UATL launches 404ward series, celebrating Atlantans influencing the future of Black culture

Series’ first feature profiles award-winning Atlanta bartender Keyatta Mincey Parker

(AJC)

Orange Crush delivers ‘vibe you want’ at annual HBCU beach bash

Orange Crush, a notoriously rowdy spring break party held at a popular Georgia beach, starts new era as a sanctioned music festival.

Atlanta's Sip of Paradise Garden: Where bartending and urban farming collide

A Sip of Paradise Garden allows patrons to harvest herbs for cocktail crafting and recharge in nature. Credits: AJC | @asipofparadisegarden / Instagram

Keyatta Mincey Parker is planting seeds of community for Atlanta bartenders

Miss Spelman Pageant 2025 serves looks, authenticity and Black girl magic

The Miss Spelman college pageant is more than just a crown for these HBCU women. They must lay out their visions for authentic Black female leadership.

The LineUp

FRI

SAT

Amanda Williams: We Say What Black This Is

February 7 – May 24, 2025

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

350 Spelman Ln, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30314, USA

Description

We Say What Black This Is celebrates the diversity, resilience and depth of Blackness while challenging simplistic definitions of Black identity. The exhibition features works from Williams' series What Black is this, You Say?, created in response to the ‘Blackout Tuesday’ social media moment in 2020. The exhibit will include a new abstract painting by Williams and student-written didactic labels.

Upcoming Events

APR

Mielle Organics CEO Book Release

451 Lee Street Southwest #Unit B Atlanta, GA 30310

MAY

Blavity Fest

1020 White St. SW, Atlanta, GA. 30310, USA

JUN

Poetry vs. Hip Hop: Father's Day Edition

PONCE CITY MARKET, 650 North Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30308

JUL

The Happy Black Parent 4th Annual Children's Book Festival

352 University Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA

JUL

Black Writers Weekend 2025

101 Auburn Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30303

Full List

Food & Entertainment

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel joins Diddy’s criminal defense team

Sean “Diddy” Combs has added Young Thug's Atlanta attorney Brian Steel to his legal team, a month before his trial begins.

Lil Nas X ‘getting better’ after hospitalization for partial facial paralysis

The Atlanta rapper shared on social media this week that he could not move the left side of his face.

Atlanta chef Jernard Wells premieres Black travel show on TV One

Metro Atlanta-based chef and cookbook author premieres Black food and travel show on TV One on Thursday

PHOTOS: Toylanta calls toy and action figure fans and collectors

Toylanta, a toy and festival convention, drew kids, the young at heart and collectors to Gas South Convention Center outside of Atlanta.

Fashion

Rapper Trinidad James brings ‘Hommewrk’ apparel shop to Underground Atlanta

The ‘All Gold Everything’ rapper opens retail space in the former home of an Underground Atlanta sneaker shop where he worked.

Atlanta influencers balance demands of content creation with 9-to-5s

Juggling multiple jobs, while challenging, has provided a sense of stability amid uncertainty about the future of platforms like TiKTok.

Atlanta-based bodysuit line LUSCA disrupts women’s fashion through comfort

Attorney Toby Morgan tells the story of how she created her innovative, Atlanta-based apparel brand.

Black entrepreneurs sound the alarm on DEI cuts. Who really pays the price?

As DEI policies disappear from major brands, Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and communities are feeling the impact, especially in Atlanta.

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Our Team

Mike Jordan

Mike Jordan is senior editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Black culture brand, UATL.

Ernie Suggs

Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C.

Christopher A. Daniel

Christopher A. Daniel is a Black Culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Gavin Godfrey

Gavin Godfrey is a senior reporter for the AJC who covers Black culture, entertainment, and diversity.

Najja Parker

Najja Parker is a video and news correspondent for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Black culture team.

Mirtha Donastorg

Mirtha Donastorg is a reporter on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s business team focusing on Black wealth, entrepreneu

DeAsia Paige

DeAsia is a music and culture reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Brooke Leigh Howard

Brooke Leigh Howard is a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Black culture team, UATL.

Life in the Black mecca: We want to hear from you

Is Atlanta truly America’s Black mecca? It’s a question worth asking and we need your feedback.

Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC illustration

Is Atlanta still America’s Black mecca? This native isn’t so sure

A new monthly content series from UATL — the AJC’s Black culture franchise — will shed light on the reality (or mirage) behind this question.

OPINION: Black mecca more a work in progress than a promised land

When you look at Black migration patterns over the past 50 years, Atlanta does appear to be a mecca.

HBCU Homecoming

Credit: Courtesy

Credit: Courtesy of Salamander Resorts / The Family Reunion

UATL