Category: Atlanta, Georgia Local News

Photograph courtesy of Leon’s

Let there be no doubt: Atlanta is absolutely a French fry city. The carby, greasy fried potatoes that sop up all your troubles get the respect they deserve around here. From bougie to divey, crinkle cut to steak cut, we have it all. Grab a friend (or don’t—you can absolutely have a plate to yourself) and head to one of these places for your next French fry fix.

Leon’s Full Service
Dining on Leon’s patio with a bucket of fries and a cocktail (or a nonalcoholic one) is a quintessential Atlanta experience, regardless of the season. The fries are good, but it’s the variety of sauces that really make them shine. It’s hard to choose just one—Garlic aioli? Smoked tomato mayo? Buttermilk ranch?—so, fortunately, each bucket comes with two.

Photograph by Martha Williams

Little Sparrow/Bar Blanc
Little Sparrow does a good job with French brasserie fare, but it does really well with French fries. Thick, but not wedge-cut, they are always golden with a crispy exterior and fluffy interior. They come with a choice of béarnaise, aioli, or raclette service (for an uncharge, but it’s a worthy, fancy splurge). At Bar Blanc, upstairs, the same fries are served as part of the steak frites prix fixe—here, they’re unlimited.

Fred’s Meat & Bread
If you love options, Fred’s Meat & Bread has the fries for you. You can opt for regular hand cut fries, but there are four other flavor-packed options to choose from. The garlic fries served alongside ranch or the Old Bay-seasoned fries with tartar sauce stand out among the bunch.

Photograph courtesy of Grindhouse

Grindhouse Killer Burgers
Each of Grindhouse’s locations in the metro Atlanta area serve killer (sorry) fried sides including onion rings and Brussels sprouts, but it’s the crinkle sweet potato fries that stand out. A little sweet and salty, these fries really sing when dunked in Grindhouse sauce—a milkshake on the side rounds it all out.

Takorea/Hankook
It’s virtually impossible to resist the sesame fries at sister restaurants Takorea (Dunwoody) and Hankook (Underwood Hills). Fried in sesame oil and tossed in tongue-tingling seasonings and red pepper flakes, the fries have an umami-meets-sweet thing going on. They come with a spicy chipotle ketchup, but no one would judge you for dunking them in an order of queso, too.

Photograph by Lia Picard

Pepitazo
The Venezuelan bites at Pepitazo, with locations in Duluth and Doraville, are worth the visit alone, but don’t miss the volcano fries. It’s a decadent combination: A basket full of extra crispy French fries smothered in gooey American cheese, a hearty sprinkling of Parmesan, chunks of crispy fried chicken, bacon, and corn. The house-made cilantro garlic sauce makes a perfect dunking companion to cut through all that cheesiness.

Slutty Vegan
Pinky Cole’s restaurant—which started as an Atlanta food truck and has since expanded to multiple metro locations, as well as to Birmingham, Dallas, and New York City—is best known for its vegan burgers with provocative names. But its fries should be equally lauded. Thick, crinkle-cut, and topped with the restaurant’s signature “Slut Dust,” you won’t want to share this side. A variety of dipping sauces are available for a charge, but they’re excellent on their own.

Lucian Books and Wine
Go to Lucian for the big, beautiful books, stay for the fries. They’re thin, crispy, and served with a roasted scallion mayonnaise. Pair ‘em with a glass of champagne, bien sûr.

Photograph courtesy of Lloyd’s

Lloyd’s
Lloyd’s pizza might be their calling card, but the decadent lasagna fries have been known to cure bad days. Topped with bolognese, ricotta, mozzarella, and white and red sauces, this dish is the whole package.

Righteous Room
Gussied up fries are great, but here’s a less frilly option that’s just as enticing. Beloved Atlanta staple Righteous Room serves theirs thick and plain or tossed in salt and vinegar. If you need something really hearty, you may want to get the chili wedges with veggie chili and ample amounts of shredded cheese.

The General Muir
The thin-cut fries make a great accompaniment to one of TGM’s signature dishes like the double stack burger or pastrami sandwich, but don’t sleep on the poutine. If fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds are simply not enough, you can top the hearty dish off with pastrami or fried eggs.

