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SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • Vol. 61 Issue 18 • FREE

IN THIS ISSUE

Watts happening: Zachary Watts is building his own legacy PAGE 7

Serving Flavor Shawn Osbey, an Atlanta-based chef and owner of Chef Shawn Osbey Catering, knows all about creating different flairs and flavors within food. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/ The Atlanta Voice

Page 2 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

Food

Chef Shawn Osbey Celebrates Food, Culture and Community By LAURA NWOGU

hawn Osbey, an Atlanta-based chef and owner of Chef Shawn Osbey Catering, knows all about creating different flairs and flavors within food. Known affectionately as “the traveling chef,” Osbey curates experiences through his global excursions, fusing different cultures, cuisines, and communities. Now he’s bringing that knowledge to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival stage as a host chef for the culinary celebration’s 16th anniversary. As the host of “The Southern Spread” on Saturday, he is helping bring together the traditions, ingredients, and creativity that define Southern cooking. Osbey didn’t always plan on becoming a chef, but his passion for the craft was planted early on. Born and raised in Danbury, Connecticut, Osbey recalls snow days when he would tell his older brothers to go outside to shovel while he made them breakfast and lunch. His parents were always game for hosting a family event, from barbecues to birthdays and holidays. “I remember I would always get super excited about having people come over,” Osbey said. “I’ll be like, ‘Come on, folks, we got people coming. Let’s get this going.’ And I still get excited about hosting events for my own clients today. So, just growing up with that, always in the kitchen with my family, that’s where my original passion came from.” After playing basketball in high school and college and pursuing a career in personal banking, Osbey realized that the path he was on was not going to be his ministry for the rest of his life. His mother encouraged him to go to culinary school, and the first day that he walked into a class, Osbey said he felt like he’d found his tribe. He went on to work at a country club in Connecticut and sharpen his skills in fine dining restaurants such as the Charlie Palmer Steak at the Four Seasons Las Vegas.

Osbey has carried those experiences with him, with hospitality at the core of everything that he does. For the traveling chef, food is the ultimate form of storytelling. As he travels the world with his clients, he understands more and more how powerful that is. “We all eat the same food. We’re all eating chicken and steak, and we all have the same cooking methods. But we’ve got to understand these different cultures, and these particular products are indigenous to their culture and to their land. How they prepare them is very important.” Osbey doesn’t lean toward calling the method of combining different culinary traditions fusion cuisine. He instead calls it “translation cooking.” “I like to translate from other cultures. I never want to appropriate someone’s culture and just

Shawn Osbey, an Atlanta-based chef and owner of Chef Shawn Osbey Catering, knows all about creating different flairs and flavors within food. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

say I’m taking this ingredient just because I like it. It’s more so we all have comfort foods. We all have things that we grew up on and

Atlanta Chef Shawn Osbey has served Atlantans in many ways, including as a caterer. Photo courtesy of Shawn Osbey

are special to us, just like we do in this country, as Southern people and as Black people,” Osbey said. “I like to take those recipes and those different foods from different cultures on my travels, and just translate it into the things that we love and that we eat.” In his 14 years in the industry, Osbey has thrived on the freedom to experiment, have fun, and curate unique experiences for his clients. He hopes to bring that spirit of experimental fun, traveled experiences and culinary storytelling to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. This year’s theme is “The City is the Story,” putting the city that Osbey now calls home at the front and center. “Atlanta is home. I feel like this place is such a great city. It has welcomed me in so many ways… Being a kid from somewhere in Connecticut, the city really has embraced me. My business was birthed here and started here … and I owe all my success to the great people of this city.” For the festival’s “Southern Spread” event, Osbey will put a spin on a classic dish alongside a chef-driven recipe designed for home cooks. To him, the heart of Southern food lies in how effortlessly it makes people feel at home. “It’s so special because it’s so

comforting. It feels like a big hug. You get that sense of comfort and warmth and it’s just a great feeling after you finish eating. You can taste the love. You can taste all the things that are put in, even the ingredients we use.” This will mark his second year at AFWF and Osbey said it feels great to be recognized for his work and dedication. He wants people to leave the festival appreciating and understanding Atlanta and all it has to offer. “I want them to really understand the hospitality industry in Atlanta, the food scene. There’s some amazing chefs here, and they do such a great job. They work really hard to create an amazing scene here,” Osbey said. “The food’s great. The vibes are always fun. The music’s great. We always got some good DJs. Cocktails are flowing. It’s such a good vibe. It’s so Atlanta. It’s one of those events that you’re like, ‘OK, this is what I picture Atlanta to be.’ It’s one of those events that really really do a great job of hitting all those notes.” Join Osbey at “The Southern Spread” from noon to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. The festival is for guests 21 and older, and tickets for the fourday festival are on sale now at atlfoodandwinefestival.com.

theatlantavoice.com • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • Page 3

