A.M. ATL: Happy Juneteenth

Morning, y’all! Happy Father’s Day weekend to all of the fathers and father figures (but not in a George Michael way). You are very loved.

Let’s get to it.

WAREHOUSE PRISONS SCRAPPED IN GA AND BEYOND

A warehouse purchased by the Department of Homeland Security in Social Circle is pictured earlier this month. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

The Trump administration has reportedly given up on its plans to turn large empty warehouses around the country into prisons for thousands of people.

• That includes Georgia, where the Department of Homeland Security spent nearly $200 million purchasing warehouses in the tiny cities of Social Circle and Oakwood.
• U.S. Rep. Mike Collins conveyed to local leaders that the properties will no longer be converted into immigrant detention centers, as had been originally intended.
• The plan to buy large warehouses unfit for human habitation and spend millions more to convert them to prisons sparked nationwide backlash and pointed resistance in Social Circle and Oakwood.
• Leaders from both cities said their municipal infrastructure could not support the facilities.

🔎 READ MORE: What the administration said; what happens now

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KNOW YOUR JUNETEENTH

John and Billie Harden (center) are shown in this archival image celebrating the achievements of Black Atlantans during the Jim Crow era. In the 1930s, the couple purchased Atlanta's beloved Black Crackers baseball team. (Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center)

Happy Juneteenth, the anniversary of the end of slavery in the U.S.

• On June 19, 1865, the last enslaved people in the U.S. were freed in Texas. Or at least told they should be freed. It took a while for some enslavers to comply.
• Oh, and the message got to them a little late. The Emancipation Proclamation, which declared enslaved people free, became federal law at the beginning of 1863. It took two and a half years for enforcement to reach Texas. Was the memo just lost in the post? Was the information deliberately withheld? Or did no one care to deal with it? Dealer’s choice.

It’s a day steeped in history. Let it steep a little longer with a look at artifacts from the Atlanta History Museum’s “Atlanta in 100 Objects” collection that speak directly to Black history in the city.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⚕️ Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms launched her general election campaign. She’s focusing on healthcare access, specifically the challenges faced by Georgia’s rural communities.

🏛️ The first day of the special legislative session was many things … including awkward. Lots of fresh election winners and even more election losers, all pulled together way sooner than any of them would prefer. Yikes.

WORLD CUP-DATE

67,442: That’s how many fans packed Atlanta Stadium for local match No. 2, between South Africa and the Czech Republic. We are doing this thing!

The AJC’s Gabriel Burns has a great read about how Atlanta’s soaking up the World Cup hype and fulfilling a citywide bucket list item.

“What’s occurring here now,” he writes of the noise and the passion, “is one of the few entities that makes our beloved college football still feel like child’s play.”

What’s up next?

The next World Cup game in Atlanta is this Sunday. It’s Spain vs. Saudi Arabia, and both teams will have something to prove. A game that may once have been heavily favored for Spain is now more evenly weighted in the public mind after Spain’s disappointing (for them) 0-0 draw with Cape Verde. Saudi Arabia had similar frustrations in their 1-1 draw with Uruguay.

NEWS BITES

Jersey Mike’s sub chain tops Chick-fil-A in customer satisfaction survey

Show me one Jersey Mike’s that could work a drive-thru like Chick-fil-A does.

Atlanta’s coffee scene: 6 cafes with strong international influences