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Volume 89 • Issue 42

May 25-31, 2017

Grady’s Grit Celebrating 125 Years

May 25-31, 2017

COVER STORY

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Grady Hospital Celebrates 125th Anniversary

By Jacqueline Holness When Emily Eubanks was diagnosed with stage II triple-positive breast cancer in April 2015 at Grady Memorial Hospital – after her first mammogram at 40 years old, she thought she could possibly die because she didn’t have the money for treatment.

“I told Dr. Gabram that I didn’t have the money for medication and chemotherapy,” says Eubanks, who was then self-employed and not making a lot of money. “She was so calm. She held my hands and said, ‘Don’t worry about that. We will take care of that.’ But I thought she’s a surgeon. She has money. Her telling me everything would be okay wasn’t comforting, at first.”

In addition to meeting with a team of oncology doctors to outline her treatment the day she was diagnosed, she also met with a Grady social worker, Makeeta Rayton, who told her she qualified for Women’s Health Medicaid which enables women who have been diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer but without health insurance to receive treatment for free.

“A whole bunch of bricks were lifted off of me.

I didn’t have to pay for anything, not even one copay,” says Eubanks, who completed treatment last year.

Eubanks’ medical treatment regardless of her income was what then Atlanta Mayor John Thomas Glen had in mind when he “outlined a resolution for the City of Atlanta to build a public hospital to give expert and sympathetic medical care to those in the city who might need care and be unable to

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afford it,” before the Atlanta City Council on January 4, 1890, according to a National Register of Historic Places inventory nomination form for Grady. Grady, which officially opened on June 2, 1892, was named after Atlanta Constitution managing editor Henry Woodfin Grady, who died in 1889. A “New South” advocate, he “had long wanted a facility that would be free from all sectarian and denominational influences and prejudices.”

This June, Grady will celebrate its 125th anniversary. The public hospital which began with 100 beds and 18 employees, now boasts 623 beds and a staff of 5,742 people. Medicaid and Medicare patients comprise 28 percent and 24 percent of Grady patients, respectively. Throughout the course of its history, Grady has achieved many milestones. In 1921, a Grady physician performed Georgia’s first open heart surgery. Two years later, its Steiner Clinic, the world’s first and largest comprehensive cancer center, was created. In the 1940s, one of the world’s three cardiac catheterization labs – at that time – opened at Grady. In 2003, the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence at Grady Health System opened. The center was the first to open as part of the Georgia Cancer Coalition’s plan to build a “statewide network of people and organizations devoted to providing all Georgians equal access to exceptional treatment.”

However, for all its progress, the hospital’s history also reflects the times in which it flourished. While Grady endeavored to treat all patients since its inception, the hospital was also racially segregated from its start. A property in the National Register

of Historic Places, Grady’s original location was at 36 Butler Street, now the site of its human resources department and is referred to as Georgia Hall.

Grady went through a series of changes until its final location at 80 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive was built in 1957. Constructed in an “H” formation, the A and B wings that face downtown Atlanta were reserved for white patients. Facing the “Grady Curve,” and the back side of the hospital comprised of the C and D wings, was reserved for black patients. A hallway in the center --the crossbar in the “H” -- was used by physicians to travel to the different wings of the hospital to treat their patients. Separate facilities for black and white patients at Grady resulted in the moniker “The Gradys,” used by people in the heyday of segregation.

Frank Wilson, then Grady’s superintendent, said he would die before the hospital was integrated, according to Dr. Jordan Messler, formerly an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine, which provides all the physicians at the hospital along with Morehouse School of Medicine. Messler gave a presentation about the history of Grady at Emory University School of Medicine in 2015, when the school celebrated its 100-year-partnership with the hospital. “And he did die a year before Grady was integrated. He died in 1964. Grady was finally integrated on June 2, 1965.”

Grady also faced other historical challenges. As a public hospital caring for poor patients, finances always tended to be strained; but in 2007, Grady faced shutting down. According to Mike King, a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution veteran journalist who wrote a series of “Saving Grady” columns during that period, the hospital owed more than $60 million to Emory and Morehouse, and Grady staff members feared not being paid.

“When Medicare came around in 1965, a lot of local public officials who had been supporting Grady over the years for taxes began to assume wrongly that well, they’ve got Medicare, they don’t need as much money as they used to when in fact, they still did so the amount of money Grady received began to diminish,” said King, who recently penned the book “A Spirit of Charity: Restoring the Bond between America and Its Public Hospitals.”

However, the hospital was saved as the hospital’s governance was restructured, transferring leadership from the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority to a non-profit governing board, Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation.

Despite the precarious financial predicament that public hospitals often face, Rhonda A. Scott, Grady’s chief operating officer, remains optimistic about its future. “Where we were in 2008 being an institution almost on life support and fast forward to being an institution that is very strong, I have no doubt in my mind that Grady will be here for another 125 years and beyond that.”

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NEWS

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U.S. District Court rejects Gwinnett County Officials’ efforts to block major federal voting rights lawsuit Court Recognizes Claim Brought by African-American, Latino, and Asian-American Voters in Georgia’s Most Diverse County A federal district court judge in Georgia agreed that a coalition of plaintiffs representing minority communities has the right to claim the method of electing local officials in Gwinnett County, Georgia denies them from participating equally in electing local officials.

In her opinion in Georgia State Conference of the NAACP v.

Gwinnett County Board of Registrations and Elections, Judge Amy Totenberg rejected the County’s argument that claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act are limited to members of a single minority group. Judge Totenberg noted that the Eleventh Circuit and other courts have held that coalition claims are permissible so long as the racial groups are politically cohesive.