Politics

Keisha Lance Bottoms introduces her plan to lower the cost of living in Georgia By DONNELL SUGGS

ormer Atlanta Mayor and current Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms (above) held a press conference at a small grocery store in Lawrenceville on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Bottoms was announcing her plan to attack the rising costs of groceries statewide. Bottoms’ plan, the “Local Grocery and Family Essentials Tax Relief Plan,” is geared towards lowering the cost of living in Georgia by lowering the cost of groceries by taking the tax off. The tax relief plan also includes the costs of diapers, baby formula, and feminine hygiene products. For example, Bottoms used the suspension of gas taxes or sales taxes as an example of how the plan could work. If elected governor, Bottoms would present the plan to the Georgia Senate. Bottoms added that the plan is about “moving the needle and relieving the cost burden” for families across the state. The Al Huda Grocery is located in the Paden Station shopping center in Lawrenceville. The small grocery store left no

room for the gaggle of local media, state legislators who are in support of Bottoms’ plan, and a small group of supporters. The store was the kind of local grocery store that serves neighborhoods all over Atlanta. DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, Georgia State Senator Harold V. Jones (D-22), and Georgia State Rep. Akbar Ali (D-106) joined Bottoms in support of the plan. Cochran-Johnson thanked Bottoms for coming up with a tangible plan instead of just talking politics. “Thank you for bringing forth a plan. It was time to give us a plan,” she said. “There’s no place you feel the effects of the economy than at the grocery store.” Jones said a plan like this has been necessary for a long time, and Georgia has one of the highest grocery costs in the country. For the record: The state of Georgia is not one of the top 10 most expensive states to live in, according to data from the World Population Review. “People are talking about how expensive it is just to exist. At the end of the day, this is about listening to people,” Bottoms said. The plan would be an opt-in program for local governments if put in place.

Former Atlanta Mayor and current Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms (above) held a press conference at a small grocery store in Lawrenceville on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Photo by Donnell Suggs/ The Atlanta Voice

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Page 4 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

Voices

Black America’s financially fragile retirees: Black wealth will be 4 times lower than whites by 2050 By CHARLENE CROWELL Center for Responsible Lending

cross succeeding generations, nearly every worker has been urged to ‘save’ for retirement. However, yesteryear’s gold watch and pensions that came with health care benefits or even added stock options are today nearly extinct. Instead, the emergence of varying 401(K) retirement plans has lifted many employer legacy costs by shifting the brunt of that financial responsibility to workers. Even worse, many low-wage workers have no employer-sponsored retirement plan. For Black America, this shifting financial burden brings a new level of financial stress, worsened by the cumulative effects of life-long wealth inequality. The Reality of Racial Economic Inequality for Black Retirees, a recent policy brief from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, analyzes the harsh cyclical realities affecting multiple generations. “[B]lack Americans are more likely to experience retirement as financially fragile, with less choice and less protection against illness, disability, or rising costs,” states the brief. “The cumulative effects of these inequalities have developed into a multi-generational cycle of low wealth for African Americans and ongoing racial wealth/ economic inequality.” Black households have only about 61 percent of the median household income of whites. In 2025, median weekly earnings for full-time Black workers were $986, compared with $1,231 for white workers. These income gaps leave less room to save, make it harder to absorb financial shocks, and reduce the likelihood that Black workers can build meaningful retirement balances, according to the Joint Center. Citing a 2024 Federal Reserve report, the Joint Center notes that among workers, only 26 percent of Blacks said their retirement savings were on track, compared with 41 percent of whites. Additionally, 68 percent of white working adults had a tax-preferred retirement account, with 52 percent of Black workers having the same. Further, Black workers ages 51 to 64 are the least likely among all racial and ethnic groups to hold retirement accounts. When they do, their median balance is well below that of similarly aged white adults at every income level. Social Security benefits are a clear depiction of the life-long racial income disparities Blacks and other people of color experience. Benefit levels are determined by a formula that factors in the number of years worked and each

FOUNDED May 11, 1966

FOUNDER/EDITOR Ed Clayton Immortalis Memoria

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Immortalis Memoria The Atlanta Voice honors the life of J. Lowell Ware. ––– PUBLISHER Janis Ware PRESIDENT/ GENERAL MANAGER James A. Washington 2018-2024 COO Richard Dunn rdunn@theatlantavoice.com CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER Jazmine Brazier jbrazier@theatlantavoice.com EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING / EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER Chia Suggs csuggs@theatlantavoice.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Donnell Suggs editor@theatlantavoice.com GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTERS Laura Nwogu lnwogu@theatlantavoice.com Noah Washington nwashington@theatlantavoice.com

worker’s 35 highest paying years of income to determine monthly payments. The median monthly Social Security benefit in 2024 for Black men age 60 and older was $1,685, compared with $2,179 for white men. For Black women, the projected median monthly benefit was $1,557, compared with $1,692 for white women. Annualized, those amounts equal $20,220 for Black men and $18,684 for Black women, compared with $26,148 for white men and $20,304 for white women. Most importantly, by 2050 the Social Security Administration projects that Black wealth ($78,579) will be four times lower than that of whites ($320,337). In the meantime, families still need a place to live. Owning a home is not just the single largest bill for most families; it also remains the cornerstone to building intergenerational wealth. Homeownership is also still out of reach for most Black families. Last year only 44.7 percent of Blacks were homeowners, compared to 74.6 percent for white households, states the Joint Center. That means more than half of Black America remain renters, spending $1,667 or more each

month for a median-priced apartment in one of the 50 largest metro markets in the country, according to Realtor.com. These prices offer no assurance on when or how much the next rental increase will be. Paying nearly $1,700 every month for rent may seem high; but it is lower than the June 2026 median monthly mortgage payment of $2,633 for a home purchased for $398,300 with an interest rate of 6.5 percent for 30 years. Yet another key factor in racial wealth disparities is the disproportionate debt incurred by Black families to pay for college. Although most people never anticipated owing student loans in their mature years, many do. Consumers aged 60 and older also had on average $40,969 in student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative. These and other financial factors contributing to tarnished retirement years is aptly summarized by the Joint Center: “Retirement is not just about what happens at the end of a person’s working life. It is shaped by whether households had the opportunity to build wealth, withstand shocks, and pass resources across generations long before retirement begins.”

