The Atlanta Voice E-Edition 010524

January 5-January 11, 2024 • Vol. 58 Issue 35 • FREE

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Higher Ground The interior of the Madam C.J. Walker Museum. The space is part hair salon, part record store, part library, and part Black history museum. Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

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Madam C.J. Walker Museum is part Atlanta legend and part history lesson

BY DONNELL SUGGS

O

n a cold Tuesday afternoon, a group of 15 people walked up to the front window of the Madam C.J. Walker Museum. Located on Hilliard Street, just a block down Auburn Avenue from Ebenezer Baptist Church, the museum is a regular stop on tours through the historic Sweet Auburn District. Those tours don’t always mean business for the museum though.

“Here comes another parasite tour,” exclaimed Ricci de Forest, the owner and operator of the museum. “That’s what I’m dealing with.”

The tour guide, a youngish white female, pointed at the window and mouthed something that seemed satisfactory to her guests before moving the group of Asian and white people back onto Auburn Avenue and down the street.

According to the retired hairstylist, curating and managing the Madam C.J. Walker Museum, which was opened by de Forest in 1999, wasn’t part of the plan.

“That was not in my wheelhouse,” said de Forest about opening a museum in honor of one of America’s first Black female millionaires and a Black hair care pioneer. Born in Delta, Louisiana, Walker, whose birth name was Sarah Breedlove, passed away in New York in 1919. And though she never lived in Atlanta, de Forest felt like her legacy should have a home in one of the city’s Black meccas. The museum was once a Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Shoppe, a type of franchise that Walker allowed to be built across the country in her name in order to sell and use her hair care products. The shop once served Black women in the Sweet Auburn District, now for a $7 entry fee the space serves a different need, according to de Forest.

“This place is the pinnacle of Black excellence and the promotion of female empowerment,” said de Forest. “The whole foundation of our success as businessmen and women was built on Black women like Walker. I stand in complete gratitude to these women.” de Forest, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, told the story of how he came about leasing the space that now houses the museum. It was empty the first time he drove by in 1999 when he noticed the name on the front window. “I immediately pulled over and got out

See WALKER on page 3

Original hair care tools used by Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Shoppe agents during the 1950’s and 60’s are on display inside the museum.

Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

Ricci de Forest, the owner and operator of the Madam C.J. Walker Museum, outside the museum, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 3

Metro

WALKER Continued from page 2 of my car in order to take a closer look,” de Forest recalled.

A student of hair cair, de Forest’s career has seen his hair and makeup work in the pages of Essence, Shop Talk, and Professional Salon magazines. He also owned a popular salon in Atlanta before retiring. When he saw the shop he said he knew what he had to do next. He went to the barbershop next door and asked about who the owner might be.

The Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Shoppe had seen better days and people said it would need a lot of interior work done in order to have a beauty salon up and running again.

De Forest had other ideas.

“Immediately it was for personal reasons,” de Forest said when asked why he started renting the spade. “The highlight of my career was to work in an original Walker property.”

That work would become more collection and curation, and less combs and curls.

When you walk into the Madam C.J. Waker Museum you are transported into a Black space. The black-and-white photos of musical luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Tupac Shakur, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Chaka Khan immediately command your visual attention.

The photos are on the ceiling and the walls.

See WALKER on page 6

The museum is full of vintage vinyl records that de Forest will sometimes entertain tourists with on this original gramophone. Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

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Voices

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I learned that racism, like most systems of oppression, isn’t about bad people doing terrible things to people who are different from them but instead is a way of maintaining power for certain groups at the expense of others.”

— Alicia Garza

Support HBCUs’ Sustainability in America

T H E AT L A N TA

VOICE

DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR

FOUNDED

arlier this year the U.S. Department of Education sent all colleges and universities across the nation a notice, reminding them that they need to comply with the newly updated cybersecurity regulations published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The regulations – which include specifications such as implementing critical controls for information security programs, maintaining oversight of service providers, and designating an individual to oversee a school’s cybersecurity infrastructure – came in response to an uptick in ransomware attacks on schools around the United States.

While these regulations are certainly warranted in an age where personal data is becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber-criminals, the penalties for failing to comply with the regulations – especially the withholding of federal needs-based funding under Title IV – pose an existential threat to schools operating under tight budgets.

Take Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which have throughout their existence struggled to find the substantial funding that many state and private predominantly white institutions (PWIs) of higher education enjoy and who are already steeling themselves to deal with an expected surge of applicants following the Supreme Court’s regressive decision to effectively end Affirmative Action admission programs.

The loss of Title IV funding would drastically affect around 80% of the student bodies at HBCUs and would have a consequential negative impact on the future of these vital institutions of higher education.

Endowments at HBCUs pale in comparison to those at the U.S.’s top ranked colleges and universities, with the overall endowments at all the country’s HBCUs accounting for less than a tenth of Harvard’s.

