second iteration of his designer fashion and accessories boutique, Jeffrey, which closed in 2020. When I was a teenager growing up in the suburbs, Jeffrey was central to my experience, but it wasn’t the only retailer elevating Atlanta to its moniker of “the shopping capital of the South” over the past 65 years.
When fate brought together Hank Aaron and Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1961, Martin Luther King Jr. was as potent with his civil rights movement nationally as he was in his native Atlanta. Henry Louis Aaron was also shining during his eighth Major League Baseball season with the Milwaukee Braves and his seventh consecutive season as an All-Star. Fate brought them together five years later.
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The Connector
Former Atlanta Ballet artistic director Robert “Bobby” Barnett turns 101
Robert “Bobby” Barnett, a longtime Atlanta Ballet artistic director, turned 101 this month. “My wife and I moved here in 1958 after retiring from the New York City Ballet,” he says. Then, Bobby and his wife, Virginia (“Ginger”), became principal dancers and associate directors for the Atlanta Civic Ballet.
The Goods
Drivin N Cryin comes full circle with a big-hearted record for Atlanta
For Drivin N Cryin, longevity has always been rooted in honesty and a deep trust in instinct and songcraft. These values have carried the Atlanta group from sweat-soaked barroom rock to front-porch confessionals since the 1980s. The group’s latest album, Crushing Flowers, features collaborations with the late singer-songwriter Todd Snider and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, leaning into the simple, restorative pleasure of big-hearted songs that feel lived-in and joyful.