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theatlantavoice.com • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • Page 5

Life

Spike Lee’s School Daze Sparks Dialogue at Emory’s Series

ew films have had as much impact on the Black educational system as Spike Lee’s seminal film, “School Daze”. Now, forty years after Spike Lee’s debut feature, “She’s Gotta Have It,” Emory University is taking a fresh look at the filmmaker’s work and its lasting hold on American culture through a semester-long screening series. Beretta Smith-Shomade, a film and media professor at Emory, is curating “40 Years of Brother Spike Lee,” a free public Cinematheque series running Sept. 2 through Dec. 9. The series revisits Lee’s films and explores themes including race, class, gender, policing, and Black life in America, with visiting film scholars joining screenings for audience discussions throughout the run. Smith-Shomade said the 40th anniversary of “She’s Gotta Have It,” which premiered in August 1986, was the spark for the series, but her relationship to Lee’s catalog goes back further. “I’ve taught classes around Spike Lee’s work since 2000,” Smith-Shomade said. “This opportunity, since we had the Cinematheque, it was an opportunity

Kyme Hersi-Sallid returned to Atlanta as Emory’s free Spike Lee screening series explored School Daze, colorism, Black college life and HBCU funding now. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

to say, okay, it’s time to really think about his work.” The Sept. 9 screening of “School Daze” was shown in its original intended format of 35MM. Lee’s 1988 musical set at

Beretta Smith-Shomade, a film and media professor at Emory, is curating “40 Years of Brother Spike Lee,” a free public Cinematheque series running Sept. 2 through Dec. 9. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

the fictional Mission College drew actor Kyme Hersi-Sallid, who played Rachel in the film, to Emory for a post-screening conversation and audience talkback with Smith-Shomade. “School Daze” hit theaters Feb. 12, 1988, following the commercial success of “She’s Gotta Have It.” Lee modeled Mission College on his alma mater, Morehouse College, and the surrounding Atlanta University Center schools. Set during a fictional homecoming week, the film uses its musical numbers to dig into colorism, class stratification, and pledging inside Black Greek life at a historically Black college. The production almost did not happen. Island Pictures, which had backed “She’s Gotta Have It,” passed on “School Daze” over its budget and a script the studio considered too provocative, Smith-Shomade said. Lee found a new backer within three days and secured a $6 million budget. The film went on to gross roughly $40 million domestically, making it the one Atlanta-set film in Lee’s catalog. Hersi-Sallid, reflecting on the film decades later, said colorism, one of its central themes, has only

grown more global. “Colorism still exists, not just within the Black community, but all around the world,” Hersi-Sallid said. She traced the roots to “colonialism and pseudo-science from the 1700s and 1800s” that promoted the idea “that white is better,” pointing to the prevalence of skin-bleaching products in Africa and Asia as evidence that the issue persists. The film also stages a pointed debate among Mission College’s administration between the fictional Mission College President McPherson (played by Joe Seneca) and Cedar Cloud (played by Art Evans), chairman of the board of trustees at Mission College over who should bear the cost of sustaining historically Black institutions, weighing philanthropic donors and federal support against the community’s own investment, a storyline that echoes present-day debates over HBCU funding. Smith-Shomade said Lee’s willingness to tell Black stories without a white character or a white savior narrative, atypical for the

era, was part of what has kept the film relevant. “There’s still things that he’s talking about. There’s still things that he’s showing that are critical, that are central to our living, our choices, our opportunities, or lack thereof, that need to be talked about,” Smith-Shomade said of Lee’s body of work broadly. Making a musical added its own production demands. Hersi-Sallid recalled injuring her knee during dance rehearsals for the film’s hair salon show number and finishing the shoot in a knee brace, a detail that costume designer Ruth E. Carter worked into the film by giving her and co-star Tisha Campbell matching knee pads. For Hersi-Sallid, the film’s staying power shows up off-screen as much as on it. “There are still people from then till now,” she said. “There are women who come up to me in the airport, or certain places, and go, ‘Oh, I went to college because of you.’ Black women who went to HBCUs, because I saw you in that film, I realized it was possible for me.”