May 11, 1966

E

FOUNDER/EDITOR Ed Clayton

Immortalis Memoria

PUBLISHER/EDITOR

J. Lowell Ware Immortalis Memoria The Atlanta Voice honors the life of J. Lowell Ware.

HBCUs truly know how to do more with less, but they cannot be saddled with costly regulations that pose an existential crisis to their ability to operate and be given no help to deflect some of the costs.

The gap in funding between PWIs and HBCUs isn’t just because of smaller endowments, it’s also because state lawmakers keep funds off HBCU campuses – in North Carolina, for example, legislators awarded N.C. State an extra $79 million for research while N.C. A&T – the nation’s largest HBCU – was given only $9.5 million.

When it comes to access to technology, HBCUs also face an uphill battle with 82% of HBCUs being located in so-called “broadband deserts.”

Despite their struggles with funding, and the fact that these schools constitute only 3 percent of four-year colleges in the country, HBCU graduates account for 80 percent of all Black judges, 50 percent of Black lawyers, 50 percent of Black doctors, 40 percent of Black members of Congress, and our country’s current vice president.

HBCUs truly know how to do more with less, but they cannot be saddled with costly regulations that pose an existential crisis to their ability to operate and be given no help to deflect some of the

costs. Fortunately, however, there are businesses and individuals who see the importance of HBCUs to the Black community and are willing to lend their hands – and their dollars – to support them.

The Student Freedom Initiative (SFI), a non-profit chaired by philanthropist and entrepreneur Robert F. Smith and funded by major tech companies like Cisco, has raised millions of dollars to help HBUs comply with the Education Department’s mandates. Cisco alone donated $150 million to the SFI with $100 million allocated to bringing HBCU cybersecurity system upgrades and $50 million going to establish an endowment to offer alternative student loans.

With $89 million already distributed to 42 HBCUs across the nation, the initiative has already saved around $1.5 billion in needsbased funding to these colleges and universities and is making strong inroads to helping these institutions meet the new cybersecurity regulations, but more is required if all HBCUs are to be saved.

Given the empowering impact HBCUs have on the nation’s Black

community and the future promise of a more inclusive America, it is imperative that more companies support the work the Student Freedom Initiative is doing to ensure these vital higher education schools can continue to educate and inspire future generations.

As Vice President Harris said, “What you learn at an HBCU is you do not have to fit into somebody’s limited perspective on what it means to be young, gifted and Black.”

We in the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) https://www. nafeonation.org/ stand in strong support of the Student Freedom Initiative. We all should work together to ensure the sustainability of HBCUs in America.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., is Chairman of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) and President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). The views and opinions belong to Dr. Chavis, Jr. and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Atlanta Voice.

PUBLISHER Janis Ware jlware@theatlantavoice.com PRESIDENT/ GENERAL MANAGER James A. Washington jaws@theatlantavoice.com EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER Chia Suggs csuggs@theatlantavoice.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Donnell Suggs editor@theatlantavoice.com GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER Janelle Ward jward@theatlantavoice.com GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER Isaiah Singleton isingleton@theatlantavoice.com EDITOR AT LARGE Stan Washington swashington@theatlantavoice.com MANAGING EDITOR, DIGITAL Itoro Umontuen iumontuen@theatlantavoice.com

ADVERTISING, SALES & CIRCULATION ADVERTISING ADMINISTRATOR Chia Suggs advertising@theatlantavoice.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Terry Milliner SALES R.D.W. Jackson rdwadman@gmail.com SUBMISSIONS editor@theatlantavoice.com DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Martel Sharpe msharpe@theatlantavoice.com

CONTACT INFORMATION 633 Pryor Street, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30312 Office: 404-524-6426 info@theatlantavoice.com

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 5

Voices SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

A life of spiritual purpose shines everywhere

BY JAMES A. WASHINGTON

The Atlanta Voice

I am told there is one sure way to absolutely get the devil’s attention and that is to begin to turn one’s life to Christ.

You’ve probably heard many pastors refer to a person’s lifestyle as an open invitation for Satan to gain access to their world.

Supposedly, as long as you engage in the things and happenings of this world, Lucifer has no need to spend any energy dealing with the struggle for your soul.

You see, life’s trials and temptations alone are enough to sentence any one of us to an afterlife void of the Lord, which, if you didn’t know it, is the quintessential definition of hell itself.

A life without spiritual purpose, a life without spiritual guidance, a life without faith is a life wandering aimlessly on a tollway headed straight to hell.

The devil does not need to work to gain access to this life. It is a conformed life. He can merely wait at the toll booth gate and collect unsuspecting souls on their way by.

You remember when you partied

“Some people are like seeds along the path where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word sown in them.” —Mark 4:15. so hard that even the next day didn’t they hear it, Satan comes and takes completely clear up the stupor from the night before?

I’m just humbly suggesting that maybe some of us could at least make the devil sweat just a little bit while he tries to manipulate your life’s circumstances.

On the other hand, a life grounded in spiritual purpose, imbued with integrity and anchored in faith instantly becomes a target for satanic bullets.

