Atlanta GA

Podcast recommendation, no. 2: Archive Atlanta.

I resisted podcasts for an unreasonably long time, as I better absorb information by reading rather than hearing. A few years ago though, when my father’s illness necessitated more frequent seven-hour drives between Wilson and Atlanta, I got with the times with the help of Victoria Lamos’ Archive Atlanta. (Which is — for my money — the gold standard in local history podcasts.)

A recent episode about Blandtown, a historic African-American community in what is now Atlanta, encapsulated everything there is to love about Archive Atlanta and made me wish I had the time, resources, and know-how to produce a Black Wide-Awake podcast. Maybe in time….

Anyway, nothing to do with Wilson, but I highly recommend this “weekly history podcast about the people, places, and events that shaped the city of Atlanta.” Find it wherever you listed to podcasts.

Lane Street Project: the Gilbert Memorial Cemetery.

As noted here, there is no end to the number of desecrated African-American cemeteries across this country. Ten or so years ago, I posted to my Tumblr account (scuffalong.tumblr.com, if you’re interested) a photo I took in a bizarre “cemetery” not far from where I live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yesterday, I stumbled on a recent YouTube short that explores Gilbert Memorial a little further. There are echoes of Vick Cemetery in what happened to Gilbert — the themes and trajectories of all these sacred spaces are depressingly familiar.

My thanks to Doug Loggins for sharing Gilbert’s story.