“This case is yet another example of how voting discrimination remains rampant across the State of Georgia,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee. “The court’s ruling recognizes that all minority voters have access to protection under the Voting Rights Act if they are denied an equal opportunity to participate in the political process.

From our litigation against Georgia’s illegal registration cutoff for federal runoff elections to its recent racial gerrymander of two State House districts -- one of which is in Gwinnett County -much work remains to be done to combat voting discrimination

and voter suppression in the state.”

Judge Totenberg also ruled that Gwinnett County’s standing-related challenges are moot because the Plaintiffs filed an amended version of the complaint recently in response to a separate court order. The County will have the opportunity to raise its standing argument again in a subsequent pleading.

Gwinnett County is a majority-minority county according to the 2010 Census, yet no minority candidate has ever won election

The NAACP’s new direction

Website: www.AtlantaDailyWorld.com Lorraine Cochran General Manager lcochran@realtimesmedia.com

Katrice L. Mines

Senior Editor kmines@atlantatribune.com

Kamille D. Whittaker Associate Editor kwhittaker@atlantatribune.com

Juan Sifuentes

Graphic Designer jsifuentes@realtimesmedia.com

Atlanta Daily World is powered by Real Times Media The Atlanta Daily World is not responsible for unsolicited photos, manuscripts, etc., unless return is requested with postage.

Address all correspondence to and make checks payable to Atlanta Daily World, rather than to individuals.

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May 25-31, 2017

The NAACP is overhauling itself from the inside out. And changes are being wrought at the top.

Cornell Brooks, CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People since 2014, will not have his three-year contract renewed when it expires at the end of June, according to Leon Russell, NAACP Chairman.

Last week the more than a century-old organization announced “a transformational, system-wide refresh and strategic re-envisioning.” “In the coming months, the NAACP will embark upon a historic national listening tour to ensure that we harness the energy and voices of our grassroots members, to help us achieve transformational change, and create an internal culture designed to push the needle forward on civil rights and social justice,” said Derrick Johnson, vice-chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors.

Recalibrating, the organization intends to more aggressively and nimbly respond to the current climate of political unrest, as well as the assaults upon human and civil rights that threaten democracy with a seat for everyone at the table – including the millions of grassroots marchers who have taken to streets for women rights and immigrant rights, activists who are

fighting for equality for the LGBTQ Americans, business leaders and philanthropists lending private sector support, and the long-time civil rights advocates.

Board Chairman Leon W. Russell and Vice Chair Derrick Johnson, who were elected to their current positions in February 2017, will manage the organization on an interim basis until a new leader is named.

“Our organization has been at the forefront of America, making tremendous strides over the last hundred years,” said Russell. “However, modern day civil rights issues facing the NAACP like education reform, voting rights and access to affordable health care, still persist and demand our continued action. These changing times require us to be vigilant and agile, but we have never been more committed or ready for the challenges ahead. We know that our hundreds of thousands of members and supporters expect a strong and resilient NAACP moving forward, as our organization has been in the past, and it remains our mission to ensure the advancement of communities of color in this country.”

The NAACP Georgia did not immediately respond to requests for comment at presstime.

to a county-level office, including the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education.

In their complaint, the Plaintiffs allege that two majority-minority Board of Commissioners districts should be drawn to give African-American, Latino and Asian-American voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The Plaintiffs in this case include the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), and nine Gwinnett County voters.

“When minority voters coalesce to form a coalition, they should be protected by the Voting Rights Act,” said Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO executive director. “GALEO is glad that the case moves forward to ensure minority voters in Gwinnett County will be protected against vote dilution.”

The current Board of Education district map assigns approximately 74.4 percent of the African-American, Latino and Asian-American voters to District 5 and splits the balance of the minority population across the other four districts where African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans do not constitute a majority of the population. The complaint alleges that the Board of Education districts should be re-drawn to include a second majority-minority district so that minority voters have a fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choice to the Board of Education.

Taxes for some Fulton County homeowners will go up more than 50 percent this year Fulton County property values will spike dramatically this year and, thus, so will property taxes, according to the Fulton County Board of Assessors. The assessments will attempt to reconcile the rising valuations with the improved economy over the last three years.

The increases – some in the double digits -- span from Milton in the north end of the county to Chattahoochee Hills on the south end. In the middle of the county, some homeowners in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods along the Beltline could also see increases of more than 50 percent.

Specifically, the median increase in value is 13 percent, according to preliminary numbers, but values in some neighborhoods rose as much as 79 percent. Of Fulton’s more than 2,300 neighborhoods, residents in 99 of those

county neighborhoods— or about 4 percent — could see their property values increase by 50 percent or more.

Officials said their assessments are making up for lost time.

“We did not do a residential review for 2016 so we have had to play catch up,” said Dwight Robinson, chief tax appraiser for Fulton County. “So those increases represent not just 1 year. It represents two or three years when nothing was done.”

Fulton County will begin mailing out tax assessments to homeowners next week. Those who disagree with their home’s value can appeal the assessment and file for different exemptions, like the Homestead Exemption, which could decrease the tax bill. Applications filed now will not go into effect until tax assessments are completed in 2018.

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May 25-31, 2017

Delta Air Lines and Lyft have formed a perfect partnership

Delta Air Lines customers can now earn free Delta SkyMiles for every Lyft ride they take. The incentive, which launched last week, is the latest in a series of innovative new partnerships for Delta. In November 2016 the company began a first-of-its-kind partnership with Airbnb offering SkyMiles members the ability to earn miles as a host or as a guest in millions of unique homes around the world. The airline’s partnership with CLEAR, an innovative biometric identity verification platform, allows SkyMiles members the opportunity to expedite the TSA security clearance process at exclusive discounted rates.