Lee’s 1988 musical set at the fictional Mission College drew actor Kyme Hersi-Sallid, who played Rachel in the film, to Emory for a post-screening conversation and audience talkback with Smith-Shomade. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

Page 6 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

Entertainment

Actor Dayo Okeniyi on Season 2 of “Dark Matter” By NOAH WASHINGTON

ayo Okeniyi set a joke, then he got down to business: talking through what it’s like to play a character who splinters into a dozen different men across the multiverse. Okeniyi stars as Leighton Vance in “Dark Matter,” Apple TV’s sci-fi thriller based on Blake Crouch’s novel. Season two premiered Aug. 28 and releases new episodes weekly through the Oct. 30 finale. “It feels great. It feels amazing,” Okeniyi said of the show’s return, more than two years after its first season. “Dark Matter is just a big show. It’s a lot of moving parts, and it took a while to come back for our sophomore season, but it’s for a reason. We really put a lot into the season, so I’m very happy.” The show’s premise, drawn from Crouch’s novel, follows physicist Jason Dessen through a box that opens doors to infinite versions of his own life. For Okeniyi, that means playing multiple variants of Leighton, each shaped by what the show calls a “nexus point,” the moment in the timeline where that version’s path diverged. “The older your nexus point is, the more different your characters are,” Okeniyi said. “Leighton is determined by who raised him. If it’s his grandfather, you get the stoic, I call it the Sidney Poitier Leighton. If he were raised by his absent rich parents, you get the bad boy Leighton.” One variant introduced this season gives Leighton a spiritual dimension rooted in

Yoruba tradition, a decision Okeniyi said grew out of conversations with Crouch and his wife, Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry, as they built out season two. “They wanted nuance in the Black experience, especially here in America,” Okeniyi said. “It’s like, OK, what if he’s not just African American? What if there was an element of being an African in America in that character? His father can’t be African because the last name is Vance, so what if his mother was Nigerian?” That choice opened the door to giving the character an Orisha background, Okeniyi said, tying into Leighton’s addictive personality. “What if he’s a mystical teacher? What if he’s an Orisha babalawo of some sort?” Okeniyi said. “What if you have a Leighton who almost worships the box and treats the box almost like an Orisha god? That’s where it started to form from.” Okeniyi, who is Nigerian, said the character’s isolation resonated with him beyond the writers’ room. Leighton, he said, inherited his grandfather’s company and is driven to build a legacy that outgrows the shadow he was raised in, a hunger Okeniyi tied to his own experience as the child of Nigerian immigrants. “As Nigerian immigrants, our parents made so many sacrifices for us to be where we are today,” Okeniyi said. “I can understand the mentality of, I can’t fail. Think about all the sacrifices our folks went through for us to be where we are. It’s like, I must win. But you have to be very careful not to be in a position where you start cutting corners. I kind of relate with Leighton on that level for sure.”

“As Nigerian immigrants, our parents made so many sacrifices for us to be where we are today,” Okeniyi said. “I can understand the mentality of, I can’t fail. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

Dayo Okeniyi discusses playing multiple Leighton Vances in “Dark Matter” Season 2, including a variant shaped by Yoruba tradition and the character’s isolation. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

A monologue in the season’s first episode, written by Ben-Zekry, leaned into that isolation directly, Okeniyi said. “I think it just spoke to the isolation of this character,” he said. “He’s an African in America. He’s in the 1%, in a world that’s primarily white, let’s just be real, and he’s pretty isolated because of that. And then when he tries to relate to the everyday Black guy on the corner, he can’t speak with their kind of colloquialisms, he can’t match their energy, and so he’s ostracized from that world as well.” Okeniyi declined to say how many versions of Leighton he plays before the season ends, but said returning for a season two built entirely from Crouch’s own imagination, rather than adapted from the novel, was part of the appeal. “You’re really getting the creator’s story, the creator’s unfiltered idea of where these characters all go,” he said. “There isn’t an aspect of human condition I don’t play on the show, from grief to excitement to joy to wrath to anger to jealousy and envy. I mean, you get everything.” Asked about the broader conversation around Black actors’ representation in film and television, Okeniyi pointed to genre work, science fiction in particular, as a space that’s still opening up. “There isn’t any type of role or any type of genre that we’re not welcome in,” he said. “These are not spaces we particularly saw

ourselves in, in past decades. Other than Lando Calrissian, or Uhura in Star Trek, there’s not really a lot of Black folks running around in big sci-fi. I think we deserve to be in these spaces. What is an African Orisha worshiper gonna do with the box? That’s just something we’ve never seen.” Okeniyi is coming up on 15 years in the industry, and every part claimed, also comes with roles not taken, but to Okeniyi it is all in service of what could be the best version of the story. “I just kind of feel like that’s how I serve the story,” he said. “If you can find somebody who’s available and ready and talented and ready to serve your story, they’re meant to get the part. My career is littered with that, but you kind of have to just learn to live with it and be grateful for what you do have.” Okeniyi said he believes “Dark Matter” has crossover appeal beyond science fiction fans. “Anybody in this world can understand what it means to sit down and think, what if I had done that, what if I had made that other choice in life,” he said. “But then on the fun level, if you love great science fiction, if you love hard science fiction, if you love spectacle, our show has spectacle, but it also has a really human-driven story.” New episodes of “Dark Matter” release Fridays exclusively on Apple TV.

theatlantavoice.com • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • Page 7