Hopefully, if not consistently, we should be trying to make Satan’s work harder by appealing to the Lord every day to allow us to do His Will instead of our own. Satan is coming for anyone who tries to hear and respond to God’s Word.

Again one of my favorites: “Some people are like seeds along the path where the Word is sown. As soon as

away the Word sown in them.” —Mark 4:15.

If we know this, then what are we doing to arm ourselves against the inevitable onslaught of the evil one?

“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of the light.”

—Corinthians 11:14.

The point of all this is to let you know that as a believer, you have a neon sign that shines brightly in all the kingdoms of this world and the next. It identifies you and alerts everyone around you about your soul’s true mission, which is to honor God. And for the record, Satan cannot stand the thought that your love for God supersedes his ability to wreck your world. I’m told that at one time he, too, loved God dearly. He came, however, to love himself more.

Now if the devil has his way, he wants us to love ourselves and our things, our addictions more than we love God. And then, like Lucifer, try to get your light to shine brighter on you.

Just know if that ever happens, feel for that toll booth token, because you’ve just bought your ticket straight to hell.

“For as I have often told you before and now (I) say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach and their glory is their shame. But our citizenship is in heaven…” —Philippians 3:1820.

I can only hope, sincerely hope, that you recognize the next trial or temptation headed your way is but a speck on a windshield, a splattered piece of nothing standing in your way on your way to the Promised Land.

Any other consideration would be a mistake and an insult to God. His highway is free. It doesn’t cost you anything to get on it. As a matter of fact, just stay on the service road and you’re sure to find your way.

May God bless and keep you always.

Page 6 • January 5-January 11, 2024 • theatlantavoice.com

Metro

WALKER Continued from page 3 Other photos of de Forest’s mother, mentors, and inspirations sit on tables stationed around the room. de Forest says he asks visitors if they can name 20 of the people in the more than 50 black-and-white photographs around the room. If they succeed he allows them to pick a vintage 45-inch record from a box.

There are walls of records -jazz, funk, soul, classical- aligning the walls of the museum as well. Though a large portion of the records are de Forest’s, there are many that belong to the late father of a friend, Chatel Mullen. The collection of vinyl belonged to Isaac Mullen and Chantel believed it would be best to donate the records to de Forest and the museum rather than to a record store, for example. When we arrived to interview de Forest that Tuesday afternoon, Sam Cooke’s 1960 classic “A Change Is Gonna Come” played over the loudspeakers, which also were donated to the museum.

“That’s how the community can help a museum, by donating,” de Forest said. “As a community, you have to pitch in. When I started preserving this place the community started to bring me stuff.”

To generate funding for the museum, which de Forest said he financed himself, there are Black books and vintage albums for sale, and of course, there are the tours. Visitors will get a look at some of the tools of the trade, including Madam C.J. Walker-branded products in their original containers and tins. Hot combs and curlers in the displays at the center of the room are also originals that de Forest found inside the shop. He cleaned them up and immediately put them for all to see.

“I had a very small budget, but I was hellbent on preserving this place,” de Forest said. He recalled telling his wife about his plans to convert the former hair salon into a museum/gift shop and remembers her using a couple of four-letter words during her response to his asking what she thought. de Forest also credits women such as Annie Turnbo Malone and Sarah Spencer Washington, a pair of Black beauty pioneers and successful businesswomen in their own right. Photos of both are on display inside the museum.

“This museum is important for me, but it is also humbling,” de Forest said. “I am completely guided and driven by artistic excellence. I just answered the message my ancestors sent me.”

Local business owner Dwaine Go dropped by later that afternoon. A frequent visitor to the museum, Go said the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of the museum is “home.”

“This museum is the preservation of the values that we have as a people,” he said. de Forest added, “I’d like for the legacy and some of the fiber of Auburn Avenue to remain.”

As Stevie Wonder’s 1973 hit “Higher Ground” played in the background, de Forest added, “This place is a legacy, it’s larger

Signs like these were used to discourage white parents from allowing their children to listen to Black music during the 1950’s. This sign and a black-and-white photograph of the late Tupac Shakur are on display at the museum. Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

A Barbie Madam C.J. Walker doll as seen inside the museum on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice than life.”

For old Atlanta and new Atlanta alike, the Madam C.J. Walker Museum can be seen as

higher ground in a way.

The Madam C.J. Walker Museum is located at 54 Hilliard Street, N.E. is open Tues-

day-Saturday, noon to 4 p.m., and on Sundays from noon to 3 p.m.

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 7

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Page 8 • January 5-January 11, 2024 • theatlantavoice.com

State

ONLINE

Atlanta’s 44th & 3rd Bookseller: a family-run store honoring Barack Obama

Federal Judge approves district maps drawn by Georgia Republicans

BY ITORO N. UMONTUEN

U

.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones issued two rulings that side with Georgia Republicans, preserving their 9-5 majority in Congress and their legislative majority inside the Georgia State Capitol. In both rulings, Judge Jones said the General Assembly “fully complied” with his order when the Republicans drew up the new maps.