“We’re thinking about our customers’ whole travel experience and it’s important that Delta customers are taken care of not just in the air, but on the ground,” said Sandeep Dube, Delta’s vice president - Customer Engagement & Loyalty. “We want Delta customers to choose the brands that they love throughout their journey, and be rewarded for it because they are SkyMiles members. That’s why we’re excited we’ve found a good fit with Lyft.”

Lyft is the exclusive rideshare partner for Delta, making it’s mile rewards the only major U.S. airline loyalty program to let members earn through any Lyft ride. And it’s as simple as linking SkyMiles and Lyft accounts, and requesting a ride as all SkyMiles members are eligible. Customers who are not already enrolled in the SkyMiles program can sign up for free through the partner page or on Delta’s site to become eligible.

Exclusive SkyMiles member Lyft benefits include: One mile per dollar spent on all rides, with unlimited mileage earning; and limited time launch bonus of two bonus miles for a total of three miles per $1 spent on Lyft rides to or from any airport location.

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BUSINESS

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Charmaine Ward is Georgia Power’s new corporate relations director Charmaine Ward has been named Corporate Relations director for Georgia Power -- responsible for building and maintaining key state and national relationships with diverse organizations and opinion leaders. Her efforts will focus on forming strategic alliances with various segments of the company’s 2.5 million customers, corporate partners and civic organizations to garner support and promote advocacy for important industry and company issues. She will also work closely with internal executives and community leaders to develop sustainable initiatives aligned with the company’s business goals and corporate philanthropic strategies supporting its mission to be a citizen wherever we serve.

Ward joined Georgia Power from Georgia-Pacific where she was senior director of community affairs since 2014.

In this role, she was responsible for the development and implementation of strategic corporate social responsibility

Charmaine Ward initiatives, employee volunteerism and the management of more than $6 mil-

lion in foundation grants. Ward joined Georgia-Pacific in 2003 as director of marketing communications before being named director of community affairs in 2007. She also held leadership positions at John H. Harland Company, Bank of America, Showtime Networks and IBM. Ward holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Clark Atlanta University and an MBA from Kennesaw State University.

In the community, she serves on numerous boards, including the national board of the National Black MBA Association, the Atlanta Business League, National Black Arts Festival, and Kenny Leon True Colors Theatre. She is a member of the Links Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Coalition of 100 Black Women. She is also a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia, the Education Policy Fellowship Program and United Way VIP.

Saving strategies for women

By Jamar Bates Like so many women, are you constantly juggling family, professional, and personal responsibilities? No wonder retirement planning continues to be relegated to the bottom of your “to do” list. Retirement saving concerns are often more acute for women who are divorced, widowed, or otherwise single, as well as for those who have spent all or a significant portion of their adult years caring for children and other family members.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, 2009), less than half of all working women in the United States participate in a retirement plan (46 percent of 61 million working women ages 21 to 64), and a woman retiring at age 65 can expect to live another 19 years on average, three years longer than her male counterpart. In addition, women typically spend nearly 12 years out of the workforce while taking care of children or elderly parents, and the average woman in the United States who is employed full time earns less than her male counterpart with 80 cents for every dollar a man earned in 2009 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). Women are further disadvantaged when their jobs are part time or with smaller firms that do not offer substantial retirement benefits.

Because of shorter careers and possibly lower incomes, a significant number of women currently do not receive enough in Social Security benefits to meet even their basic needs. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA, 2011), the average annual Social Security income received by women 65 years and older was just $12,155 in 2009. Further, married women often do not realize that the retirement benefits accrued by their husbands may be re-

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May 25-31, 2017

High blood pressure is also very treatable, so from a public health perspective, it’s important to know if prevention and treatment strategies are working and what differences exist across racial and ethnic groups.”

Blacks, Hispanics less likely to achieve blood pressure control Circulation: Cardiovascular quality and outcomes journal report duced if they are widowed or divorced.

These combined factors put many women at high risk for poverty as they age, especially if they do not prepare accordingly.

Clearly, most women will need to build their own retirement savings if they wish to maintain their standard of living in their later years: • While companies with defined benefit plans that replace a percentage of income (based on your salary and years of service) are becoming increasingly rare, consider the longterm consequences of working at a firm that does not at least match contributions to a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan. If you are employed by a company with a traditional pension plan, find out what your benefit is likely to be and at what age you can collect the maximum benefit.

• Take advantage of the tax benefits of qualified retirement plans and traditional Individual Retirement Ac-

counts. Depending on your financial situation, you may find that making pre-tax contributions to a retirement account will not significantly reduce your net income. Contributions may decrease your current taxable income (and, consequently, your ultimate tax bill), and potential earnings are tax • Consider the role a Roth IRA or annuity may play in your long-term plan. Contributions to Roth IRAs must be made with after-tax dollars, but potential earnings grow tax deferred. Qualified distributions made after age 591⁄2 are tax free, provided the account has been owned for five years. Certain income limits apply.

Make saving for your own financial future a priority, even when there are bills to pay, along with the wants and needs of your children and other family members. While taking care of others is important, remember to take care of yourself by preparing for your retirement.

