Morning, y’all! Despite this morning’s 30-degree weather, spring officially starts a little after 11 p.m. tonight. We’ve got a guide to some stellar springtime activities a little later on.
But first: We discuss a would-be appeal of the Fani Willis disqualification decision, rising gas prices and a clemency plea for the man Georgia plans to execute this week. And don’t forget: Sign up for A.M. ATL’s Morning Madness bracket contest to join the NCAA Tournament fun. Play-in games start tonight.
Now. Let’s talk about a much-anticipated (and dreaded?) documentary.
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FREAKNIK ON FILM
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
“Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” is a two-hour Hulu documentary produced by legendary Atlanta music man Jermaine Dupri, among others.
You can stream it starting Thursday — but the AJC’s Rodney Ho got a sneak peek. Here’s the abbreviated version of what to expect.
Booty shaking? Check. Freaknik, of course, ultimately devolved into a debaucherous block party that drew in Black folks from across the country. Revelers danced, blocked streets and caused myriad other forms of mayhem.
It would be hard to document the thing without showing some of that. Dupri said his team got its hands on plenty of old VHS tapes made by the camera-toting partygoers of the 1990s — and, per Rodney, they made good use of them.
- Atlantans of a certain age may well see themselves, or their parents, or that one crazy aunt, in the film. (Check out these AJC archive photos, too.)
Backstory? Check. It’s worth noting that Freaknik’s 1980s origins were innocent enough: a group of HBCU students holding a picnic in Piedmont Park during spring break.
- “Many people couldn’t afford to go home,” Monique Tolliver, one of the event’s creators, said in the doc. “I was one of them. I decided, hey, we are all here. Let’s do something.”
In the late ‘80s, references to the event popped up in Spike Lee’s “School Daze” and the NBC sitcom “A Different World.” Things took off.
Bigger impact? Check. With interviewees like academic Marc Lamont Hill, former Mayor Kasim Reed and music artists like CeeLo Green and Lil Jon, the documentary covers a little bit of everything. Including Freaknik’s role in cementing Atlanta’s reputation as the center of Black culture.
Budding artists like OutKast used the annual party to promote their work.
- “Freaknik really started the evolution of Atlanta being this hub of fashion, of music, of this culture of beautiful Blackness,” Rasheeda Frost, an entrepreneur and music artist, said in the film.
The documentary also details the dark side of Freaknik, which grew too big, too out of control, too violent. Fewer college kids and more adults with bad intentions showed up. By 2000, it was officially dead.
Come Thursday, you can relive it all. Good and bad.
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Keep scrolling for more news.
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PLEA FOR MERCY
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
The state of Georgia plans to execute Willie James Pye on Wednesday. Three jurors who convicted him of the 1993 murder of his former girlfriend want his life to be spared — and attorneys argue that he is intellectually disabled and was represented at trial by a “racist, overworked public defender” who “shrugged off any meaningful investment in the case.”
Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles is scheduled to consider Pye’s clemency plea this morning.
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FULTON FILING
Attorneys representing Donald Trump and other defendants in Fulton County’s election interference case initiated a potential appeal of Judge Scott McAfee’s decision not to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis. A new filing asks McAfee to OK asking Georgia’s Court of Appeals to review the ruling.
- Subscriber event: Today at 3 p.m., join AJC reporters in a live virtual chat to discuss what’s next in the Fulton case. Register here.
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MORE TOP STORIES
» Gas prices in metro Atlanta averaged $3.38 a gallon Monday, up about 20 cents over last week. Expect continued increases as spring break approaches.
» Geoff Duncan is not running for president. Georgia’s former lieutenant governor tells the AJC he withdrew his name from consideration by the centrist third-party group No Labels.
» UPS CEO Carol Tomé made $23.4 million in total compensation last year.
» Police at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport cited several people during an undercover crackdown on unauthorized rideshare drivers.
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NATION AND WORLD
Video footage purportedly showing England’s Prince William and wife Kate at a shop near their home did little to calm the rumor mill surrounding the royals.
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Sentencing hearings begin today for six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to torturing two Black men.
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ROSTER SET
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The Braves optioned Bryce Elder and Huascar Ynoa to the minor leagues, clearing the way for Reynaldo Lopez to begin the season as the team’s fifth starting pitcher. Speedy outfielder Forrest Wall appears to have won the final bench spot.
More sports highlights:
- New Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins will wear No. 18, allowing tight end Kyle Pitts to keep No. 8.
- The Hawks dropped one to the Lakers, 136-105.
- Georgia men’s basketball hosts Xavier tonight in the NIT (7 p.m. on ESPN).
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SPRING, SPRUNG
Credit: John Stephens JAS PHOTO
Credit: John Stephens JAS PHOTO
As we discussed above: the temperatures may not reflect it right now, but spring is upon us. Let me help you with a few guides to making the most of the season:
- The AJC’s roundup of spring festivals covers everything from the annual Cherry Blossom and Dogwood festivals to Shaky Knees and Atlanta Jazz Fest.
- Need a break? Try one of these eight easy getaways.
- Feeling like a picnic? Check out some of Georgia’s best sandwich shops.
And if the pollen’s got you down, we’ve got a few tips for that, too.
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DISCO, UNDEAD
The latest addition to the redevelopment of Buckhead’s “Disco Kroger” site: the third metro Atlanta location of Aviva by Kameel, a popular Mediterranean restaurant.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Laken Riley’s father calls her his ‘angel’ in TV interview
» Georgia sheriffs worry about new burdens from immigration bills
» Former Spalding football coach indicted on murder charge
» Gwinnett principal wins statewide award
» Ex-UGA football player sentenced to 30 years in shooting
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ON THIS DATE
March 19, 1952
The Atlanta Journal highlighted “Granny Gardner,” an 82-year-old Forsyth woman whose grandson convinced her to confront her fear of flying. “If it’s time to do it’s time to die,” Kate Gardner reportedly reasoned before the duo embarked on an air tour of Atlanta.
“Just like riding in an automobile,” she said afterward, “and a heap smoother than riding a wagon.”
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
AJC photographer John Spink caught Caroline Molesphini getting her walk in under the clouds at Atlanta’s Chastain Park.
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ONE MORE THING
Before we go, this is a new one: Pop star Meghan Trainor recently took out a full-page ad in the AJC to thank hip-hop hero T-Pain for collaborating with her on a new song. His gleeful, on-video response: “This is the craziest [expletive] that anyone has ever done, period.”
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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