Jones also ruled the old maps illegally diluted the voting power of Black Georgians, but the new maps submitted by Georgia Republicans do follow his order. Moreover, the new Congressional map includes five congressional districts where Black voters made up a majority or near-majority, an increase from the previous four.

“The Court finds that the General Assembly fully complied with this Court’s order requiring the creation of a majority-Black congressional district,” Jones wrote in his order.

A major point of contention was the fact Judge Jones’ order split up a majority-minority district in Gwinnett County, which was a major point of contention during the seven-day special session. It was described as a “coalition district” with a group of Black, Latino, and AAPI voters in Georgia’s most populous county.

“This Court has made no finding that Black voters in Georgia politically join with another minority group or groups and that white voters vote as a bloc to defeat the candidate of choice of that minority coalition,” Jones wrote.

“We’re told, ‘well, no, it really doesn’t comply because of this language about minority opportunity districts,’” said House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee Chairman Rob Leverett, a Republican from Elberton, during the debate on December 7th. “Well, I agree it is meaningful language, but it does not have the meaning that my friends across the aisle ascribe to it … The term gets used loosely in different contexts.

In the context of this case, the minority that was being discussed – whose rights were trying to be vindicated – were Black voters.”

Georgia Democrats expressed their shock and disappointment over what they described as gerrymandering.

“Remember, the Republican Senate maps empowered only 3,000 Black voters in the affected area in which Judge Jones identified

The proposed Georgia Congressional district map is displayed during the Senate Committee meeting on redistricting and reapportionment on Monday, December 4, 2023 at the Georgia State Capitol. Photo by Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice

Voting Rights Act violations,” said the Senate Minority Leader, State Sen. Gloria Butler, a Democrat from Stone Mountain. “Conversely, our proposal empowered over 100,000 Black voters. The Congressional and House maps had similar problems. The Republican maps are an ongoing Voting Rights Act violation. Period. While we respect Judge Jones’ decision, we will continue fighting to deliver Georgians the fair maps they deserve. We must end the cycle of partisan gerrymandering that allows politicians to choose their voters and prevents voters from choosing their representatives.”

U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, who rose to national prominence after her son,

Jordan Davis, was killed on November 2012 in Jacksonville over an argument about loud music. McBath successfully ran for Congress in 2018 in the Sixth Congressional District.

In 2022, McBath was drawn out of the Sixth and into the Seventh Congressional District.

Later in the year, she would take on Carolyn Bourdeaux and win the primary. Now, based on Judge Jones’s ruling, McBath announced she will run in the redrawn Sixth. However, she voiced her displeasure with the ruling in a written statement: “After my son Jordan was ripped away from me by senseless gun violence, I promised him that I would do everything in my power to prevent our family’s tragedy from happening to

any other. I refuse to allow an extremist few Republicans decide when my work in Congress is finished. I hope that the judicial system will not allow the state legislature to suppress the will of Georgia voters. However, if the maps passed by the state legislature stand for the 2024 election cycle, I will be running for re-election to Congress in GA-06 because too much is at stake to stand down.”

Under the new plan, Georgia’s U.S. Seventh Congressional District will wholly contain Dawson, Forsyth and Lumpkin Counties while including portions of North Fulton, western Hall, and eastern Cherokee Counties.

The new map now labels the Sixth District as a majority-Black district in western metro Atlanta, which “falls squarely” in the region of the state where the court found Black voter dilution in the previous map, according to Jones’s ruling. However, it does carve out portions of Atlanta’s westside, Southwest Atlanta, MLK, Adamsville and portions of the Cascade neighborhood to create the new Sixth district. Those areas were part of the Fifth Congressional District, represented by U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams.

“I’m disappointed by today’s court ruling that allows Georgia Republicans to blatantly divide the Black vote in Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District and pass it off as a “new” Black district,” said U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Georgia Republicans have a long history of voter disenfranchisement and they’re creating a new chapter of it by tearing apart Altanta’s historic Black political power in gerrymandering the Fifth District. This is yet another example of extreme Republicans threatening our democracy and we must stand united against the extremism.

The voters of the #FightingFifth will have the last say.”

Observers fully expect an appeal to be filed. However, the maps must be finalized

by Jan. 29, when Georgia will start creating the ballots for the primaries.

The battle over redistricting and reapportionment in Georgia follows the fights in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina which saw Republicans leverage the Conservative-leaning United States Supreme Court and pass redistricting maps that cobbled majority-Black and ethnic minority districts into areas where it would prove advantageous for the right-wing for upcoming elections this decade.

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 9

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State Farm, OTE partner to renovate Grove Park gym Supp Support SCAN TO DONATE

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tate Farm and the Overtime Elite (OTE) basketball league partnered to celebrate the unveiling of renovations of the gym inside the Grove Park Community Center on Wednesday, Dec 20.

City of Atlanta Parks & Recreation Commissioner Justin Cutler expressed his enthusiasm about the renovation, especially during Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens' "Year of The Youth.” Cutler stated that providing kids with a positive experience helps deter them from dangerous situations. "One thing we know is that when young people are out of school or during the summertime, they have the opportunity to make bad choices.