Blacks and Hispanics with high blood pressure are less likely than whites to get their condition under control, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

“High blood pressure is very common, and it is strongly linked to cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart attack and heart failure,” said Edgar Argulian, M.D., M.P.H., senior study author and assistant professor of medicine and a cardiologist at Mt. Sinai St Luke’s Hospital in New York. “High blood pressure is also very treatable, so from a public health perspective, it’s important to know if prevention and treatment strategies are working and what differences exist across racial and ethnic groups.”

Researchers found that lack of health insurance and younger age creates an even bigger gap in treatment and control between the two minority groups and whites. Having insurance reduces, but does not eliminate the gap.

“Expanded healthcare coverage would help minimize this problem, but there are multiple factors that contribute to this disparity,” explained Sen “Anna” Gu, M.D., Ph.D., lead study author and assistant professor at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in New York. “We need better patient education, better physician-patient communication and support for patients making lifestyle changes like exercising more and eating healthy. The good news is that more people are receiving treatment and getting their high blood

pressure under control. At the same time, it is important to note that disparities between whites and racial and ethnic minorities persist.”

The study looked at data from 8,796 adults with high blood pressure in the 2003-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were considered to have high blood pressure if their systolic (top number) blood pressure was 140 mg Hg or higher, their diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure was 90 mm Hg or higher or they were taking high blood pressure medicine. High blood pressure control was defined by the seventh panel of the Joint National Committee (JNC) as below 140/90 mg Hg for those without chronic kidney disease or diabetes and below 130/80 mm Hg for those with either condition.

Researchers found: • High blood pressure treatment rates were 73.9 percent for whites, 70.8 percent for blacks and 60.7 percent for Hispanics.

• High blood pressure control rates were 42.9 percent for whites, 36.9 percent for blacks and 31.2 percent for Hispanics.

• Younger (less than 60 years) blacks and Hispanics without health insurance were more than 40 percent less likely than whites without insurance to achieve high

blood pressure control.

• The percentage of all adults in the study taking medica tions for their condition increased during the study period from 65.6 to 77.3 percent.

As well, researchers accounted for several factors that might cause biased results, including age, poverty, smoking and being overweight. They found study conclusions unchanged when they conducted an alternative analysis using newer JNC 8 standards, which are less stringent for most adults 60 years and older.

Researchers suggest closing this gap may require different approaches for the black and Hispanic populations. “It is an established fact that high blood pressure is more common among blacks and more aggressive,” Argulian said. One positive study finding, he noted, is that blacks received more intensive therapy, including two or more kinds of drugs, for high blood pressure than either whites or Hispanics.

The problem for Hispanics appears to be under treatment.

They were less likely to receive drugs for their high blood pressure and less likely to receive intensive therapy than whites or blacks, Gu said.

According to the American Heart Association’s 2016 Heart and Stroke Statistics, 80 million U.S. adults, about one in three, have high blood pressure, and that number is expected to increase by 8 percent from 2013 and 2030.

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May 25-31, 2017

LIVINGWELL

Healthy Eating Made Easy

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Nerd out over the best podcasts, documentaries, TedTalks and collectives that will fill you up with wellness.

By Katrice L. Mines The thought of a gourmet meal without the hassle of grocery shopping and a sous chef may sound too good to be true. But, it’s not if you’ve joined meal delivery service renaissance — a seemingly overnight phenomena that I, for one, hope is here to stay.

I had a chance just recently test run Terra’s Kitchen — a service that sources clean, sustainable ingredients that are antibiotic- and hormone-free, as well as non-GMO and organic, when possible to provide fresh food delivery to support healthy lifestyles, including Paleo, gluten-free, and vegetarian. To start, you choose from recipes starting at $9.99 per serving created by the company’s culinary team for the week or allow them to choose the ones they believe you’ll enjoy in plans like two meals per week for four people. Terra’s Kitchen menus include full meals like Honey Mango Glazed Salmon and Blueberry Citrus Rice and Pan Seared Chick-

en and Crisp Haricots Verts in a Sweet and Sour Bacon Sauce as well as salads, smoothies, snacks, juices and sides. Once they’ve diced, chopped, and portioned, your package will be delivered to your door.

I ordered the Big Island Steak Bowl and Asian Spiced Turkey Burger + Quick Pickles, which arrived in an eco-friendly climate-controlled vessel – all ingredients pre-portioned and prepped in well-labeled packaging, and with step-by-step recipe sheets for precise preparation of each meal. I’ll admit, I didn’t believe it would take me less than an hour to prepare the meals. I was wrong; from start to finish, everything was plated in less than 30 minutes.

You can skip weeks in your subscription-based account and cancel in advance of a new order being in process, so all bases have been covered if you’ve been on the fence about whether meal delivery is something you’d like to integrate into your routine. If you ask me, I say go for it.

[DOCUMENTARY] “Cooked” “Cooked” is a four episode docu-series on Netflix that investigates how the four natural elements — fire, water, air, and earth — transform raw ingredients into food. It gives the viewer an enlightening and compelling look at the evolution of what food means to us through the history of food preparation and its universal ability to connect us. Each of the four episodes in the series focuses on one of the natural elements: In “Fire,” New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan learns from Australian Aboriginal hunters and a barbecue pit master. In “Water,” he looks to the kitchens of India to learn the value of pot cooking, exploring the consequences of highly processed foods in the diet.

The third episode, “Air,” takes the viewer to Moroccan fields and food labs to learn about bread making. In the last episode, “Earth,” Pollan investigates how microbes help create

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The focus is on detoxification, moving stagnant energy and bringing warmth while your mind is cleared and the heart reengages. This treatment is about letting go of anything that troubles you either physical, emotional or energetic. A targeted restorative application to the spine and lower back with hot stones concludes with an anointing oil to overcome fear and to increase determination.

delicacies like chocolate and cheese.