Sports

Watts happening: Zachary Watts is building his own legacy By TAROHN FINLEY Report for America Corp

efore Carrollton’s Zachary Watts had 34 offers and was ranked as the top running back in the 2029 class, he played offensive and defensive line for his flag football team. Watts’ father, Latavius, was in the military at the time and stationed in Hawaii. Although he was away for the first half of Watts’ first football season, one thing quickly stood out to him when he finally saw his son play. “I’m like, man, he’s really, really fast,” Latavius said. “It just stood out how fast and how aggressive he was to the ball.” Even at a young age, Latavius had high expectations for his son. For the Watts family—or the “Watts Gang,” as they call themselves—football is a rite of passage. “We got another boy in the family, so he’s going to do what the rest of the men do,” Latavius said. “Our family is made up of a bunch of males, and the young males play sports and compete against each other.” Watts’ grandfather, Chris Shelling, played football at Auburn and professionally before transitioning into coaching. His great-uncle Frank played defensive end at Georgia, while Latavius played defensive back at Morehouse. Despite being the youngest, Watts’ family members have also served as some of his biggest competitors. Watts constantly competed against his older cousins A.J. Watts, Antonio Watts, Antwone Watts, and Antavius Watts, who have each competed or are still competing at the collegiate level. That competition has driven Watts to become the best player in his family.

“He don’t compete with the outside world,” Latavius said. “He always tells you he wants to be the best Watts. We work together to compete against each other and push each other to be the best, and very supportive of each other.” With his family behind him, Latavius believes Watts has everything he needs to reach his potential. “He has the support system and the ability to be the best,” Latavius said. “If he continues to work the way he’s working, and the support system is always going to be here for him, he can accomplish anything.” One of the people in Watts’ support system is former Troy running back and running back consultant Marquell Beckwith. Beckwith first came across Watts when he was playing for the RareBreeds youth team. Beckwith has helped numerous running backs from Georgia reach the college and

Despite being the youngest, Watts’ family members have also served as some of his biggest competitors. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/ The Atlanta Voice

professional levels, but Watts immediately stood out. Beckwith found Watts on YouTube while watching footage from the Youth National Championship. Watts’ team was backed up near its own goal line after its defense had made a goalline stop. Despite the field position, the

Carrollton High School running backs coach Darrell Bridges (left with sunglasses) talks to Watts (14) and his teammates during practice. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/ The Atlanta Voice

Watts (pictured with his teammates during a recent practice, second from right) is part of a football-loving family. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

offense gave Watts the ball on a pitch. Beckwith initially feared the worst. “I’m like, man, what is their coach doing? The kid is about to get a safety,” Beckwith said. “He runs the ball to the right and was about to run out of bounds in the end zone before he switched fields, sticks his foot in the ground, cuts back, switches the ball, he’s in the end zone seven yards and runs a 107yard touchdown.” After seeing the play, Beckwith went searching for the running back who had just made the spectacular play. The YouTube comment section was filled with the name “14K Watts,” a nickname given to Watts because of the No. 14 jersey he wore, which held significance within the Watts family. “My big cousin used to go by 32,000,” Watts said. “I wore 14 since I was the little cousin, so they gave me the 14K. I was better than him, so mine kind of stuck,” Watts joked. When Beckwith found Watts on Instagram, he already had a sizable social media following. After finding Watts’ mother’s Instagram page, Beckwith reached out to express his interest in training her son. Hours later, Latavius connected with Beckwith, and he has been training Watts ever since. Beckwith worked with Watts on everything from pad level, particularly because of his height as a running back, to patience as a runner. But Watts was already advanced for his age. His speed was one of the biggest things that stood out, but Beckwith also noticed how quickly Watts absorbed coaching. He stayed engaged during workouts and applied the techniques he learned in training to his games. Watts trained alongside older running backs such as Auburn’s Jeremiah Cobb, Tulsa’s Damari Alston, Birmingham Stallions running back C.J. Marable and Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams. He also worked with Kevin Hartsfield, the top running back in the 2028 class. Watts has already drawn comparisons to explosive running backs such as former

See WATTS on page 10

Page 8 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

Arts

High Museum celebrates 100 years with new Nigerian galleries, Jacob Lawrence acquisition By NOAH WASHINGTON

he High Museum of Art turns 100 on Oct. 18, marking a century since it opened as the High Museum and School of Art on Peachtree Street. The museum, now roughly three times its original size, will spend the anniversary year unveiling new galleries, new acquisitions, and a citywide celebration built around the milestone. Museum Director Randall Suffolk, who arrived in 2015, has spent the past decade pushing the institution toward a broader Atlanta audience. “How do we strive to be essential in the community,” Suffolk has said of that effort. The numbers back up the shift. Museum data show 30% of visitors now come from households earning less than $70,000 a year, while 50% come from households earning more than that. Forty percent of visitors have less than a bachelor’s degree, 75% are under 55, and 52% are under 35. BIPOC attendance has climbed from 15% when Suffolk arrived in 2015 to 55% last year, according to museum figures. Suffolk said the change becomes clear. “If you think about where we are today in comparison to the last

Lauren Tate Baeza (above) is the Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art at the High Museum of Art. Photo by Noah Washington/ The Atlanta Voice