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Photograph by Ben Rollins

Surrounded by rows of coconut palms and quiet lagoons, I lounged at a quaint wellness resort in the backwaters of Kerala. In the late afternoon sun, a petite elderly lady dressed in a dark blue sari rowed her long, narrow boat right up to the hotel’s edge. She took out a dozen tiny tea glasses and poured her homemade, steaming-hot chai for the guests. This was her lifelong ritual, and her small business was confined to the inland waters of southern India.

For another Indian woman, Atlanta’s Monica Sunny, the quest for a good cup of chai spans continents. Dressed in jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers, Sunny starts her morning with a chai meditation story on Instagram. She runs a booth at the AmericasMart trade show by day, and fulfills orders at her Marietta factory and store by night.

The founder of the Chai Box has become a major figure in the world of tea. She’s recently served tea at Atlanta’s inaugural Michelin red-carpet event at the Rialto Center for the Arts, at Disney’s first Diwali celebration in Orlando, and at a private party at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C. Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey have included the Chai Box on their lists of favorites.

Chai, which means “tea” in Hindi, is synonymous with life for most South Asians, but especially women. It is the first drink you reach for when you wake up, and what you sip while reading the news. It is an afternoon refresher when you return home from work or meet up with friends. In Bollywood movies, you may have seen young women learning to make tea for the first time to impress a potential suitor, or singing songs inviting their lovers home to meet the family over tea (meaning “Let’s take this relationship further”). Chai is not just a drink; it defines many meaningful moments throughout our lives.

Sunny’s life revolves around the tea. “It was the first thing my mom taught me how to make in India,” she says. “From that moment, I started experimenting on my own and combining different teas and spices to come up with my own custom blends.”

The Punjab native notes that there is no specific recipe for chai; you can blend your own concoction depending on your mood or ailment. “For example, if I have a headache, I add cinnamon, or if I’m feeling full after a big meal, I add fennel and ginger for their digestive properties,” says Sunny. “And any time I feel like I’m about to come down with something, holy basil boosts immunity.”

When Sunny arrived in the land of sweet tea in the ’80s, she remembers there being only one Indian restaurant and grocery store around Atlanta. The only place to drink chai was home. Outside of the Indian community, no one knew about chai. There was no concept of going out for tea.

Today, specialty tea is widely available at groceries and restaurants, and even mainstream coffee shops serve chai, though it’s often overly sweet and lacks the depth of fresh spices.

There is a clear distinction between regular tea and chai, of course. Tea, in its natural form, is essentially tea leaves. Adding spices, milk, and sugar makes it chai. “We should stop saying chai tea—chai is not a flavor, it’s a drink,” Sunny says. “People often think of chai as a spice flavor, but it starts with the tea. I hope that more people become educated about this, and stop serving chai lattes without any tea.”

To carry on the tradition of brewing chai with her three sons, Sunny set up weekly “chai time” on Fridays after school. She would bring out what the boys referred to as “the chai box” of spices and teas, along with a notecard that would teach them how to prepare the perfect cup of chai. She would sometimes invite their friends (and their friends’ parents), to introduce them to the chai time rituals.

As chai and its health benefits gained interest in the U.S., Sunny began to give out samples at Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma stores around the city, alongside her career as a corporate consultant.

During the pandemic, her side hustle became her new full-time job. “People were stuck at home and were looking for ways to relax,” says Sunny. She saw an opportunity and founded the Chai Box, running it out of her basement and a shared kitchen space.

To ensure she was serving a high-quality product that was fairly and sustainably sourced, Sunny began to travel to her husband’s home state of Kerala, where she found bright green cardamom pods filled with fragrant black seeds and earthy, dark brown cinnamon barks. After tasting fresh flavors, she sourced them directly from farms and farmers who handpicked teas and spices, and didn’t use pesticides or artificial ingredients.

Photograph courtesy of Monica Sunny

Shopping for tea has also evolved, even within Indian households. The traditional way of making chai involves boiling loose-leaf black tea and adding spices. Today, concentrates and tea bags offer convenience and time-saving, but most tea found in individual sachets consists of the lowest-grade leftover tea leaves, which are powdered and tasteless. A few companies, including the Chai Box, sell plastic-free tea bags with compostable and biodegradable ink and paper, which taste fresher and don’t create unnecessary waste.

The Chai Box has outgrown Sunny’s basement and is now housed in a 4,000-square-foot facility in Marietta. The shop is a welcome treat for all the senses. You can smell the aroma of simmering lemongrass, clove, and ginger from the parking lot. Inside, Sunny’s husband, young sons, and expert staff are eager to explain the different blends and offer tastes.