This is an opportunity for us to provide a positive experience where young people can come and play, be part of our community, be part of our recreation center," Cutler said.

In a report by MST services, there’s a 35% increase in juvenile crimes during the summer. This can be attributed to factors such as extended daylight hours and a lack of recreational choices.

Keisha Mitchell, the current community facility manager, said she initially had reservations about the renovation. However, her skepticism transformed into excitement as the project progressed. Having actively participated in recreation programs while growing up in the Atlanta metro area, Mitchell cited bringing a personal connection to her role. "Kids come from different walks of life, they are all unique, and we just want to teach them something that they can take along later in life," Mitchell said.

Will Dean, Fan Experience and Community Engagement Manager at OTE, was the original person to reach out to Mitchell.

"When we first arrived, we thought we were going to make some minor adjustments,” Dean said. “When we saw the need that existed here and the support that State Farm was showing to us, it really just kind of grew, and I couldn't be happier with how much we were able to transform this space.”

With anticipation growing from the children who frequented the center, Mitchell would often shut the lights off when work was not actively being done to keep the final presentation a secret from the kids. "There's a lot more young people than I even expected,” he said. “Every day I was hearing, 'When is this court going to be done?' I was coming in this afternoon. And they're like, 'Oh, is this really going to happen?' " Dean recalled.

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Facts matter. Producing journalism that impacts our readers is what we do best and have done for the past 55 years, and in order to keep doing that at this level we need all the financial assistance we can get.

OTE and State Farm partnered to renovate the gym inside the Grove Park Community Center. A ribbon was cut on the project Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

Cutler further emphasized fulfillment in giving back to the community and the collaborative efforts of State Farm, Overtime Elite, and various vendors played a pivotal role in making the project a reality. Cutler praised the city's forward-thinking vision, further emphasizing initiatives to enhance and expand recreation programs, specifically targeting teen programs and after-school activities. "The commitment to youth development is evident in the increased number of vendors providing diverse opportunities, including STEM, music education, arts and crafts, and more," Cutler said.

Dean further addressed that the work was still not quite done yet at the center, stating, "I'll be back as a regular. There's still more things we want to add. It's not like we're just finishing today with the ribbon-cutting.

This is a partnership that will continue to grow in the years to come. And I'm very excited for what lies ahead.”

Jani

PUBLIS

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 11

Community

New dog park opens at Melvin Drive Park

BY DONNELL SUGGS

T

he last park of the year to be renovated and dedicated is for the dogs.

City of Atlanta’s Parks and Recreation Department in collaboration with Park Pride celebrated the completion of a dog park inside Melvin Drive Park on Thursday, Dec. 21. The dog park has a fountain, a doggy shower, and separate sections for large dog runs (over 30 pounds) and small dog runs (under 30 pounds).

A crowd of neighborhood residents and local media gathered outside the gates for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was on hand and posed for pictures with constituents and their pups following the ribbon-cutting. The dog park is an important addition to the southwest Atlanta neighborhood, said neighborhood planning unit parks and recreation chair Lewis Woodson. “Because a lot of people in this community have dogs,” he said. “We have everything else in this community and we needed a dog park.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens poses for a picture with a pup, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.

Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

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Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet (District 11), Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Justin Cutler, and Park Pride Executive Director Michael Halicki all took turns speaking about why the project, which includes renovations of the covered basketball court, was important for the residents.

“Atlanta needs great parks for everybody, no matter where they live,” Halicki said.

He mentioned that Park Pride “supported” nearly 200 parks in 2023.

This particular project is something Woodson said took a while, but was worth it. “It truly was a journey,” he said. “Anytime you're putting something together it’s not always what you want when you start, but you stick with it.”

Cutler said though there won’t be any more park renovations in 2023, there are plans to make future investments in the baseball diamond and playground at Melvin Drive Park.

“There’s a lot more we want to accomplish here,” Cutler said.

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Page 12 • January 5-January 11, 2024 • theatlantavoice.com

Business

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“Grind to Greatness”: Ross Y. Dixon’s memoir on pivoting in business

Celebration Bowl belongs in Atlanta, says title sponsor

BY DONNELL SUGGS

T

he city of Atlanta once again was the host site for the Celebration Bowl. Since 2015 the championship game for HBCU football, between the MEAC and SWAC champions, has taken place in downtown Atlanta. It will remain in Atlanta, according to the leadership of Celebration Bowl and title sponsor, Cricket Wireless.

"We don't see that changing anytime soon, because if it's not Atlanta, then where?," asked Celebration Bowl Executive Director John Grant. "I don't think there's any city in America that is better for this type of event than where it is right here in Atlanta."

The contract between the Celebration Bowl (and MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff game) and Cricket Wireless, which calls Atlanta home, runs through 2027. The game, which was broadcast at noon on ABC, had a viewership of 1.5 million, according to data provided by Cricket Wireless. Both Grant and Cricket Wireless President John Dwyer feel Atlanta is the right for the annual events.

