Category: Atlanta, Georgia Local News

Easter Sunday serves as more than just a religious observance for many in the Black community. It’s a vibrant celebration of cultural identity and self-expression through fashion—and the perfect opportunity to get gussied up in your ‘Sunday’s Best.’

As loved ones gather in churches and homes to mark the joyous occasion, the attire worn on this particular day holds a truly deeper meaning. From captivating pops of color, rich fabrics, bold designs, multifaceted ensembles, and exquisite church hats tall enough to meet Jesus, Easter Sunday fashion has historically showcased pride and resilience.

“Easter Sunday serves as a significant occasion for self-expression and the celebration of cultural pride through fashion in various ways,” said Angela Watts, Founder of Atlanta Fashion Week. “For many African Americans, traditional attire such as colorful traditional dresses, suits, or cultural garments reflect heritage and identity. To expound on colors and patterns, Easter fashion is often characterized by bright colors and intricate patterns, symbolizing vibrancy, and joy of the occasion.”

Furthermore, Easter Sunday fashion has continued to evolve, incorporating diverse influences and styles. Multiple factors have led to this cultural fusion of traditional and contemporary elements.
“The evolution of Easter Sunday fashion within the Black community reflects broader societal shifts in mainly cultural expressions of key socio-political movements. Over the years, several key movements such as traditional African influences in the early years to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s – all have used fashion as a form of self-expression and empowerment,” Watts said.

Fashion statements made on Easter Sunday have continuously served as a true testament to the rich cultural tapestry of the Black community, and the creativity that thrives behind it.

“Fast forward to globalization and urbanization – I do feel fashion has become more diverse and eclectic,” Watts said. “Urban/Streetwear, hip hop culture, and influences from Africa (think Afro Beats, Amapiano) merged with traditional styles has resulted in fashion choices that are diverse, stylish yet celebrating individuality and cultural heritage.”
As families and communities come together to celebrate Easter Sunday, yes, it’s a religious occasion. But it’s also a celebration where self-identity and expression meet creative exploration.

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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott blasted critics for not having “the courage to say the N-word” after he was labeled a “DEI mayor” in the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

Scott faced blame from several social media users over the collapse, which has left at least six people dead. After being deemed “Baltimore’s DEI mayor” on social media, MSNBC host Joy Reid asked Scott if he had a response “to the tomfoolery and attacks on you for having the nerve to be Black and also a mayor.”

“I know, and we know, and you know very well that Black men, and young Black men in particular, have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy White men should have a say in anything,” Scott said. “We’ve been the bogeyman for them since the first day they brought us to this country, and what they mean by DEI in my opinion is duly elected incumbent.”

“We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the N-word, and the fact that I don’t believe in their untruthful and wrong ideology,” he continued. “And I am very proud of my heritage and who I am and where I come from, scares them, because me being at my position means that their way of thinking, their way of life of being comfortable while everyone else suffers is going to be at risk, and they should be afraid because that’s my purpose in life.”

Scott also addressed the migrant construction workers who died while working on the bridge and shut down conspiracy theories surrounding the collapse.

“Those folks came to this country to fulfill the American dream,” the mayor said. “The dream that they say should exist for everyone, but they really mean just for them.”

“Everybody is working here together. We’re ignoring all the conspiracy theorists, everyone who’s playing bridge engineer at home who’s never even taken a class on engineering, and understanding that what this is about is showing the world once and again that Baltimore can’t be broken, our spirit is strong, and we will rebuild together and honor those who we lost.”

Watch the video of Scott’s remarks here.

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An Illinois man is facing charges after he allegedly stabbed a Black Walmart employee to death in a racially motivated attack.

Timothy Carter, 28, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of an 18-year-old Walmart employee identified as Jason Jenkins on Sunday (March 24), per News Nation.

According to surveillance video from the Walmart in Rockford, Illinois, Carter grabbed two knives from the shelves and walked around the store “giving all of the African American people dirty looks.” Carter eventually walked up behind Jenkins and stabbed him in the back, court documents state.

One witness said they heard Carter use a racial slur after the stabbing.

Rockford Police officers responded to the Walmart and took Carter into custody. Jenkins was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

According to an arrest report, Carter said he sought treatment for a mental health crisis he experienced early that day, but he was turned away and wanted to kill himself.

Walmart addressed the “violent attack” in a statement on Monday (March 25).

“We’re devastated to learn that one of our associates has died following a violent attack inside our Rockford, IL store. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and will continue providing our associates with the support they need. Actions like this are inexcusable, and we’re grateful to law enforcement for their swift action in arresting the presumed attacker. We’ll continue helping them in every possible way throughout their investigation.”

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A 77-year-old Georgia man was forced out of his home and arrested after someone allegedly used fraudulent paperwork to claim ownership of the residence, WSB-TV reports.

Charmaine and Charles Allman said they had been living in their home in Stone Mountain, Georgia for the past two decades until they were told earlier this month that they no longer had ownership of the property.

