Morning, y’all! It’s gonna be another steamy one today, with plenty of humidity, temperatures in the mid-90s and isolated afternoon thunderstorms. Hydrate and hibernate, if you can.
Otherwise, today’s newsletter looks at the latest local school district to take on cellphones, a Braves player ready to crush the home run derby and a handful of new restaurants coming our way. The first lady stopped by Columbus, too.
But first: An iconic Atlanta attraction reopens — and takes a fresh look at its subject.
***
A CLASSIC IN CONTEXT
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Midtown’s Margaret Mitchell House — the building where the Atlanta-born author wrote much of her bestselling but also pretty racist book “Gone With the Wind” — closed at the beginning of the pandemic.
It reopens Wednesday.
And as my AJC colleague Rodney Ho reports, its exhibits are renovated, revamped and … recontextualized.
- Said Sheffield Hale, CEO of the Atlanta History Center: “We started from scratch. We now think it’s close to being right.”
Previously, the museum existed as a sort of hodgepodge collection scattered across three different floors.
Hale said it now presents a single, more cogent story about Mitchell, her 88-year-old book and the slightly younger movie — all of which have drawn renewed scrutiny from folks with modern sensibilities, particularly since the racial justice protests of 2020.
- You may remember the hubbub that followed HBO pulling the film from its library.
Particularly at issue: the way in which both versions of the story present caricatures of enslaved people and a romanticized version of plantation life. Historians say it perpetuates the “Lost Cause” mythology of a benevolent Civil War South.
Those who consulted on the new exhibit or received sneak peeks say it tackles those issues head on.
- Said Matthew Borenstein, an Emory University professor: “They were really thorough. They place Margaret Mitchell in context of her time and explain how she conveyed the mythology of Lost Cause really clearly.”
- Said Stephane Dunn, a Morehouse College professor: “They really paid careful, thoughtful attention to the implications of race. They wanted to own its complicated, controversial history.”
After tomorrow, you can check it out between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Address: 979 Crescent Ave. NE.
Keep scrolling for more news — and check out previous “Gone With the Wind” coverage from the AJC, too.
***
CELLPHONE CRACKDOWN
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DeKalb County joined the flurry of local school districts trying to crack down on classroom cellphone use. The school board approved $400,000 to purchase about 15,000 lockable pouches for students at 10 different schools.
They’ll place their phones in the pouches at the start of each day.
More school news:
- DeKalb also voted to add weapons detection systems at several high school football stadiums.
- Atlanta’s school board voted to officially appoint Bryan Johnson, a former finalist for National Superintendent of the Year, as its next leader.
- Somehow, we’re less than a month away from the new school year. Here’s when your kid goes back.
***
BIZ BULLETINS
» Hyundai wants to dig groundwater wells to support its massive South Georgia plant — and pump 6.6 million gallons of water from them each day.
» Fortune 500 packaging giant WestRock completed its $20 billion merger with Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa. The new company will keep its U.S. headquarters in Sandy Springs.
» Some two months after the FBI raided Atlanta-based property manager Cortland, AJC reporter Matt Reynolds takes a closer look at how the investigation into rental market price-fixing might play out.
***
CAMPAIGNING IN COLUMBUS
First lady Jill Biden rallied military supporters during a Monday night stop in Columbus, calling former President Donald Trump “evil” and declaring her husband “all in” to continue his reelection bid.
As the AJC’s Greg Bluestein writes in a new piece of analysis, the Bidens hope that reframing the race as an us-against-the-world fight will squelch questions about the president’s age and mental capabilities.
Meanwhile …
- The Republican National Committee adjusted its official platform to oppose a national ban on abortions, leaving restrictions up to states.
- Independent presidential candidate Cornel West submitted signatures to try and secure a spot on Georgia ballots.
***
A BIG BRAVES WIN
Sean Murphy’s two-out, ninth-inning home run and Marcell Ozuna’s 11th-inning sacrifice fly gave the Braves a dramatic 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. And before all that …
- Ozuna dropped some big news: He’ll compete in next week’s home run derby. Tune in to ESPN at 8 p.m. on July 15.
- The team also promoted 2021 postseason hero Eddie Rosario to the big league club.
***
RETURN OF THE LOTTO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race nixed its traditional lottery system for getting a number this year. It’ll be back for the 2025 edition of the world’s largest 10K — and early registration is available now.
***
GOOD EATS
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Lots of good restaurants coming down the pike in and around Atlanta. Including these!
- Now open along the Beltline: a new location for East Atlanta favorite Emerald City Bagels.
- Opening this month in Lawrenceville: The Barista & Baker, which is exactly what it sounds like.
- Coming this fall to Roswell: Lebanese-inspired BEY Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar.
***
MORE TO EXPLORE
» Pilot program for Medicare dementia patients, caregivers could be gamechanger
» 18 killed on Georgia’s roads over long holiday weekend
» Opinion: Atlanta’s water woes reveal deeper issues
» Lawsuit says senior Fulton court staffer sexually assaulted colleague
» 1 killed in chain-reaction crash on I-285 in Dunwoody
***
ON THIS DATE
July 9, 1994
Fallout continued from some of the worst flooding in state history, with some 40,000 folks fleeing their homes.
Tropical Storm Alberto stalled out over South Georgia, dumping as much as two feet of rain in a 24-hour span. An estimated 34 people died.
“Adding to the grisly scene are coffins flushed out of graves, bobbing along in a reddish-brown torrent,” the Atlanta papers reported.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
***
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
AJC photographer Arvin Temkar caught a skateboarder rolling with the weather near Krog Street Market.
***
ONE MORE THING
I drive past the Decatur home of the Task Force for Global Health on a pretty regular basis, and always wonder what it does. As it turns out, quite a lot! And for 40 years!
***
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