Dwyer said the games are an opportunity to give back to the Atlanta business community and community at large. "It is where great athletes, HBCU culture, and giving back to the community come together," Dwyer told The Atlanta Voice during a recent interview.

With thousands of fans coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium hours before the game, which took place Saturday, Dec. 16, and remaining downtown in hotels and at restaurants afterwards, the Celebration Bowl remains an economic driver.

"The Cricket Celebration Bowl means a lot for Atlanta and means a lot for the participating HBCUs, and the impact the game has on the broader HBCU diaspora because this game exists," said Grant.

During the past two years, the Celebration Bowl has taken place on the night of the an-

The Celebration Bowl was launched in 2015 and has taken place in Atlanta from the beginning. Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice nual UNCF Mayor's Masked Ball and has become a part of the fabric of the holiday season in Atlanta.

"Atlanta has such a tremendous history with the Atlanta University Center and HBCUs in general," Dwyer said. "I just think it's a great city and it's the headquarters for Cricket, so for us that was certainly a big part of what attracted us."

Dwyer told The Atlanta Voice that Cricket Wireless looks for organizations to work with

that have a point of view and passion. He admitted that experiencing the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Celebration Bowl and MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and having spent time with the coaches and players has been a learning experience.

"I will tell you the Celebration Bowl and MEAC/SWAC Challenge, for me personally, has been an education," Dwyer said. "It's just been a terrific relationship."

The 2023 Celebration Bowl brought Flor-

ida A&M University and Howard University to Atlanta to play for the HBCU championship. Grant said having two of the largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the country involved this year helps further enhance the viability of the game.

"Having FAMU and Howard just reinforces what the value is," he said. "Having those recognizable brands in the HBCU space in this game reflects on the significance of this game."

Little Rey slated to open Buckhead location early 2024

BY JANELLE WARD

A

tlanta-based restaurant Little Rey has announced plans to open its second location in the city next spring, bringing its cuisine inspired by the flavors of Northern Mexico to north Buckhead.

The contemporary Mexican eatery will occupy a 5,500-square-foot rental space inside

the Northcreek Office Park development on Northside Parkway in early 2024, which is situated near Nancy Creek and I-75.

Chef Ford Fry opened Little Rey’s primary location in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood of east Atlanta in 2019. The restaurateur, who currently resides in Atlanta, owns 13 eateries across the metro area and a total of 23 restaurants based all over the country,

including local culinary hotspots King + Duke, St. Cecilia and Superica.

According to a release from the public relations agency representing Rocket Farm Restaurants, the company behind the collection of restaurants owned by Fry, Little Rey Buckhead will feature many of the menu items available at the Piedmont Heights location, including street-style tacos, share-

able starters and the restaurant’s staple dishes inspired by the traditional Mexican favorite, “pollo al carbon”. Various flavors of margaritas, aguas frescas, authentic Mexican beer and locally sourced ales will also appear on the menu.

Plans to expand the restaurant into Johns Creek, Houston, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina, are also slated for 2024.

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 13

Education

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The Re-emergence of Nicki Minaj: Pink Friday 2

CAU launches SMPTE student chapter to prepare students for media

BY ISAIAH SINGLETON

C

lark Atlanta University (CAU) recently launched a Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Student Chapter, making CAU the first Historically Black College and University to do so.

Through its new SMPTE Student Chapter, CAU will give students the opportunity to learn about the latest technologies and trends, meet industry leaders and professionals, and develop and even refine the skills they need to move into a workplace in need of those talents.

SMPTE is a global society of more than 5,000 diverse and engaged members, including creative professionals, media technologists, and engineers.

“I’m thrilled to be working with Dr. Michele Wright, an HBCU alum herself as a Tuskegee University grad, and the larger SMPTE team — including President Renard Jenkins, Executive Director David Grindle, and Membership Director Zandra Clark — on dynamic projects to foster student success and professional sustainability,” said Dr. Brian Bentley, assistant professor and associate dean of arts and sciences at Clark Atlanta University.

SMPTE, he said, is the gold standard for the industry, literally setting the standard with its color bars, time code, and so many others.

"A SMPTE Student Chapter at CAU will create fantastic possibilities for student and faculty development. In building this relationship with SMPTE and reaching this historic milestone, I believe we’ll also open opportunities for other HBCUs," Bentley said.

Leveraging its distinctive history, Bentley said CAU transforms the lives of students and their communities by preparing citizen leaders to be problem-solvers through innovative learning programs, supportive interactions with faculty, staff, and students, exemplary scholarship, and purposeful service.

The CAU SMPTE Student Chapter likewise will help to prepare students for success in future roles, providing both community and resources supporting their exploration of careers as media professionals, technologists, and engineers.

Due to their close connection with SMPTE and its extensive professional network, SMPTE Student Chapters can host educational and networking events that are in tune with the skills needed, the knowledge most valuable, and the opportunities available for

The CAU SMPTE Student Chapter will help to prepare students for success in future roles, providing both community and resources supporting their exploration of careers as media professionals, technologists, and engineers. Photo by The Atlanta Voice students as they move into the professional realm.