Officials forced the couple to vacate the home, and their belongings were thrown all over their yard, the Allmans said.

“They made us feel like we were squatters,” Charmaine Allman told WSB-TV. “Just tossed my stuff out like it was trash.”

According to reports, an unidentified man allegedly submitted a fraudulent deed with Dekalb County to claim ownership of the couple’s home. The Allmans said they became aware of suspicious activity after they received letters saying a second mortgage had been taken out on the home.

“We don’t have no more mortgage,” the couple said.

The alleged fraudster told the couple that he purchased their home from a foreclosure. When Charles Allman refused to leave his home, the 77-year-old was arrested on a Criminal Trespass warrant.

“I don’t know how this is possible,” Charmaine Allman said of the arrest. “How does this happen, period? It’s very upsetting to see my husband in handcuffs at 77 years old and placed in the car because he didn’t want to leave his home. He has nowhere to go. No family.”

Charles Allman was recently released from jail.

“It’s too easy to forge a deed and record it,” Real estate attorney Richard Alembik told WSB-TV. “It’s a big problem nowadays, because of the fact that e-filing, the e-recording of deeds is so easy. It’s very easy to record forged deeds.”

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Southern California guard JuJu Watkins signs autographs for fans after a 73-55 win over Kansas in a college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, on March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

by Nwakerendu Waboso, Brock University and Taylor McKee, Brock University

Women’s basketball superstars are standing at a crossroads for collegiate basketball, professional women’s sport, and the relationship between race and gender more broadly.

Last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship between Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa saw controversy arise when LSU’s Angel Reese made a hand gesture that many perceived as rude toward Iowa player Caitlin Clark.

Reese, a Black woman, received immediate misogynoiristic backlash online for the gesture, despite Clark having made a similar gesture earlier in the game.

The situation placed undue, uninvited stress and attention on both Reese and Clark and evoked the long history of racially-coded conflicts across sport. It prompted fans and critics to consider the social roles traditionally given to white and Black athletes and how these persisting expectations continue to inform broader perceptions of individual athletes.

As this year’s NCAA tournament unfolds, it might yet again represent a new high water-mark for women’s sport as new standards are set for ratings and even more pressure falls on the game’s superstars.

LSU forward Angel Reese dribbles during a basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 22, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

The rise of women’s NCAA basketball

The increasing interest in collegiate women’s basketball has become impossible to ignore, buoyed in large part by the emergence of stars like Clark, Reese, University of Southern California freshman guard JuJu Watkins and University of Utah senior forward Alissa Pili.

The 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament averaged 6.5 million viewers for the two final four games and 9.9 million for the championship game. By comparison, the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup averaged 2.6 million viewers in the United States, 4.6 million in 2022 and 2.5 million in 2021.

NCAA men’s basketball, in comparison, has experienced a decline over the years because of its relationship to the NBA draft. Beginning in 2006, the NBA mandated players must be at least one-year removed from high school graduation and 19 years old to be eligible for the draft. Prior to 2006, players were eligible to enter the draft directly out of high school.

The ability to enter the NBA at 18 was a privilege only granted after a 1967 Supreme Court decision allowed University of Detroit forward Spencer Haywood to sign an NBA contract despite the league’s requirement that players not be drafted until four years after high school graduation.

As author Chuck Klosterman mentioned in an interview, players used to stay in school for three or four years, allowing audiences to become fans by watching players evolve. Now, the NBA sees players drafted after spending only months on college campuses, which has led to an erosion of interest in men’s collegiate basketball.

It is possible this sense of disconnection has drawn larger audiences to the women’s collegiate game, where fans are able to develop more long-lasting relationships with players and witness intense rivalries between teams due to a greater continuity of talent.

The changing faces of women’s basketball

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives past West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly (11) in a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, on March 25, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Described as a “transformational talent,” “the supernova driving women’s basketball to new heights” and inspiring what is known as the “Caitlin Clark Effect,” Clark is now a household name across North America.

Her influence is a strong, positive experience that disrupts traditional gender marginalization and stereotypes within collegiate sports. Clark’s accomplishments directly challenge the stereotype that female athletes are less athletic than male athletes.

This is a harmful and historical trope for a host of reasons, one of which is that it subjugates women as inferior athletes and undermines efforts to break down the patriarchal barriers
that have traditionally disenfranchised female athletics as a whole.

Within her role as a student athlete ambassador, Clark is also able to disrupt traditional views around femininity in sports. Her identity as a white woman and her wealth also matter tremendously.

Because whiteness is still privileged and treated as the normative identity in collegiate athletics across America, Clark is well-positioned to disrupt traditional ideas around femininity in a way that a non-White athlete cannot.

Wealth in women’s sports

The lucrative landscape surrounding NIL (name, image, likeness) regulations means the stars of NCAA women’s basketball stand to earn far more than previous generations of women’s players. NIL rules allow players to monetize their name, image and likeness through sponsorships and other activities.