Sunny hopes to open a brick-and-mortar cafe soon. In the meantime, here are some of her favorite spots around Atlanta, where you can taste innovative drinks made with her tea blends.

Strawberry Fields Chai at Sessions Stand
This female-owned tea shop offers original recipes amid French-inspired decor. Marietta

Matcha Lavender Latte at Tuesday Coffee + Shoppe
The family-run English-style coffee shop sources and serves the finest-quality ingredients. Marietta

Green Tea Iced Snow at Alchemist Trading Co.
Try a Korean-inspired tea dessert topped with fruits, shaved ice, and sweet milk. Johns Creek

This article appears in our March 2024 issue.

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The impact of Atlanta’s culture resonates worldwide. One of the biggest events in American history was created by students who attended college at the Atlanta University Center. Freaknik, launched during the early 1980s, started as a small gathering for college students during spring break and morphed into an event that had a generational impact.

The good, bad, and ugly of Freaknik is told in the new documentary, “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told.”

Jermaine Dupri, who serves as an executive producer on the documentary, spoke with ADW about the importance of the film. 

“This is like the first story that we’ve ever had from the city ,” Dupri said. “Dallas Austin produced the film ‘ATL’ which was a story about kids that lived in the city. But that wasn’t about the culture of how there was rise of Atlanta’s culture in terms of hip hop culture. And that’s what this documentary is about. This is the first story that we’ve had from the South.”

The film delves into the beginning of Freaknik which was started by five AUC students who were apart of the DC Metro Club in 1983. Inspired by Chic’s song “Le Freak,” they remixed the term picnic and created the term “Freaknik.” 

One decade later, Freaknik attracted thousands of Black college students across the country, going viral before going viral was tied to social media. Decades before cell phone images became the norm, cam corders captured the moments. 

There was also a business element to Freaknik as street vendors were able to capitalize from the thousands who attended. 

“We’re always asking, ‘What is ours’ and the importance of spending money in the Black community,” Dupri said. “This was an example for others to see Black people spending money in a Black city.”

However, the event’s lack of focus and Atlanta’s hosting of the Olympics destroyed the once vibrant celebration. 

The film provides an overall look at the rise and fall of the celebration. 

Hours before the film premiered on Hulu, the premiere took place at The Bank in Atlanta where Dupri, Luther Campbell, Killer Mike, Da Brat and Judy, Cee Lo, and more attended. 

There was also a Freaknik-themed activation which featured vintage cars from the 1980s, a booth with gold chains, and a stand were attendees could get personalized Freaknik hoodies. 

View exclusive images below:

 

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By: Hunter Gilmore

Attendees were left in awe as Jeezy shared insight into his captivating journey during a fireside chat at Cam Kirk Studio in Atlanta.

The event, hosted by the renowned Cam Kirk, provided a platform for Jeezy to share thoughts into his remarkable rise to success despite facing numerous challenges along the way, chronicled in his memoir, “Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe.” 

“The thing that I knew that I had that a lot of people didn’t have to do what I do is that resilience to keep going. And to take the losses and to actually fall in love with the journey, ” Jeezy said during the discussion. “When I first came out I told them I was a corporate thug. There wasn’t any denying that. I told them I was thug motivating and inspiring and then I’m sitting back like damn, all I’m telling them is how I’m losing to win.” 

In an exclusive interview with ADW, Kirk shed light on the significance of the event, describing it as a “full-circle moment” from his earlier collaborations with Jeezy.

“This is a really exciting day not only for me personally but for the studio, the business, and just for the longevity of my career. A lot of people don’t know unless you’re a true true true fan of mine that Jeezy’s the first artist I really had the privilege of working for, like the first major celebrity. That was 2012. So to be able to be here now, 10 plus years later, and to have him grace me with his presence at another business that I started, at my own studio commemorating a collaboration that we did together is amazing,” Kirk said.

Reflecting on his journey with Jeezy, Kirk expressed profound gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to the book’s cover art, a momentous achievement that has now been cemented with its New York Times Bestseller status.

