Welcome back to Sweet Tea by the AJC, a newsletter about fun, fascinating, inspiring stories from the South. It’s not shaping up to be a fun, fascinating or inspiring weekend, which means you may need to take positivity into your own hands. It costs zero dollars to pay someone a compliment, voice some gratitude or cultivate a personal habit that helps you keep perspective. You can always be a force for good in the world, no matter what else is happening beyond your control.
BLACK & BIJOUX
I admit, I am no better than a mockingbird. I looove shiny things. (To any masculine-minded readers who might be chuckling, this is not a gendered condition. I see your 100-piece drill bit set, tackle box full of sparkly lures or fancy computer setup.)
That’s why I was immediately drawn to Tanzy Ward, an Atlanta-based historian and archivist who studies the material culture of early Black Americans. Long story short: Woo, they had pretty stuff.
- Ward’s new book “Precious Black Jewels: The Bijou Material Culture of Black Victorians and Edwardians,” uncovers an under-recognized Black presence in vintage jewelry produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- We’re talking intricate stickpins and gilt frames, elegant portraiture and heirloom adornments.
- “I was seeing a lot of Black people that have beautiful jewelry in these pictures, and they’re not represented enough in decorative arts relating to antique jewelry,” Ward says.
- “Sometimes, people have forgotten how amazing our ancestors and elders dressed. It was regular for them, and I was able to transform people into another era,” she added.
💎 READ MORE: How Ward’s fascinating work uncovers hidden Black history
A TALE OF TWO NACO ... NATCHI ... SIGH. A TALE OF TWO CITIES.
Are you from Natchitoches, or Nacogdoches? The South has all kinds of tricky names, but these sister cities in Louisiana and Texas, respectively, have always fascinated me. (And, I’m sure, been a nightmare for copy editors.)
The two names originate from Caddo language of the Caddo Confederacy, a group of Indigenous tribes in the Texas-Louisiana-Oklahoma-Arkansas region.
- Natchitoches, Louisiana: The Natchitoches are one of the Caddo Confederacy tribes. The Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana was recognized by the state in 2017.
- Nacogdoches, Texas: The Nacogdoche people are a separate tribe in east Texas, also part of the Caddo Confederacy.
That clears up very little! Are they different names with the same root? It isn’t clear.
An old legend in the area says a Caddo chief sent two sons in opposite directions, and they each founded one of the towns. A variation on the legend says the sons were named Natchitoches and Nacogdoches, and carried their names with them to the new settlements.
Good news is, if you mean to go to one and go to the other, they’re only about 100 miles apart.
🏡 READ MORE: I like this article from RV.com which goes in-depth on what the two cities have to offer
SIPS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH
🎧 Isle of Palms, SC: The Isle of Palms Police Department earned the state’s first-ever sensory-inclusive certification. The department trained with KultureCity, a nonprofit based in Birmingham, Alabama, to accommodate people who are overstimulated or overwhelmed on the scene. More from Live 5 News
☕ Clarkston, GA: Refuge Coffee Co. supports Georgia’s immigrant community by offering competitive-wage jobs, job training and mentoring to resettled refugees and other new immigrants. Its popular Welcome Blend is now for sale online, with proceeds going to support their cause. More from the AJC
⚕️ Raleigh, NC: About 2.5 million residents are getting back a combined $6.5 billion in medical debt through North Carolina’s Medical Debt Relief Program. The program was created in 2024, and this round of relief was announced in late 2025. The program works by compensating eligible hospitals who relieve debt for certain low- and middle-income patients and enact wider charity care policies. More from the NCDHHS
⚖️ Clio, AL: “The Alabama Solution,” a critically acclaimed documentary that exposes injustices and abuse in Alabama’s prison system, was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature. The yearslong investigation started because some brave inmates at the Easterling Correctional Facility approached filmmakers on a different project and told them about the prison’s inhumane conditions. More from AL.com
TELL US SOMETHING GOOD
Is there a cool event we need to know about? Something great happening in your town? Let us know. This is your space, too. SweetTea@ajc.com.
SOUTHERN WISDOM
We shouldn't be trying to rezone our community but instead should be trying to protect it and our heritage and our culture and our people. The voters have spoken and they stand with the people of our community."
The people of Sapelo Island, a historic barrier island on Georgia’s coast, voted in support of a yearslong effort by the island’s Gullah Geechee people to limit new development in and near their historic community. The Gullah Geechee are descendants of freed Black people, and have worked hard to preserve their one-of-a-kind culture.
Thank you for reading to the very bottom of Sweet Tea! Join us next week by subscribing to the newsletter.🍑
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
