If there is one true thing about journalism, it’s that some of the best story ideas about Black culture come from casual conversations.
One of those chats took a place few months back in the middle of our Midtown newsroom. AJC editor-in-chief, Leroy Chapman, UATL social producer Ron Williams and I were talking about college.
Leroy, a proud University of South Carolina grad, mentioned dropping his son off for school at Georgia State University. There, he witnessed Black parents sporting gear from Atlanta’s storied HBCUs such as Morehouse, Spelman, Clark and Morris Brown. Ron, a Georgia State alum, wasn’t surprised. He’s witnessed the downtown institution’s rise to being the city’s unofficial Black college first-hand.
A Syracuse University grad myself, I wondered what those moms and dads thought about their kids not following in their educational footsteps. Our Black mecca series felt like the right space to explore this further.
I shared these anecdotes with AJC education editor Eric Stirgus and UATL senior reporter Ernie Suggs, who’ve done extensive reporting on the state of HBCUs in Atlanta.
We agreed it was time to dig into whether a city with the oldest and largest cluster of historically Black colleges and universities in the world was still a mecca for Black students.
Ernie delivered with a thoughtful, data-backed look at how ATL remains the Black Mecca for higher education in America. Whether you agree or not (yes, we know D.C. has entered the chat), it’s a damn good read.
Speaking of work worth bragging about. We officially launched our weekly podcast, “It’s UATL.”
Please clap!
For the past few months, journalists Nedra Rhone, Najja Parker, DeAsia Paige and Brooke Leigh Howard have been in an AJC studio cookin’. This week, we dropped the series premiere, which features an exclusive interview with Emmy-nominated filmmaker Mara Brock Akil about Black love.
Wanna get to know our hosts a little better? Meet the voices behind the mics.
“It’s UATL” will hit earbuds every Wednesday with a new episode wherever you get your podcasts. Listen. Share. Repeat.
If you’re in town for Atlanta Black Pride and need help navigating the turn up, we got you. Brooke put together a list of events to help you navigate the weekend. Don’t hit the streets without it.
This week, we also catch up on potential fallout for Target from nationwide boycotts led by Pastor Jamal Bryant. Oh, and Chris caught up with production legends Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Want to see and hear more journalism that matters? It’s never too late to become a paid supporter of UATL.
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