“That book cover shot just meant a lot to me and now to see it as a bestseller is like wow. That’s a notch in my portfolio that I didn’t have before and I think it’s amazing and it’s full circle to do it with him, “he continues, “I always dreamed about magazine covers and album covers. I never even thought about working with an artist iconic enough to have an autobiography of themselves and that my work could be there. It’s honestly just exciting to see the value and impact of photography and how far I’ve been able to take it.”

As we shifted the conversation toward Kirk’s own aspirations, the photographer and entrepreneur shared his dreams of collaborating with iconic brands within the photography industry. Despite his impressive portfolio of partnerships with global giants like Coca-Cola, Nike, and Meta, Kirk expressed a desire to receive recognition and support from the photography community, particularly from technology and camera companies like Apple and Adobe.

“I have had the privilege to work with a lot of brands but I think, ironically, I have never done a lot of work for actual photography brands. And I think that’s always been one of those underdog stories for me. Like I know I didn’t go to photography school and I don’t have a degree in it but I’m still just as much of a photographer as anybody else. And it’s interesting that most of my accolades come from the music or culture side of things and not necessarily the manufacturers that make the cameras that I’ve documented and taken these photos with. I would love to get more recognition and work within my industry.”

Since overcoming adversity was the theme of the evening, Kirk touched on some of the adversity he’s been dealt. From navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to the perpetual learning curve of entrepreneurship.

“I think anybody that’s successful goes through adversity. I’ve gone through adversity, I still go through adversity. As we get to different layers, it makes for great learning lessons and things to build up on. In my career I didn’t go to school for photography, I went to school for marketing. I didn’t go to school for entrepreneurship or how to be a CEO or how to be an accountant and all of these things. A lot of just the day-to-day running of my business I’m learning on the fly and I’m trying to educate myself the best I can. But you’re learning through experience, mistakes, adversity, and challenges.

Concluding the conversation, attendees were able to grab delicious drinks, take cool photos in the photo booth and have their books signed by the New York Times Bestseller. Overall, the event concluded on a very high note, leaving attendees inspired by Jeezy’s remarkable story and inspired to chase their dreams relentlessly and turn adversity into opportunity.

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1852—The leading Black nationalist of the 1800s Martin R. Delany publish­es his manifesto entitled “The Condi­tion, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States.” Delany, who fought in the Civil War to end slavery, became frustrated with American racism and argued that Blacks were “a nation within a nation” who should consider returning to their Africa homeland. Delany, who became a doctor, would later advance an ar­gument for reparations saying, “They [Whites] had been our oppressors and injurers. They obstructed our progress to the high positions of civilization. And now it is their bounden duty to make full amends for the injuries thus inflict­ed upon an unoffending people.” Del­aney died in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 1885.

1852—“Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is published in Boston and becomes a national best­seller. The novel was based in part on a real life Maryland slave named Josiah Henson. Many considered Henson the arch type “Uncle Tom” who was over accommodating to Whites and accept­ing of his condition as a slave. Revi­sionist historians have treated Henson more kindly suggesting he was simply being pragmatic and actually helped other slaves.

1883—Jan Matzeliger receives a patent for the “shoe lasting” machine, which would revolutionize the shoe industry, significantly reduce the cost of shoes and make Lynn, Mass., the shoe-making capital of the world. Mat­zeliger was born in Dutch Guiana (to­day’s Surinam) and arrived in America at 18 or 19 speaking very little English. His invention would eventually enable an entire shoe to be produced in 60 seconds by one machine. The patent was purchased by the United Shoe Company. Unfortunately, Matzeliger died at 37 before he was able to realize any of the enormous profits produced by his invention.

1957—Filmmaker Spike Lee is born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1955— Walter White dies. As head of the NAACP, White was perhaps the most prominent and powerful civ­il rights leader of the first half of the 20th century. The light complexioned, blue-eyed White became somewhat of a legend in 1919 when he “passed for White” in order to investigate the notorious Elaine, Ark., race riot when marauding bands of Whites killed more than 200 Blacks. He barely escaped with his life when news of his true iden­tity leaked out.

1960—The Sharpsville Massacre oc­curs, in then White-ruled South Africa, when police fired on Blacks protesting the country’s “pass laws,” which greatly restricted the movement of the majori­ty African population. At least 67 dem­onstrators were killed and 186 injured or wounded.