[COMMUNITY] MindBodyGreen Mindbodygreen is an online lifestyle repository dedicated to inspiring you to live your best life. They want to give you everything that’s great for you: mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally and environmentally — because they believe these pillars of wellness are vital, interconnected and unified.

Hence mindbodygreen (one word, not three).

Grounding ritual – courage Balance, calm and clarity to the mind;

grounding the body and an opening of the lungs is the focus through a targeted scalp and foot massage. The Ayurvedic foot treatment uses an artisan crafted metal healing wand for revitalizing the feet; easing pain and tension. An anointing blend of essential oils for courage concludes with a mood spritz of orange blossom.

At day’s end, mind-body balance is restored and good intentions affirmed.

[TED TALK]: A Commodities Exchange for Ethiopia Eleni Gabre-Madhin: Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world’s largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket.

[COLLECTIVE] Grow Where You Are Grow Where You Are is an Atlanta-based social enterprise in the field of local food systems that inspires people to grow quality, local food in beautiful systems that support the ecology, encourage the economy and improve human health. The good people at the collective design, install, and maintain multiple public and private spaces where food is produced using Agro-Ecological principles.

They have been training Atlanta residents in this dynamic form of urban agriculture for more than 10 years.

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May 25-31, 2017

Spa Day

Food for thought [PODCAST] GastroPod Gastropod looks at food through the lens of science and history. Co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a brand new episode every two weeks that looks at the hidden history and science behind various food and/or farming-related topics -- from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chile peppers, and from microbes to Malbec, interviewing experts -- visiting labs, fields, and archaeological digs, all along the way and discovering new ways to understand the world through food.

LIVINGWELL

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By Kamille D. Whittaker First, set your intention.

What do you intend to feel today? What needs healing? Or as meditation practitioner Tara Brach queries often: “What inside you needs attention right now?”

If you don’t know yet … take your time.

Sip mindfully on cucumber-steeped water; let eucalyptus-infused steam saunter through and open you up.

Breathe deeply.

Wait.

What you need will come to you.

You have all day.

“Plan to come early and leave late,” encourages the spa staff at Innisbrook Golf Resort and Spa, Tampa Bay. Their perceptiveness engenders instant affinity and bonding – a cornerstone of the Salamander experience that permeates throughout the Salamander brand. It’s newest destination – The Henderson: A Salamander Beach and Spa resort in Destin, Fla. promises the same. For guests and non-guests alike the spa’s philosophy is constant: A genuine holistic and therapeutic approach for healing and well-being. The treatments don’t just happen to you. Rather, you are setting everything in motion and being guided by holistic wellness experts along the way – complemented at every turn by sensory enhancements, with healthy food in the spa garden, meditative yoga and educa-

tion about how the treatments -- at the end of the day – will yield you your highest self.

Indeed, even if you can’t spend the entire day, you’ll want to. And that’s where it begins: Intention. Because all day is when, and how, the transformation at the Salamander Spa tends to unfold – just enough time to reactivate the communique between mind and body. It’s precisely what owner Sheila C. Johnson intended when she named the spa’s original iteration “Indaba.” A conceptual souvenir from her travels to South Africa, Indaba is a Zulu term meaning a meeting of minds and body for health and well-being. Each offering then, is custom-designed to catalyze this rudimentary connection. Take the day to decide and do just what your body wants to.

Perfect Asanas on the private terrace, or take a restorative nap after Reiki therapy or a cashmere quench wrap and lime peel. Do you.

Salamander Spa crowned its expansive offerings with four new Signature treatments designed to energize, assimilate, focus and let go through the movement of fluids within the body in order to harmonize, fortify and heal.

These 80-minute, multi-sensory treatments, were specifically formulated by the spa’s alchemist to utilize the finest essential oils in combination with a full body wellness experience. Each customized treatment includes a foot ritual, gentle skin exfoliation, nourishing scalp treatment, facial mask application and restorative massage techniques.

Balance ritual – intention: strength Invigorate the body and release stored vitality through the use of bamboo. Bamboo provides strength, growth and support. This treatment helps release any frustrations and tension while balancing the emotions.

Reflection ritual – intention: fortitude This revitalizing treatment focuses on reflection and restoring the body and mind with the sole purpose of recovery. This ritual includes a skin brushing and detoxifying body mask, plus a replenishing Hot Stone massage using a blend of juniper, lime, rosemary and sage. A gentle anointing and fragrant mist concludes this ritual.

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For more details visit itsmarta.com/sale

Clearing ritual – intention: perseverance

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ENTERTAINMENT

May 25-31, 2017

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Governor Deal gives nod for expanded tax credits for film, gaming industries Governor Nathan Deal signed two bills expanding tax credits offered to Georgia’s film and gaming industries. House Bill 199 will provide a 20 percent tax credit for post-production companies – which perform services such as editing -- with at least a $250,000 payroll in Georgia. The companies must also spend at least $500,000 per tax year. While the state has offered generous tax credits to the film industry since 2008, the post-production portion of the business has been excluded until now. The new credit will be capped at $5 million next year, $10 million in 2019 and $15 million from 2020 through 2022. No single company can get more than 20 percent of the total statewide credit available in a given year.

Video gaming companies will have an easier time

qualifying for tax credits as well. It reduces the total Georgia payroll requirement to qualify for a credit from $500,000 to $250,000 if the gaming company makes a base investment of at least $200,000 during a two-year period.