“The SMPTE Student Chapter at CAU is a tremendous addition to our stellar group of chapters across the world,” said SMPTE Director of Business Development and Outreach Michele Wright. “While students and faculty will benefit from connections with the technologists, artists, executives, and other professionals whose work and ideas are shaping the industry, SMPTE will be enriched through a deeper relationship with the uni-

versity, the research conducted by its faculty, and the participation of its student body.

The Society is dedicated to creating pathways into the industry for a diverse workforce, and synergistic collaboration through the launch of SMPTE Student Chapters is an exciting element of that work. We couldn’t have a better partner than CAU in establishing this first SMPTE Student Chapter at an HBCU, and we look forward to further collaborations with HBCUs all over the nation.”

CAU will be home not just to the first

SMPTE Student Chapter at an HBCU, but also to the 2024 Power of Color Symposium, a first-of-a-kind SMPTE event dedicated to the art and science of portraying aspects of color diverse hues and human features, in film, TV, animation, and gaming.

For more information on the two-day symposium, Feb. 6-7 at CAU, visit https://www. smpte.org/section-events/power-of-color-symposium. For more information about SMPTE, visit smpte.org.

Page 14 • January 5-January 11, 2024 • theatlantavoice.com

Sports

ONLINE

Fears as West Africa battles worst diphtheria outbreak in recent times

Atlanta United 2024 schedule released

BY DONNELL SUGGS

T

he 2024 Major League Soccer schedule has been released and there will be an even 17 home matches and 17 road matches for Atlanta United.

Beginning on Feb. 24, United will open the season on the road in Columbus, Ohio against reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champion Columbus Crew. The Crew defeated LAFC 2-1 for the title on Saturday, Dec. 9.

The home opener for United will come two weeks later on Saturday, Mar. 24 when the New England Revolution comes to town for a night match. Orlando will follow them to Atlanta on Sunday, Mar. 17.

United will return to the road for a match in Toronto the following Saturday.

The Chicago Fire will be the third home opponent for United when that match takes place Sunday, Mar. 31.

There will be four matches during the month of April; two away at New York City FC and in Chicago against the Fire, and at home against Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati on consecutive weeks.

May opens with a visit from Minnesota United FC, the first of six matches that will take place during that month. D.C. United and LAFC will be coming to Atlanta, while FC Cincinnati and rival Nashville FC will host United during the month.

The five matches scheduled for June will have United at home for three: Charlotte FC,

Atlanta United fans rep their team during Major League Soccer match against Nashville Soccer Club. Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice Houston Dynamo FC, and Toronto FC will be here. D.C. United and St. Louis City SC will host Atlanta on June 19 and 22.

Independence Day week will have United on the east coast to face the New England Revolution on Wednesday, July 3. Road matches at Real Salt Lake and FC Montreal will follow on Saturday, July 6, and Saturday, July 13. Consecutive home matches against

New York City FC and the Columbus Crew close out the month.

The only two matches during August; Saturday, Aug. 24 against the LA Galaxy and Saturday, Aug. 31 against Charlotte FC will both take place on the road.

September brings home matches against Nashville SC and Inter Miami FC, and consecutive road matches in New York against

the Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union.

The regular season ends with back-to-back home matches on Wednesday, Oct. 2 against FC Montreal, and Saturday, Oct. 5 against the Red Bulls.

Last season Atlanta finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 13-12-9. United scored the second most goals in the conference (66) behind Columbus (67).

CAU and Morehouse start 2024 on the road

BY DONNELL SUGGS

T

he Clark Atlanta Panthers and Morehouse College Maroon Tigers will begin the new year on the road. Both programs will play a pair of games in Kentucky and Ohio to begin the second half of the 2023-24 season.

On Thursday, Jan. 4 Morehouse (7-4 overall) will take its undefeated conference record (5-0) to Central State University, while Clark Atlanta (7-3 overall, 1-3 conference) will look to move closer to .500 in conference play at Kentucky State University.

On Saturday, Jan. 6 the Atlanta teams will switch opponents. Morehouse will play at Kentucky State while rival Clark Atlanta will play at Central State.

The Panthers (2-2 on the road) lost their past two road games at Spring Hill College

The Clark Atlanta Panthers and Morehouse College Maroon Tigers (above) will begin the second half of the men’s basketball season on the road in Kentucky and Ohio. Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

and Tuskegee in early December. Morehouse is 2-1 on the road this season.

The Panthers are led in scoring and assists by graduate student Chris Martin, who is averaging 24.4 points and 2.7 assists per game. Sophomore forward Shemani Fuller (12.9 points per game) leads the team with a 6.6 rebounds per game average. Graduate student guard Andrew Stewart averages 11.3 points per game off the bench and leads the team in three-point percentage at .426%.