Night (And then they go to sleep), 1943, watercolor, gouache, and tempera on paper. Photo by Noah Washington/ The Atlanta Voice

decade,” she quipped. A centerpiece of the anniversary is a reinstalled African art wing anchored by an expanded focus on Nigerian art, opening Oct. 16, two days before the museum’s centennial block party. “The High has been focused on the distinctions that make our collection special on the curatorial front,” said Lauren Tate Baeza, the Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art at the High Museum of Art. As part of centennial fundraising, the museum built out an area it was “already doing very well,” she said: collecting Nigerian art. When Tate Baeza took the post about six years ago, she found that most of the museum’s African art collection came from two countries, Nigeria and Congo. Nigeria stood out, she said, in part because of Atlanta’s own ties to the country. Lagos is a sister city to Atlanta, and the city hosts one of only two Nigerian consulates in the United States, the other in New York. Delta Air Lines runs nonstop flights between Atlanta and Lagos, and the region is home to elected officials born in Nigeria and the largest Nigerian-born community in the Southeast. “It was also an opportunity for us to connect with the community,” Tate Baeza said. The new Nigeria Galleries are the last of a series of centennial-tied reinstallations, following a reworked American art

wing that reopened earlier this year. The centennial acquisitions extend beyond Nigerian modernism to include a new addition tied to Jacob Lawrence, the influential 20th-century painter known for chronicling Black life in Harlem. Discussing the work, Anni Pullagura, the Margaret and Terry Stent Associate Curator of American Art, pointed to Lawrence’s 1943 series of 30 paintings depicting Harlem, the neighborhood where he grew up and trained as an artist. The series came after Lawrence spent several years traveling through the

American South and returned to Harlem newly focused on “the responsibilities that an artist had to depict the social realities of the world around him,” Pullagura said, adding that the work aimed to show “a critical honesty” around the experiences of Black modern life. Looking ahead, the museum’s centennial celebration will run through spring 2027. Chief Communications Officer Natalie Johnson said the anniversary includes more than 200 new acquisitions funded specifically for the occasion,

spanning queer photography, quilts by African American women largely based in the Southeast, and Nigerian modernism. “It was something that was really about making an impact on the collection at this really monumental moment,” Johnson said. The museum is also releasing “High 100,” a book surveying 100 objects from its collection across its full history, due in the museum shop this October. The Oct. 18 block party will close Peachtree Street between 15th and 16th streets from noon to 5 p.m., with music, food, and citywide partners, plus a talk on the museum’s history from curator Julia Forbes in Hill Auditorium. Additional programming includes a recipe revival night built around decades of fundraising cookbooks, a Halloween event called “A Haunting at 100,” and a cocktail event in November. Atlanta Public Schools will receive free admission through the centennial year. The exhibition calendar carries the anniversary into 2027, with “Martin Puryear: Nexus” opening Sept. 25, followed by “Photography as a Way of Life” on Oct. 9, and, next year, “Basquiat, the Blue Ribbon Paintings, and the Art of Reproduction” and “Doris Derby: A Civil Rights Journey.” The museum is also launching a new brand identity alongside the celebration, part of an effort to give the High what Johnson called “a voice, look and vision worthy of its next 100 years.” “When it all comes together,” Johnson said, “the idea is that the High feels alive, it feels expansive, and it feels like a cultural leader in dialogue.”

One of the exhibits coming to the High Museum is an exhibit dedicated to the works of Doris Derby. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice

theatlantavoice.com • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • Page 9

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Page 10 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

Sports

Braves head into big weekend series with Phillies, need pitching to step up By DONNELL SUGGS

he final time the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies meet during the 2026 regular season will take place this weekend. The threegame weekend series will have a lot at stake, preferably the National League East title and a bye during the first round of the postseason. The Braves and Phillies will enter the series coming off a split of the four-game Labor Day weekend series. All four games were played in Philadelphia, and each felt like it was a playoff game. As it currently stands, the Phillies starting rotation is better than the Braves’ rotation. See the complete-game, lights-out performance from lefthander Jesus Luzardo last Sunday in Philadelphia (two hits, a walk, and 12 strikeouts). On Tuesday night at Truist Park, the Braves were back in action with another team headed to the postseason, the Tampa Bay Rays. That three-game series and the rest of the regular season is going to be played without Braves starting

WATTS Continued from page 7 Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson, Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. “I’ve been calling him the No. 1 running back in the nation two or three years ago when I was seeing the things he does,” Beckwith said. “Zach is different. Zach is special.” By the time Watts arrived at Carver High School, he was ready. The Watts family had a long history of success at Carver, much of it tied to the football program. “Out of all the championships that Carver High School has won, there has always been a Watts involved in the program,” Latavius said. Latavius was part of Carver’s first state championship team, where he wore the No. 14 jersey. Watts’ cousin, Mississippi State safety Antavius Watts, was part of the team that won the 2024 GHSA Class 2A state championship before Watts joined the program the following year. Another cousin, A.J., helped

Ray Kerr (above) has come out of the bullpen for the Braves and has been lights out. Kerr went 1.1 innings on Wednesday and didn’t give up a run. Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr/Atlanta Braves

pitcher Bryce Elder. Elder underwent a successful knee surgery earlier this week and isn’t expected back for nearly a month. That could be in time for