1965—The historic Selma to Mont­gomery March calling for full voting rights for African-Americans begins under federal protection. The original march had actually started on March 7. But the more than 600 demonstrators were attacked with clubs and tear gas by state and local police at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Organizers, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., then went to court to get confirmation of their Con­stitutional right to demonstrate. The court battle was won and the march resumed under federal protection on March 21. Five months later President Lyndon Johnson signed the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act.

2010—The U.S. House of Represen­tatives passes President Obama’s signature legislation—Health Care Re­form by a 219 to 212 vote. No Republi­can voted for the measure.

1492—Alonzo Pietro sets sail with Christopher Columbus as he begins his famous journey to find a new trade route to China, but accidental­ly “discovers” the Americas. Pietro was one of Columbus’ navigators. He was known as “il Negro”—The Black.

1942—Scholar and political activist Walter Rodney is born in George­town, Guyana. Rodney would become one of the leading intellec­tual forces behind the worldwide Black Nationalist and Pan-Africanist movements of the 1960s and ‘70s. He was a brilliant scholar who trav­eled widely and among his major writings was the book “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.” He died in a car bombing in Guyana in 1980.

1916—Marcus Garvey arrives in the United States from Jamaica. He would go on to build the largest Black nationalist and self-help orga­nization in world history—the Uni­versal Negro Improvement Associ­ation. The UNIA owned everything from bakeries to a shipping line. It would develop chapters throughout major cities in the U.S., Europe, Afri­ca and the Caribbean. “Garveyism” emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, Blacks doing for self and the establishment of a pow­erful Black nation in Africa to give protection to Blacks throughout the world.

1837—Blacks in Canada are granted the right to vote. Most of these Blacks had escaped from slavery in America.

 

2002—Halle Berry becomes the first Black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress. She won for her role in the movie “Monster’s Ball.” She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series for “Introducing Dorothy Dan­dridge” in 1999. Berry was born on Aug. 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio, to an African-American father and a Caucasian mother.

1931—Ida B. Wells Barnett dies. Barnett was one of the leading Black female activists in America for over 30 years. Born in Holly Springs, Miss., she became a cru­sading journalist against racism and injustice with her Memphis, Tennes­see-based newspaper—“The Free Speech and Headlight.” When a prominent Memphis Black man (and friend or hers) was lynched in 1892, she launched a national campaign against lynching. In 1909, she be­came a member of the Committee of 40 which laid the foundation for the organization which would be­come the NAACP. But she later sid­ed with scholar W.E.B. DuBois when he accused the NAACP of not being militant enough. Barnett would also later join with White suffragettes in demanding that women be given the right to vote.

1931—The “Scottsboro Boys” are arrested and accused of raping two young White women—a crime which evidence suggests (then and now) never occurred. However, the saga of the nine Scottsboro Boys (young Black men aged 12 to 20) would stretch out over a period of nearly 20 years in a series of trials, con­victions, reversals and retrials. The racism of the period was so thick that even when one of the young White women recanted and admit­ted that no rape had occurred, an all-White Alabama jury still found members of the group guilty and sentenced them to death. The convictions were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and more retrials and new convictions fol­lowed. Eventually, either by paroles or escapes, all the Scottsboro Boys would leave Alabama prisons. The last one died in 1989.

1942—Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul” music, is born in Detroit, Mich.

1831—The founder of the Afri­can Methodist Episcopal Church Church, Richard Allen, dies at age 71 in Philadelphia, Pa. As its first bishop, Allen set the AME Church on the path to becoming the first Black religious denomination in America to be fully independent of White control. He, in effect, char­tered a separate religious identity for African-Americans. He also founded schools throughout the na­tion to teach Blacks. This includes Allen University in Columbia, S.C.

1944—Singer/Actress Diana Ross is born in Detroit, Mich. She headed the most popular female signing group of the 1960s—The Supremes.

1950—Singer Teddy Pendergrass is born in Philadelphia, Pa. For a pe­riod, Pendergrass was the leading sex symbol in R&B music. However, an automobile accident on March 18, 1982 left him paralyzed from the chest down. Pendergrass died Jan. 13, 2010.

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Jasmine Guy gained prominence during her portrayal of the southern belle Whitley Gilbert on the hit show, “A Different World.”

But there are more layers to the Atlanta native that was initially presented on the HBCU-themed comedy. In an upcoming episode of TV One’s “UNCENSORED,” Guy provides more insight on her personal life, friendship with 2 Pac, and working on the film “School Daze.”

