A SNAPSHOT OF BLACK HISTORY Honoring Hot Corner

Heat things up on Hull and Washington Street

Annually on the second weekend of June, the corner of Hull and Washington streets bustles with crowds as the Athens community gathers to celebrate Hot Corner — a historic intersection of Black-owned businesses.

Hot Corner Association hosted the first Hot Corner Celebration & Soul Food Festival in June 2000 with the mission of revitalizing the strength of Black-owned businesses in downtown Athens.

It has since become a family-oriented event that gives a platform for small businesses and artists to showcase their products, talent and music, like Chalises Heavenly Inspired and MooseKnuckle BBQ.

The festival hosts vendors offering jewelry, soaps, food and clothing. Live music performances from R&B, hip-hop, rap and gospel performers showcase the range of the Black artists. People line up their lawn chairs all day to enjoy these performances and be in the company of friends and family.

Homer Wilson, owner of Wilson’s Styling Shop, is the founder of the Hot Corner Association. He led a group to trace and piece together Athens Black history and find a way to honor those businesses.

Wilson’s Styling Shop is one of the anchor businesses of Hot Corner and has been in business of styling hair since 1957. Passed down through the family, Homer Wilson has seen Athens change throughout the decades. He jokingly noted the city may still be called “Athens” but also that the city has become more diverse and accepting.

Wilson described Hot Corner Festival as an all-weekend event of family fun, with food as a major theme. Restaurants come together to grill, cook and serve the community.

Competitions held to honor the best of Hot Corner give awards ranging from the vendor with the best ribs to the best truck winner at the Hot Corner Car & Bike Show, where cars are judged based on sound and style.

“No two cars are alike,” Eric Bolton, co-president of Hot Corner Car & Bike Show, said in a video on the Hot Corner Association website.

Visitors can expect a friendly environment, with people from all walks of life and backgrounds, Wilson said. It is a place where anybody can come and be themselves to celebrate and honor the history — and present — of Black Athens.

June 8–10 hotcornerathens.weebly.com