Carver win a state championship in basketball in 2019. Despite splitting carries with senior running backs Jakobe Caslin and Kelston Tarver, Watts made the most of his opportunities. He finished the season with 1,893 all-purpose yards, averaged 9.7 yards per carry and scored 18 total touchdowns while also showcasing his ability as a pass catcher and returner. Watts capped the season with a victory over Hapeville Charter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, helping Carver win its second consecutive GHSA Class 2A state championship alongside Antavius. His success during his freshman season extended beyond football. Watts broke Carver’s 200-meter record with a time of 21.63 seconds and owns the school’s second-fastest 100-meter time at 10.72 seconds. Watts also starred on Carver’s baseball team. Latavius originally wanted his son to play baseball, which he said Watts got from his grandfather, and carve out his own path in the sport. “I think Zach is a better baseball player than football player,”

the postseason. In 26 starts this season, Elder went 8-8 with a 4.11 ERA, 121 strikeouts in 149 innings. Tuesday night saw AJ SmithShawver back on the mound for

Atlanta. It was a rough night for both Smith-Shawver and the Braves following a 7-1 loss. Smith-Shawver would leave the game in the fourth inning after giving up four runs, and after the game, dismissed any thoughts of him not being at his best. He said it was just a control issue on this particular night. After the game, Braves manager Walt Weiss said, “Not a whole lot to talk about there. “Wasn’t a good one.” Weiss wasn’t talking about SmithShawver, but he could have been. Reynaldo Lopez was back in the rotation this week. Lopez had made 11 starts this season, with his most recent start being on July 26 in Baltimore. He won that start after going 5.2 innings and striking out six Orioles without giving up an earned run. Lopez was injured before his next start and spent some time in Gwinnett before returning to Truist Park on Wednesday. Against Tampa Bay, Lopez wasn’t any better than Smith-Shawver. Through five innings on Wednesday night, he gave up six earned runs in a myriad of ways. The Rays got baserunners on with singles

In his first game, he had seven touches for 116 yards and four touchdowns in Carrollton’s 55-7 victory over Rome High School. Photo by Tabius H. McCoy/ The Atlanta Voice

Latavius said, laughing. It was during that state championship game that Carrollton High School football coach Joey King first heard about Watts. “He kept breaking these long runs and they kept calling his name out,” King said. King would soon learn that Watts was transferring to Carrollton and that his family would

move with him after Latavius accepted a teaching position at the high school. Despite the move, Beckwith believed Watts’ schematic fit at Carrollton would be seamless. Beckwith had previously trained former Carrollton running backs Bryce Hicks and Cam Wood, and he liked the idea of Watts being paired with C.J. Cypher, the top

and walks, while advancing on the basepaths with steals and a balk. Lopez tried to pick Chandler Simpson off three times and registered a balk after being unsuccessful. Weiss came out of the Braves’ dugout with one on and two outs to pull Lopez from the game. Ray Kerr, a breath of fresh air out of the already strong Braves bullpen, was on in relief. Kerr had only given up four hits and two earned runs in 10 innings before Wednesday night. He left the game with a line of 1.1 innings pitched with no earned runs. Martin Perez started Thursday’s game. Neither Smith-Shawver, Lopez, or Perez will start against the Phillies this weekend, but both men will be a part of a postseason rotation. As it currently stands, the Braves will need more than just former Cy Young award winner Chris Sale (14-9 with a 2.10 ERA in 25 starts this season), whose last two wins came against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies, to make it across the finish line in October. Braves starters will have to step up.

quarterback in the 2029 class and a Miami commit. Watts quickly made an impact in a Carrollton uniform. In his first game, he had seven touches for 116 yards and four touchdowns in Carrollton’s 55-7 victory over Rome High School. He followed that performance with four more touchdowns and 186 total yards. The numbers are impressive, but for Watts, they are another chapter in a football journey that began when he was lining up on both sides of the ball in flag football. His rise has been fueled by a family that has turned competition into tradition, coaches who recognized his potential early and a work ethic that has allowed him to keep progressing. Now, at Carrollton, Watts has another opportunity to build on everything that came before him. The offers, rankings and attention have made Watts one of the most recognizable players in the 2029 class. But inside the Watts Gang, the standard remains much simpler. He wants to be the best Watts.

Page 11 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • www.theatlantavoice.com

SENIORS SENIOR (62+) Spacious 1-Bedroom Affordable! Rent Based on Annual Income Amenities, Great Location, and Convenient to Marta Please call for detailed information

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REQUEST FOR BID

FULTON COUNTY ADVERTISEMENT FOR BID Sealed Bid for 26ITB1645977A-JWT Large Water Meter Installation for State, Superior & Magistrate Courts will be accepted by the Fulton County Department of Purchasing & Contract Compliance, online via Bidnet Direct https://www.bidnetdirect.com/ georgia/fultoncounty.gov on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 11:00 A.M. local (Eastern) standard time.

