Sweet Tea: Crowning glory

Hey there, I’m so glad you’re here! Welcome to Sweet Tea by the AJC, a newsletter for refreshing, positive stories from around the South. Sit and stay a while. We have so much to tell you.

Round up your crystals and double-check your schedule of shenanigans: It’s a full moon tonight. August’s full moon is called the Sturgeon Moon. Yes, like the fish. Not very romantic, but we do respect our local fish populations.

This week, we’ll meet some super-creative people sharing their gifts, and learn about every horse girls’ dream.

HAIR CARE FOR EVERYONE

Mallorye Crowell, founder of The Higher Foundation and The Higher Salon, which provides free hair care services to Georgians in need.

A new Atlanta-area salon is helping women and girls put their best hair forward, no matter their circumstance.

• The Higher Salon, founded by Mallorye Crowell, provides free hair care services in partnership with local salons and stylists.
• Crowell was inspired by the Back-to-School Box Braids Program, a 2024 summer initiative that gave foster children free braids for the start of the school year.
• The salon is part of Crowell’s larger organization, The Higher Foundation, which provides college students with basic necessities so they can focus on their academics.
• The salon will service about 20 people a month, but Crowell hopes that number will grow as more stylists donate their time.

“I believe that hair care is a basic need, not a luxury,” she told the AJC. “It’s tied to your confidence. It’s tied to your ability to thrive.”

COOKEVILLE’S COOLEST ARTIST

As a neurodivergent person, it really fries me when people refuse to recognize the proprietary gifts disabled and neurodiverse people bring to the world. Yes, we need people to make tiny, beautiful, painstakingly detailed dioramas of their town. We need beauty and precision and new perspectives.

Cookeville, Tennessee, is lucky in this regard. Local autistic artist Thomas Golz, with the help of his mother, creates dioramas that immortalize iconic places in the city.

• His mixed media creations portray businesses close to his heart, like Ralph’s Donut Shoppe, Vickers Barber Shop and the Exceptional Bean, a coffee place.
• Golz has also constructed dioramas of other scenes, like the plant store and man-eating Audrey II from the famous musical “Little Shop of Horrors.”
• The 21-year-old’s precise and loving work has earned him a name in the Cookeville art scene. He’s worked with the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities and has graced the pages of local publications.