The Maroon Tigers largely get its scoring from a transfer, Keshawh Pegues. A transfer from Talladega College, Pegues, who has started nine of the team’s 11 games this season, is averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Damion Mitchell (10 points per game), is leading the team with a total of 32 assists.

theatlantavoice.com • January 5-January 11, 2024 • Page 15

Sports

Georgia wins Orange Bowl by 60 points

BY ITORO N. UMONTUEN

M

IAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Florida State Seminoles told anyone that would listen how much they disliked being left out of the College Football Playoff. Their fans, players, boosters, and even their administration felt the CFP committee screwed them out of the top four. It didn’t matter to the Georgia Bulldogs though. The mean machine in the Red and Black feasted on the Seminoles at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday, Dec. 30.

It was not pretty either. The 63-3 victory was the largest margin of victory in the history of the Orange Bowl.

Running back Kendall Milton was the MVP of the Orange Bowl. He had 104 rushing yards and two key touchdowns in the first half.

“I think a lot of coaches relax at the end of the year, and they say, ‘well, this game doesn’t matter. This game is not important,’ And there’s nothing that’s not going to be important in our place,” explained Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. “There’s not going to be a day that we walk out on that field, that Kamari Lassiter is not walking through saying ‘it’s not important.’ There’s not going to be a day that Kendall Milton is not doing blitz pickup, saying ‘that is not important.’ And I think that standard has translated into success. And I think that’s a big part of the culture that’s been created.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck finished

Dominic Lovett leads the celebrations after scoring a touchdown during the first half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Photo by Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice the game with 203 yards and two touchdowns. Backups Gunnar Stockton and Jackson Muschamp also saw playing time in a game that became a laugher midway through the second quarter.

This game will be remembered for the scoreline and the fact the Seminoles had thirty-one players that were injured, opted out of playing in the Orange Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft, or decided to transfer after their team was left out of the College Football Playoff. FSU boosters and fans complained and

www.theatlantavoice.com • January 5 - January 11, 2024

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sued the Atlantic Coast Conference regarding their payout of media rights. Florida Governor Ron Desantis even lobbed complaints to the CFP and ESPN because prior to this season, no undefeated Power Five conference champion has ever been left out of the CFP until now.

“I told them in the locker room this game will not define the season,” said FSU head coach Mike Norvell. “But from now until forever, they’re going to walk into Doak Campbell stadium and they’re going to see that

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2023 ACC championship and they’re going to know that they were 13-0 and unconquered throughout that time.

And you know, we faced adversity tonight we faced our challenges, obviously didn’t play to the level of what we’re capable of. But we’re going to learn from it. We’re going to continue to move forward. And when it comes to bowl season, when it comes to choices that people make, obviously there’s a lot of people out there that will have their opinion. But I do think that the expand to Playoff and opportunities for teams that earn it.”

The Seminoles’ plight did not fall on deaf ears. Smart had a swift response.

“Maybe this will be a bad soundbite, but it needs to be fixed,” Smart explained. “It’s very unfortunate that a team that has a good football team and a good football program … they are in the position they’re in. And everybody can say it’s their fault and solve their own problem. All right.

“And if I could say that we had our guys and they didn’t have their guys, I can listen to all that. But college football has got to decide what they want. And I know things are changing. And I think things are going to change next year. And you know what, there’s going to still be bowl games outside of those. People got to decide what they want and what they really want to get out of it. Because it’s really unfortunate for those kids on that sideline that had to play in that game that didn’t have their full arsenal. And it affected the game 100%.”

Sealed proposals for 23RFP139070K-JAJ - Progressive Design/Build Campbellton Pump Station for the Fulton County Public Works Department, will be accepted by the Fulton County Department of Purchasing & Contract Compliance, electronically through Bidnet Direct at https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/fultoncounty, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, no later than 11:00 a.m. local (Eastern) time on the stated date. Proposers names will be publicly read at 11:15 a.m. on the stated due date via Zoom.

Proposal Bond: 5% Bid Bond Required.

Scope of Work: Fulton County, Georgia (“County”) The project will require all ground run surveying, engineering, geotechnical engineering, quality control, etc. for the 80% design to produce a GMP for the construction of the new Campbellton Pump Station and associated force main. The project includes but is not limited to a new Campbellton Pump Station, a new force main, from the Campbellton Pump Station to the existing 54 inch trunk line flowing to the Deep Creek Pump Station. In order to obtain complete information about this solicitation, please click the link below where this document and supporting documents can be downloaded, https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/fultoncounty.

Fee: N/A Term of Contract: 450 Calendar Days for Substantial Completion, 550 Calendar Days for Final Completion.

The date and time of the site visit will be determined at a future date via an addendum.

Bidders are encouraged to attend.

A Pre-Proposal Conference, will be held via Zoom on Wednesday January 10, 2024 at 11:00 a.m., local time, to provide proposers with information regarding the project and to address any questions.

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/s/92248591365 If you have any questions regarding this project please contact James A. Jones, APA, at Email: james.jones@fultoncountyga.gov.

Fulton County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals and to waive technicalities.

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Page 16 • January 5-January 11, 2024 • theatlantavoice.com

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