Social Justice
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Boulevard Neighborhood Bands Together at Historic Athens Porchfest
Community members in white ringer tees with the words “Save Historic Legion Pool” and kids in costume filled the streets of the historic Boulevard neighborhood on Sunday. The shirts addressed the “Save Legion Pool” initiative to protect the pool on the University of Georgia’s campus and bring attention to the…
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Voices That Shaped The South: Legacy of Georgia’s Female Writers
Georgia’s women writers — from Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind” to Flannery O’Connor’s haunting Southern Gothic tales — have played a key role in shaping and redefining the landscape of Southern literature. At the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library in Athens, the archives reveal the legacies of these…
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Priceless Connections: Inside Athens’ Really Really Free Market
No admission fees, no vendors shouting deals and no checkout lines on the second Saturday of every month at Reese Pope Park, just a few blocks from downtown Athens. Instead, a colorful sprawl of items cover the benches under the pavilion and hang from the fence — everything from books,…
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From Farm to Food Bank: Watkinsville Couple Brings Fresh Produce to Those in Need
When Dennis Mason and Eleanor Walker, a couple living in Watkinsville, heard there was a need for food at the local food bank, they knew they wanted to do something, even if only on a small scale. It began as a small garden that Mason would tend to in his…
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UGA Doctoral Student Uses Research, Personal Experiences to Create a Safe Space for Black Students
Carlyncia McDowell has two goals with her work: exploring racial inequities within health and educational policies and supporting her students within the University of Georgia’s Institute for African American Studies (IAAS). “I’ll take my time and my moments when I get home, but I know that when I step foot…
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Young Female Farmers Encourages Healthy, Self-Sufficient Farming Practices
Since she was 4 years old, Margo Candelario has been working in the dirt and learning to farm. Coming from three generations of Black women farmers, Candelario started Young Female Farmers on three and a half acres in Bishop, Georgia, approximately 12 miles southwest of Athens, in 2006 as…
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Stretching Barriers: Yogis Making Yoga More Inclusive in Athens
Yoga is often praised as a practice for everyone, but in the U.S., accessibility and representation within the industry remain challenging. Despite its roots in South Asian culture, the modern yoga industry is overwhelmingly white. “People aren’t going to want to come to class or come to the studios if…
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Paradox of Title IX: How It Led to Significant Decrease in Female Coaches
Fifty-two years ago, one signature forever changed the trajectory of women’s sports. Title IX, which President Richard Nixon signed into law on June 23, 1972, was created with the goal of providing equal access and opportunities for all students, regardless of their gender. According to research conducted by Rutgers University,…
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‘Ticket to Ride’ Underscores Importance of Access, Equity to Trail, Green Spaces
Over 200 Athens-area cyclists participated in the Firefly Trail Ticket to Ride event to increase awareness on the importance of improving access to trail and green spaces. The 14th annual bike ride raised nearly $34,000 for the trail’s expansion, emphasizing efforts to connect residents. “The trail is breathing new life…
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Linnentown Descendants Still Wait for Apology from the University of Georgia
ixty years later, Christine Davis Johnson still remembers how the city would send tractors at 1 a.m. to push dirt into walls encircling her house in Linnentown. A historically Black Athens neighborhood, Linnentown was destroyed by urban renewal in the 1960s to make way for University of Georgia dormitories. “The…