FULTON COUNTY ADVERTISEMENT FOR RFP Sealed RFP Solicitation for 26RFP082426K-DB O&M Services for Camp Creek Managed Assets for the Public Works Department will be accepted by the Fulton County Department of Purchasing & Contract Compliance, online via Bidnet Direct, https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/ fultoncounty. All proposals must be submitted no later than Thursday, October 15, 2026. at 11:00 a.m. local (Eastern) time. Proposals names will be publicly read at 11:05 a.m. on the stated due date, via Zoom. See link noted in the Solicitation Document of Section 3. Bid Bond: N/A

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Proposers’ names will be publicly read at 11:05 A.M. local time; virtually, via a zoom web Conference on the stated due date. Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92871869214

LEGAL NOTICE

Meeting ID: 928 7186 9214 One tap mobile +14702509358,,92871869214# US (Atlanta) +14703812552,,92871869214# US (Atlanta)

LEGAL NOTICE Dr. Chandace White is no longer with CenterWell Stone Mountain as of September 18, 2026. Current patients will automatically be transferred to another provider at the center. If you are a patient and you choose not to continue care at CenterWell Stone Mountain, you can obtain your medical records by calling 404-9050100.

Find the right person for the job.

SUMMONS IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DISTRICT OF ST. CROIX

SCOPE OF WORK: Fulton County, Georgia (“County”) is seeking a qualified contractor with substantial knowledge and experience to provide Large Water Meter Installation Services. FEE: N/A

MILL HARBOUR CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, v. DOUGLAS HEMBREE, Defendant.

TERM OF CONTRACT: One (1) Year, with two (2) one (1) year renewal options. If you have any questions regarding this project please contact Janelle Tanner, APA, MBA, CPPB at404-612-7969 or janelle.tanner@ fultoncountyga.gov.

CASE NUMBER: SX-2026CV-00108

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

ACTION: DEBT AND FORECLOSURE TO: Douglas Hembree Address: 195-14 th Street, N.E., Unit 1701, Atlanta, GA 30309 #1707 Within the time limited by law (see note below) you are hereby required to appear before this Court and answer to a complaint filed against you in this action. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment by default will be taken against you as demanded in the complaint.

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Witness my hand and the seal of this Court on this February 25, 2026. /s/ Scot F. McChain Attorney for Plaintiff

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General Instructions: This document and supporting documents can be downloaded on the BidNet Website https://www.bidnetdirect.com/ georgia/fultoncounty Fee: N/A Contract Term: The initial term of the O&M Contract shall be five (5) years beginning on the Commencement Date, established with the issuance of a Notice to Proceed, and ending on the fifth anniversary of the Commencement date, with one (1), five (5) year renewal option upon approval of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners; unless earlier terminated as provided for in the O&M Contract. The O&M Contract may be renewed by the County, at its sole discretion, under the same terms and conditions of the original Contract. The County may exercise its option to renew the O&M Contract by delivering written notice of the intent to renew to the Contractor 180 days prior to the expiration date of the initial five (5) year term of the Contract. PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held in person to provide proponents(s) with information regarding this project and to address any questions. Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM Location: South Fulton Maintenance & Operation Center, 7472 Cochran Road, College Park, GA 30349. 1.7 FACILITY TOUR The County will conduct individual Facility Tours for each interested firm of the Water Reclamation Facilities. The Facility Tours are mandatory. Details about the facility tour date(s) and time(s) are provided below. Contact Darlene Banks via email at darlene.banks@fultoncountyga.gov to schedule a time. Visitors showing up outside of these times will be turned away. Those participating in site visits will need to provide their own transportation to each location. All visitors must be accompanied to and through the facilities. Locations Camp Creek WRF Pump Stations

Tamara Charles Clerk of the Court NOTE: The defendant, if served personally, is required to file his answer or other defense with the Clerk of the Court, and to serve a copy thereof upon the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty-one (21) days after service of this summons, excluding the date of the service. The defendant, if served by publication or by personal service outside of the jurisdiction, is required to file his answer or other defense with the Clerk of the Court, and to serve a copy thereof upon the attorney for the plaintiff within thirty (30) days after the completion of the period of publication or personal service outside of the jurisdiction.

Scope of Work: Fulton County, Georgia “County” is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide complete operation and maintenance for Fulton County facilities consisting of Water Reclamation Facilities (WRF) and Pumping Stations serving South Fulton County. Services will be twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week, and fifty-two (52) weeks per year. The Contractor shall provide all labor, materials, supplies, chemicals, fuel, vehicles, services, administration, reporting, monitoring, and other necessary items or services. The Contractor shall be required to assume full responsibility for the safe and efficient operation and maintenance of the facilities in compliance with all applicable Federal and State Laws and County rules and regulations. These requirements are further discussed in more detail throughout the RFP and contract.

Date and Times September 15, 2026 September 17, 2026

All of these facilities are active wastewater facilities. The Visitors shall be prepared with appropriate PPE (safety shoes, hard hats, protective eyewear and safety vest. If you have any questions regarding this project please contact Darlene A. Banks, CAPA, (404)612-7879 or by e-mail at darlene.banks@ fultoncountyga.gov Fulton County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids and to waive technicalities.

OPPORTUNITIES Software Quality Assurance Analysts & Testers (Atlanta, GA) Design, develop, validate, and execute manual and automated test plans and scripts to verify software functionality and compliance. Reqs: Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in any scientific discipline, or a combination

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Page 12 • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2026 • theatlantavoice.com

“I am able to give my teachers the largest pay increase that we’ve been able to give in my 10 years here.” Dr. Trent North, Superintendent, Douglas County School System

Learn more at goo.gle/ga-impact