Deal also signed House Bill 265, which would exempt from sales and local sales taxes building materials used for renovating or expanding performing arts venues under certain conditions. It is designed to help with the renovation of the Alliance Theater at the Woodruff Art Center.

The tax credit expansion will save the businesses and cost the state about $82.5 million over the next five years, according to analysis by the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute.

Epi.phony: A Sound Realization

by Okorie Johnson

Cricket Wireless® and House of Blues Entertainment partner to deliver fans outstanding music experiences Cricket Wireless is now the official sponsor of House of Blues Entertainment, Live Nation’s pre-eminent group of intimate music venues, and is set to develop a unique brand presence at 30 HOBE locations across the country, as well as launch the “Cricket Wireless Concert Series.”

Showcasing emerging and established talent performing at select venues, Cricket will also give fans access to HOBE perks onsite like “skip the line” benefits and discounts on HOBE restaurant, and merchandise purchases for customers using the Cricket Rewards app, sweepstakes opportunities, VIP seating upgrades,* and chances to capture memories inside the newly established interactive Cricket photo booths featured at HOBE venues.

“The sponsorship with the House of Blues gives us incredible access to some of the best entertainment venues in the country and gives our music-loving customers more ways to get up close to some of their favorite artists,” said Tiffany Baehman, vice president and chief marketing officer, Cricket Wireless. “Cricket and House of Blues share a common belief that music has the ability to bring together people from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds, and make them happy.”

“We are excited about the Cricket Wireless sponsorship and their involvement with our venues,” said Ron Bension,

In recognition of Black Music Month, the Auburn Avenue Research Library will host cellist and composer, Okorie Johnson, who will perform Epi.phony, part of an ongoing concert series exploring a variety of musical styles. Each performance is part of a larger artistic vision, which includes solo-cello performance, looping, video, spoken-literature, and movement. Okorie has been playing the cello for 30+ years and has performed in many orchestras, quartets, and string-ensembles. While attending Morehouse College, he played classically in Spelman College’s string ensemble. During that time, he discovered the joy of playing contemporary music and began developing a facility for bringing melodic cello accompaniment to acoustic guitar based soul, folk, and jazz. He has performed or recorded with powerful Atlanta acts like Donnie, Doria Roberts, Marathon, Tony Rich, Jennifer Daniels, Grammy award winning India.Arie, and many more. He continues to perform and record a variety of music from country to electronica.

The year 2015 saw the debut of Okorie’s first solo-cello concert-series, Epi.phony – a multi-city, 12-show development of the relationship between solo-cello, live-sound-looping, and improvisation, much like on his album Liminal, where Okorie uses high quality amplification, looping technology, and sound processing to create songs that emerge from the collision of jazz and classical music. His songs also travel beyond those genres to include edm, reggae, funk, and more. His music is narrative and emotive and his set attempts to gather songs together that, like short stories, complement each other in spite of their individual and singular expression.

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COMMUNITY

Spelman College names Studio Gang to design Center for the Arts & Innovation Studio Gang has been commissioned to design the Spelman College’s new Center for the Arts & Innovation.

Studio Gang is an award-winning architecture and urban design practice based in Chicago and New York, and the firm behind such lauded designs as the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, the recently completed Campus North Residential Commons at the University of Chicago, and the forthcoming Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Studio Gang uses design as a medium to connect people socially, experientially and intellectually.

“With the current pace of rapid change, in which the convergence of art, technology, entrepreneurship and science more and more frequently yields solutions to contemporary challenges, we are pleased to be working with the adventurous and innovative architectural team at Studio Gang,” said Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. “The new facility will provide a home for the ARTS@ Spelman and will also house the school’s expanding Department of Computer and Information Sciences and an interdisciplinary Innovation Lab. Studio Gang brings to the project a uniquely collaborative approach to design that aligns with our vision to provide a new and dynamic stateof-the-art learning environment that encourages not only disciplinary mastery in the arts and computer science, but provides a creative intersection among art, technology, science and other liberal arts.”

President House of Blues Entertainment. “We look forward to a long standing and successful relationship to engage concertgoers and enhance their live entertainment experience.”

To round out the sponsorship, Cricket will be launching a digital livestream series, “Live from the Cricket Lounge” with content to include exclusive performances and behind-thescenes interviews featuring select HOBE touring artists.

Gatheround: Stories of Atlanta

Atlanta History Center’s newest cornerstone exhibition “Gatheround” weaves Atlanta’s stories and artifacts together to define the narrative for our past, present, and future.

This exhibition shares the stories of individuals of many different backgrounds and perspectives who helped create the

City of Atlanta launches annual USDA summer food service program Initiative will serve more than 245,000 meals to Atlanta youth this summer

Celebrate Memorial Day weekend at Atlanta’s Jazz Fest

Atlanta we know today through artifacts, ephemera, interactive media, recording booths, immersive experiences and dedicated spaces while setting the stage for Meet the Past museum theatre performances. It also examines how the metro area has been shaped by watershed political events and exceptional leaders while covering broad themes including Politics and Policy; Cultural Life; Family and Community; and Urban Growth and Change.

As you explore the exhibition, you may encounter people important to Atlanta’s history. Travel back in time and come meet the past.

You may come across a young Alonzo Herndon who shares his insight and observations as a new resident of Atlanta in the late 1800s with his barbershop customers. Or a paperboy in 1906 who is educating new recruits on the “tricks of the trade” while highlighting the challenges he encountered as a witness to the Atlanta Race Riots.