In the clip below, she shares how she helped the acclaimed rapper after he was shot in New York.

View full episode on March 24. 

Jasmine Guy shares thoughts on Spike Lee. 

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Photograph by Bailey Garrot

The Loews Atlanta Hotel’s prime Midtown location gives it a businesslike aura, with corporate guests milling about the lobby. The desserts served within, however, are far from serious. “My approach to desserts, really, is a big kid that’s all grown up,” says Allison Poirier, the hotel’s pastry chef. “I think people nowadays want something nostalgic that tastes good, that looks good, and you obviously eat with your eyes first.”

Spend just five minutes with the chef in her kitchen, and it’s evident that Poirier’s desserts reflect her gregarious personality. “I am just a giant big kid,” says Poirier. “I like bright, colorful things, whether that’s food or cocktails, and I try and exude that as much as I can.” Guests and her coworkers have responded with enthusiasm.

Take, for example, her play on the classic kid snack Dunkaroos. Instead of crispy cookies, she bakes chewy, cinnamon-spiced sugar cookies and serves them alongside a bowl of Funfetti-flecked cream cheese frosting. When she came up with the dessert, she asked herself, “What can we do for adults that will bring us back a little bit?” The answer was sweet and colorful Dunkaroos. “Opening up the package of Dunkaroos was pretty cool when you were a kid,” she says. Other youthful desserts that have appeared on the ever-changing menu include an orange Creamsicle–inspired vanilla bean cheesecake with a blood orange curd, and peanut butter and jelly bars.

The Dunkaroos began as an amenity available only to guests staying at the hotel. It was such a hit, however, that anyone can now order it at the hotel’s restaurant, Saltwood Charcuterie & Bar.

Poirier moved to Atlanta in 2022 after stints at other luxury hotels, including the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans and the Four Seasons Resort and Residences in Jackson Hole. The Arizona native feels at home here, though. She came out in Atlanta, and felt supported doing so when she got the hotel to participate in the Atlanta Pride Parade (she even made Pride-themed cupcakes to celebrate).

Her desserts are all the more impressive when you consider that she has celiac disease. Poirier ensures that there’s always a gluten-free dessert on her menu, but she can’t sample her other treats the way most chefs do. That doesn’t hold her back: “Not to be cocky, but it usually makes me pretty good at what I do,” says Poirier. “I need to make sure that everything tastes good. I have to be pretty close to perfect, if I’m making something I can’t really eat.”

It doesn’t hurt that she has plenty of tasters on hand to check her work. “The kitchen’s an open door, and there’s usually people coming in all day,” she laughs.

This article appears in our March 2024 issue.

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By Johnnie Turnage

My name is Johnnie Turnage. Less than a year ago, I founded Black Tech Saturdays with my wife Alexa, and the results have been out of this world!

We grew from five people in a coffee shop to over 6,000 Detroiters, Michiganders, and visitors from all over the world. We’ve supported founders as they worked to gain traction, revenue, and capital faster than ever. We’ve also supported over a hundred people in their quest to get jobs, and we’ve witnessed more of our community find pathways into the tech industry, as entrepreneurs, as talent, and as true contributors. It’s rare to see your efforts create so much impact in such a short time, especially when there are huge gaps in resources, but where there is true community, there is an opportunity to make a big impact.

Detroit is the city of innovation. It’s the original Silicon Valley; there is no place more innovative, creative, and resilient than Detroit. We make a way out of no way, and because of that very spirit, we have watched our tech ecosystem come alive in ways that has never been experienced by Black tech founders and professionals.

Because of the traction, momentum, and excitement around Black Tech Saturdays, we were invited to the world’s largest tech conference, South by Southwest (SXSW). SXSW began in Austin, Texas, as a small group and has grown to be a two-week event often seeing north of 350,000 attendees.

For my wife Alexa and me, this was a humbling and life-altering experience. We took the national stage this week with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and talked about what it means to be “Building America’s Premiere Black Tech Ecosystem.”

So, I’m sure we all have to ask the question:

What does it mean to be building America’s Premiere “Black Tech Ecosystem”?

Well, to me, it’s a bold declaration and call to action to leverage technology and innovation and to create a level playing field that’s never been seen before.

The purpose of technology is to meet a human need or solve a human problem. Very successful tech companies solve problems. To be America’s premiere Black tech ecosystem, you have to solve problems for Black tech founders, Black tech talent, and remove barriers for the Black community to not only enter tech, but to thrive in it.