Clark has declared for the WNBA’s 2024 season, where she is highly touted to be the number one overall draft pick. It is reported that Clark’s 11 NIL contracts are worth a combined US$3 million — a number that stands in stark contrast to the usual $100,000 rookie salary of top WNBA first round picks.

But this opportunity has the potential to create a great deal more pressure for those carrying the banner for women’s basketball. It’s new and uncharted territory for female collegiate athletes and foreshadows possible tensions for athletes who eventually transition to professional basketball.

The younger generation of stars may well enter into the WNBA with more wealth amassed over their collegiate careers than some long-standing WNBA players have ever made.

Clark, Reese and a new generation of collegiate superstars are now not only tasked with navigating their place in an inequitable sporting marketplace, but are also pioneers of a new age of wealth in women’s sport.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, so the saying goes, and Clark appears to bear that weight deftly. However, as a new generation of players transitions into the professional game from a collegiate game they’ve helped supercharge, it’s important to consider how much weight is reasonable for any athlete to bear, no matter how battle-tested and celebrated the player.

Nwakerendu Waboso, PhD Candidate, Child and Youth Studies, Brock University and Taylor McKee, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) will close its Airport Station for six weeks from Monday, April 8 through Sunday, May 19 to renovate the concourse and platform levels. 

Fortunately, MARTA service will continue to and from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport via a bus shuttle between College Park Station and the North Terminal Lower Level, downstairs from North Baggage Claim, 22 hours a day, 4 a.m. to 2 a.m.  

MARTA officials told individuals during a press conference on March 29 to allow an extra 30 minutes when taking MARTA to the airport. 

Louis Gossett Jr. will be remembered for making history in theater, TV and film. On March 29, Gossett, 87, passed in Santa Monica, California. 

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1936, Gossett was a high school basketball star until an injury led him to the stage. At 17, Gossett made his acting debut in his school’s production of “You Can’t Take It With You.”

In his early 20s, Gossett honed his skills on Broadway, starring in “A Raisin in the Sun” in 1959 and “Golden Boy” in 1964. 

But in 1977, the nation would get an opportunity to witness Gossett in the critically-acclaimed mini-series, “Roots.” Five years later, he would make history with his role in the film, “An Officer and a Gentleman.” He became the first Black man to win an Oscar for supporting actor. He also won a Golden Globe award. 

He would also appear in films such as “Jaws 3-D,” “Diggstown,” and “Toy Soldiers.”

More recently, Gossett was featured in the remake of “The Color Purple.”

In 2018, Gossett moved to metro Atlanta after selling his home in Malibu, California. As a youth, he would often spend summers with family members in Watkinsville, Georgia. 

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement on his legacy. 

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Louis Gossett Jr., the Emmy Award-winning actor who called our city home,” Dickens said. “He will be forever remembered for his contributions to the film industry and for making history as the first African American man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. “We extend our condolences to Mr. Gossett’s family, friends, and fans during this difficult time. May your memories bring comfort, and may his legacy continue to inspire future generations. As a city, we are grateful for the privilege of having had Louis Gossett Jr. among us, and we join together in honoring his life and contributions.”

 

 

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Photograph by David Madison / Getty Images

The first time Heather Stables laced up to perform in the Magnolia Open, she free-skated to a tango. Stables won her category—by default, because her competitor dropped out. Still, her 2013 experience at Atlanta’s local figure skating event set her up for years of medaling across the Southeast, and last year she placed fourth in the Championship Adult Silver Women’s Free Skate at Adult Nationals. “Magnolia Open was my very first skating competition and, a few years later, the first where my now-husband got to see me compete,” she says. “It definitely holds a special place in my memories.”

The Magnolia Open is one of two local U.S. Figure Skating qualifier events that the Atlanta Figure Skating Club hosts. Every March at Alpharetta’s rink, the Cooler, more than 150 skaters—most of them under 18—participate in the Magnolia Open in categories like European waltz, hoedown variation, and, of course, free skate. There are 300 total events in the Open, which takes place March 8–10. “It’s ideal for the skater who’s probably not going to make it to nationals, but it strengthens their confidence to have spectators and get a score,” says Catherine Hackney, the club’s president and an Open judge.

Adults like Stables compete with no national stakes on the line. Stables got on the ice just 13 years ago. She grew up dancing but started skating only as an adult to keep active, and soon fell in love with the camaraderie and challenge. “I danced for over 15 years and almost never got to take the stage by myself,” she says. “It blew my mind that I could just sign up for a skating competition and get the opportunity to perform my own program.”

Creating a community is one goal of the 69-year-old club. Whether they do theatrical skating or team events, anyone at any age can skate, or learn how through Aspire programs. Atlanta has a robust skating scene but only five metro-area rinks, with many skaters driving 40 minutes or more to do their crossovers. Still, the experience makes it worth it. “You love the gliding and the feel of the air,” Hackney says. “There’s just something magical about skating.”

This article appears in our March 2024 issue.

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