On some days you may meet Governor John M. Slaton, who is torn on the eve of the final judgment in the Leo Frank case. Should he follow the path of justice or pacify the angry mob? Or Rosalyn Walton, one of the Atlanta Nine, as she is being interviewed by a reporter and discovers that being a regular teenager is just as difficult as being a trailblazer for Civil Rights.

These and many more stories can be experienced in the exhibition’s dedicated performance spaces on weekends.

May 25-31, 2017

The City of Atlanta announced the launch of the annual U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program. The initiative, a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Human Services and Bright from the Start: Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning, offers free, nutritious meals to underserved children and teens during the summer months while schools are closed. The program will serve an average of 4,480 meals daily to children in the Atlanta community, totaling 245,075 meals to be served by the end of the summer.

The City of Atlanta will also operate the Mobile Feeding Program again this year. The Program, introduced last year, provides a bus which will visit 13 libraries, three apartment complexes and two pools to serve an additional 12,000-15,000 meals this summer. The program will start June 5 and will run through July 28, 2017.

“I am proud to continue our partnership with USDA and Bright from the Start to offer free, healthy meals to underserved kids and teens,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “During the school year, our Centers of Hope provide hot meals along with mentoring, academic and athletic programming. The Summer Food program continues this vital service when school is out of session.”

Atlanta Daily World If you need something fun to do this Memorial Day Weekend, the Atlanta Jazz Festival kicks off Friday -- just in time. The concert, held in Piedmont Park and celebrating its 40th anniversary, will showcase a variety of jazz acts, from Freddy Cole to Macy Gray and will include an entire day dedicated to Atlanta-area performers on Sunday. The event is expected to attract more than 100,000 attendees.

To commemorate its four-decade milestone, the Festival held 40 Days of Jazz events leading up to the free Festival weekend, which was an expansion on the Festival’s 31 Days of Jazz events.

Also new for the 40th anniversary is a mobile channel located at ATLJazzFest.com, where Festival-goers can bookmark and access important Festival information like the artist lineup, FAQs, park rules and more. While it looks like an app, the mobile channel takes up no space on phones and works on any device.

This year’s event will feature two separate lounges, located near the Legends and Contemporary stages, featuring climate-controlled restrooms, private seating, a cash bar and great

stage views. Fans can access both the BMW Lounge and Bud Light Lounge for one price on Freshtix.com.

WHO: The Festival will begin with The Pedrito Martinez Group and Robert Glasper Experiment on Friday.

Saturday’s headliners include Charles Lloyd Sky Trio, Macy Gray and Marquis Hill Blacktet. After the Festival, the Late Night Jazz Jam at Park Tavern will feature a tribute to Miles Davis with Lil’ John Roberts and the All Star Band featuring Russell Gunn and Mino Cinelu. Tickets can be purchased on Freshtix.

Two artists from the first Atlanta Jazz Festival, Ojeda Penn and Joe Jennings and Howard Nicholson’s Life Force, will perform on Sunday on the Legends Stage.

WHEN: Friday, May 26, 2017 6 – 10 p.m.

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GUEST COMMENTARY

by Ed Williams

O say can we see by the dawn’s early light, what is wrong with the confederate flag and carving: Image, illusion or reality Every time we recite the National Anthem - Star Spangled Banner, or the Pledge of Allegiance, our voices of liberty and justice sing throughout the land. This cause is a work in progress to establish a more perfect Union. The sonnet by Emma Lazarus’ on the Statute of Liberty states “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

So, what do the Confederate flag and the Stone Mountain carving have to do with liberty and justice?

The question stems from the principle of States Rights and Union Rights. The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the freed slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories in order to establish an indivisible Union under God with liberty and justice for all. Hence, it is contradictory to the pledge that we so faithfully recite every morning in schools: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” It is not right for children to grow up and observe that the Confederate flag and the carving on Stone Mountain still exist in breach of the pledge to the union flag.

The advocates of the legacy of the Confederate flag and carving on Stone Mountain feel that it is their right to display these symbols of dominance over the weak on public property. It raises the issue that such people (advocates) while attempting to recover past glory are insensitive and insincere when saying the pledge of allegiance to the union flag that advocates and protects liberty and justice for all.

For a perfect union, we need to recognize the history of all the people, since the history of the United States, Georgia and Stone Mountain did not start with the Civil War, or with the KKK. Although the Union won the Civil War battle, its purpose was not to defeat and conquer the South but for its people to realize their full potential as humans with supreme conscience when contributing to an indivisible union with liberty and justice for all. The continued display of theConfederate flag and other symbols after the South’s acceptance of the principle of the Union, as stated in the pledge, represents non-acceptance, defiance and passive aggression against other social groups in the Union and severely restricts the growth and development of our nation’s conscience as a safe harbor for liberty and justice for all. The problem with these images (Confederate flag and carving on Stone Mountain) is that they do not represent all the peoplewho lived in the South and they are not a true reflection of the Civil War that included Indians, African Americans, women and others, and, consequently, signals to the omitted that they are nottruly free.

The advocates of such symbols need to understand that there was no major Civil War

battle at Stone Mountain. There is no one buried at Stone Mountain who was involved in the Civil War. None of the men carved on the side of Stone Mountain were from Georgia. The bloodiest parts of the civil war battles were not in Georgia. The carving does not reflect the true representation of the people involved in the Civil War. Further, the South physically lost the Civil War against the Union, and hence the right to advocate and display (on public property) the remnants of dominance over people of color.