So why technology? Tech is one of the fastest ways to generate wealth. By having America’s premiere Black tech ecosystem, we are opening the doors for wealth creation and closing the racial wealth gap. What’s good for the Black tech ecosystem will be great for Michigan’s tech ecosystem.

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” 

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

In the months leading up to South by Southwest, I spent time deeply reflecting on that upcoming conversation. “To whom much is given…much is required.” I knew once we hit that stage, we couldn’t just talk about it, we had to embody it!

To make such a bold declaration, at times like these…

Today, we stand just on the other side of a Texas judge siding AGAINST an agency with 55 years under their belts and a proven track record of closing the gap for underrepresented communities.

We live in a world where The Fearless Fund is in the middle of one of the biggest assaults against entrepreneurship and economic freedom for women and people of color. Women entrepreneurs only receive 2% of venture capital dollars, and the stats decrease for Black women. Did you know that the founder of the Fearless Fund is a Black woman from Detroit? Not many people do.

Generative AI is already here and rapidly advancing. Its potential to widen the racial economic gap in the United States by $43 billion each year is a pressing concern.

“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.” Dr. King, Nobel Peace Prize address, 1964

Michigan is on a path to becoming a major tech hub. As it progresses, it’s drawing people from around the globe. I dare to dream that we will address the challenges affecting ALL people and enhance their quality of life.

I’m a big believer in ambitious goals; you can’t get far without reaching far. This is a monumental opportunity with an upside that could impact generations. I’m not crazy enough to think I can do it alone. But, I am hopeful enough to believe that a lot of us working together can move the needle.

I learned a long time ago, if you want to change the world, you have to first change yourself. If we want to become the next great tech hub. We have to first hold up a mirror and look at what we need to improve.

In my opinion, in order for Detroit to be the premier Black tech ecosystem, we need to:

• Flip the numbers on its head. Two-thirds of Detroiters make less than $50k
• Increase the number of Black-owned businesses; with much higher annual reoccurring revenue 
• Increase the number of active and early pre-seed investors, and patient capital
• Increase the amount of culturally competent support
• Foster an environment where business creation, growth, and sustainability are all a part of the success metrics
• Meet every idea with a process of how we support it
• Regard “entrepreneurship” as a protected civil right
• Remove the hurdles that Black and all underrepresented communities have when trying to break into the tech industry
• Encourage our home-built and grown tech companies to lead the charge on diverse teams and access
• Create policy that fosters innovation and ecosystem building
• Create a sense of pride in the ecosystem of Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Community abroad
• Increase the pipelines to contracts. 
• Greater access to deal flow and wealth-building opportunities
• Establish a destination for tech innovation, research, and implementation
• Create pipelines for job creation and upskilling
• Create pathways for the next generation of talent to see themselves in the future

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I am afraid of the results if we don’t do something drastically different really soon. The gaps we see in wealth and digital equity will only get wider if we don’t take this moment to turn the tables. It’s only going to keep getting worse for my community — the community where I live and work; the community where the many people who I care about live and work; the community that belongs to the many people who call this place HOME. The Detroit community. 

It’s 2024; when I dreamed of the future as a kid, I kind of thought that by now we would have all this cool technology that would mean people wouldn’t have to suffer. Even though we don’t have that now, I feel like we can still reach that dream if we all work together.

But in order to achieve this dream, we need ALL the problem solvers, the good-hearted people, the great ideas, the politicians, the business leaders, the foundation leaders, and the leaders of our communities to step in and step up! If we do this, we can all get FURTHER…FASTER…TOGETHER!

#BlackTechSaturdays started in Detroit, and everything we are learning, we want to share with tech ecosystems across the world. We have an opportunity and yes #TOGETHERWECAN change the narrative for the future.

We don’t know what we don’t know, and we can’t do it alone. Detroit is nearly 80% Black and for years has held the spot for the “BLACKEST CITY IN AMERICA”

The culture of Detroit, shaping what tech looks like here — it’s a culture of community, grit, hustle, and impact.

Our best bet is to bet on our people to do extraordinary things. Investing in the people and rooting for them to win is what makes a thriving tech ecosystem. Our team can’t win unless everybody is winning. We have all the power to make that happen.

WE ARE THE PEOPLE WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!

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