Stone Mountain has been around for at least 100,000 years, and the natives have been around for over 12,000 years. The state of Georgia became a state in 1788. The Confederate carving and flag have been around for much less time. The Cherokee and Creek Indians were the first occupants in Georgia before the Europeans settled the territory and President Andrew Jackson during the Trail of Tears, a seminal event in American history, had the Indians forcibly removed.

Later, President Andrew Johnson, who served as Lincoln’s Vice-President, became president after President Lincoln was assassinated. President Johnson did not honor the reconstruction plan, and, himself a Southerner did not honor the forty acres and a mule promised to the AfricanAmericans. The South’s raising of the Confederate flag and the carvings on Stone Mountain are a constant reminder to the young ones being schooled in the pledge that not only historically were they denied rights in the past but that they are not yet free in this imperfect union.

How did we get to display only white Europeans carved on Stone Mountain, with a Confederate flag that was never a state flag, but a battle flag for the Virginia and Tennesseearmies? The Southern Cross was not added to the Georgia flag until 1956, and the carving was not completed until 1970. Are we being led to believe that the carvings of white Europeans and the Confederate flag represent the Southern heritage, instead of segregation, bondage and unequal justice? The existence of the Confederate’s carving and the flag represents a short time period in the long history of this nation and should not represent a legacy or heritage of all the people. These symbols were made prominent years after the Civil War. Their prominence represents both defiance and a challenge to the concept of the Union flag that celebrates indivisibility with and justice for all. It should be observed that the South’s rich legacy was not born of only white Europeans. The land on which Stone Mountain lies, and the history of it did not start with the Europeans. If one is to be fair and objective, both the Union and Confederate South have a lot of history to get right.

Some white people attempted to annihilate the existence of Native Americans and enslaved a people because they were different.

The legacy of the KKK and the Confederacy’s

version of the story of the South do not reflect the true reality of the history. The true history of the people of Georgia included all the people; Native Americans, white Europeans, African Americans, and Women. But none of them are represented in the carving on Stone Mountain. Unless the Confederate carving is changed to reflect the true legacy of Georgia history, then it should be removed. It is not acceptable to allow a misrepresentation of history to be prominently displayed on public land.

The Civil war was a continuation of the Revolutionary War unfinished business of states’ rights. The states were united to provide for the common defense. Before the states were formed, they were colonies of Great Britain, the people were subjects of the crown. The colonies gained their independence from the crown and became independent states with the Continental Congress guidance, and the help of France and other countries. Many of the states during the Revolutionary War and afterwards wanted to maintain their rights and independence. The United States was created with a central government to provide for the common defense, generalwelfare, and to protect liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Bill of Rights was added to the US Constitution in order to get all the states to agree to adopt a federal system of government.

However, the debate of liberty and rights continued into the Civil War. Native Americans and African Americans were used and exploited by Loyalist, Rebels, Patriots, and Yankees. Natives and Africans Americans were denied liberty, justice, and representation. So, I ask what and who was a Confederate? and What did they stand for?

The original thirteen colonies flags, pre American Revolution or Declaration of Independence, all had the Union Jack symbol of Great Britain as subjects of King George III. The Continental Congress created a new flag which did not have the Union Jack symbol upon the American declaration of independence from the crown of Great Britain. Prior to the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, there were no states’ rights or central government and all the colonies were provinces of Great Britain.

The Union Jack which was a symbol of the crown and the British flag was removed as the colonial flag when the War of Independence or American Revolution was declared. The old colonial flags are not flown or celebrated anywhere in the US today. So why is the Confederate flag? Would you prefer the Union Jack Flag or the United States Flag? How did the individual colonies / states get their independence and rights? It was the Articles of Confederation. It was because the colonies formed a confederation and declared their Independence that we are even able to talk about union vs states’ rights African Americans fought for their freedom in the Ameri-

can Revolution, some 25,000 soldiers fought, and they also fought in the Civil War on both sides: Union and Southern slave holding states. It was a paradox that the white man was fighting for freedom and at the same time denied freedom to the black man. George Washington a Virginian lead the American Revolution War Army and fought for liberty served as president and was a southerner.

Would George Washington have been a confederate had he lived during the Civil War? Was George Washington a Rebel, Yankee, Loyalist, or Patriot?

Today, 150 years later, I am a free man.

However, the story, and symbols of racist supremacy are still used by some of our fellow citizens to demonstrate with contradiction towards our pledge to the union flag that guarantees liberty and justice for all. There is a need for all Americans to be sensitive to the basic needs of all to be free of the symbols of oppression and injustice. All of us need to understand and agree that the flag of the Confederates stands for supremacy of some people that not only reminds others of past injustices to them, but also threatens the growth and development of the moral conscience of the union to promote freedom for all. This is evidenced by the poverty in the inner cities, and police brutality resulting from their fear of the poor. It is in direct conflict with the principle that people from all social backgrounds (social class, gender, ethnicity, and disabilities) want to be represented in all walks of life: education, sports, media, music, films, politics, military, boardrooms, etc.

Who should be included on Stone Mountain?

The answer should be Native Americans, African Americans, women, Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, and McCallum. The Confederate flag and carving belongs in a museum. In the end, history teaches us that we are stronger together, than divided. Rights without a voice and protection will not last for long.

Finally, the questions I have for our politicians and my fellow citizens are: “How can one deny representation, land, liberty and justice and defend the same?” and “Would we allow George III, the King of England at the time of the American Revolutionary War, Hitler of Germany, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, or Osama Bin Laden to be carved on Stone Mountain or have their flags flown in the United States?”

Edward E Williams, Ed.D. Chair Concerned Citizens For Effective Government

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