April 2019
Features
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The Legends are Atlanta’s new pro football team. But will their league survive to see a second season?
It’s called the Alliance of American Football. It’s billed as a spring developmental league for the NFL and an off-season football and gambling fix. But the history of American football is littered with pro leagues that failed. Will the AAF be different?
Real Queer America author Samantha Allen on why Atlanta is the best city in the country for the LGBTQ community
Samantha Allen, a transgender senior reporter for the Daily Beast covering LGBT issues, has a new book, Real Queer America, where she takes a six-week road trip through multiple red states, showing that red states are full of people who care about equality and LGBT rights. Here, an excerpt from her book and a Q&A about the state of LGBTQ culture in Atlanta and America.
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The Connector
Don’t Miss List: Our top 5 event picks for April
Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Cézanne headline The High Museum’s European Masterworks: The Phillips Collection, Mike Epps stops at State Farm Arena for the Funny As Ish comedy tour, and downtown Decatur is turning into a concert venue to fight poverty for Amplify Decatur Music Festival.
Try as you might, you can’t beat The Freeze
In his sky blue bodysuit, Nigel Talton can outrun almost everyone in “RaceTrac’s Beat The Freeze,” at the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park. We interview the 28-year-old former track star about his history, Olympic dreams, and his time volunteering.
An unexpected discovery in Middle Georgia: Rare-earth elements used in everything from smartphones to X-ray machines
When Georgia State University graduate student Danny Gardner looked into materials mined near the town of Sandersville he discovered an incredibly high concentration of kaolin and valuable rare-earth elements used in cellphones, computers, television screens, fiber optics, and x-ray machines.
An Atlanta theater company is turning Piedmont Park into a giant scavenger hunt
“That’s part of how we look at our mission: not to make theater but use our skills as theater artists to build communities.” With its annual puzzle hunt, Out of Hand Theater treats the map of Atlanta like a gameboard. This year, it’s at Dogwood Festival and called Dogwood Quest.
Atlanta’s LGBTQ powerlifting club builds bonds by pumping iron. Meet the Fantastic Beasts.
In the gym are people of all shapes and sizes, ranging in age from college students to professionals in their 50s and 60s. The gym-goers gently critique each other’s form and effusively cheer each other on. These are the Fantastic Beasts, Atlanta’s only LGBTQ powerlifting club—and, according to the organizers, possibly the first of its kind in the world.
The Bite
How Ammazza, Gu’s Kitchen, and Nina & Rafi stack up against their original locations
In the course of a week, two beloved pizzerias (Ammazza Decatur, Nina & Rafi) and a revered Sichuan spot (Gu’s Kitchen) each made a comeback of sorts. How do they stack up against the originals?
The verdict on 3 newcomers to Atlanta’s dining scene: El Tesoro, Gino’s East, and Soul Crab
Get a bite of outrageously tasty tacos, burritos, and tamales at Edgewood’s El Tesoro, whet your deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza appetite at Gino’s East off of North Highland Avenue, and if you’re in need of comfort food, visit College Park’s Soul Crab.
The rise of Southwest Atlanta’s food scene
Darius Williams’s Greens & Gravy, D Cafe, Pink Cole’s Slutty Vegan, Monday Night Brewing’s Garage, and much more. Southwest Atlanta’s food scene has become a resurgence of black-owned businesses built to cater to the community.
In time for the “Oscars of food,” a one-man play ponders the complex life of James Beard
Upcoming Theatrical Outfit play I Love to Eat, a one-man play about the life of James Beard, who was gay, arrives at a time when the restaurant industry is being scrutinized for failing to meaningfully include women, people of color, and the LGBT community.
Atlanta doesn’t have a Chinatown or a Little Ethiopia. That’s (mostly) a good thing.
Atlanta is a melting pot of different cultures’ cuisines—and that’s a good thing. The problem is the restaurants where I most want to eat are getting farther and farther away. Also: Feedel Bistro—and Ethiopian food—is for everyone.
The Goods
Where to shop in Atlanta now: Colorful scarves from Meredith Anne White, Spanx Activewear, and more great finds
Abstract painter and silk scarf creator Meredith Anne White releases her second collection of scarves, Tipple + Rose Tea Parlor and Apothecary’s new skincare products, and another reason to “flash your Spanx”: a new activewear collection for this spring.
Atlanta Ballet dancer Jessica He on how to keep your body—and mind—fit
Atlanta Ballet dancer Jessica He took a star turn in last year’s world premiere of Craig Davidson’s Remembrance/Hereafter. He will reprise her leading role in the second movement of the performance with the Atlanta Ballet at City Springs, April 12–13.
My Style: Okey Nwoke, founder of the ATL Fashion Tech Collective
Okey Nwoke started the ATL Fashion Tech Collective to bring Atlanta’s fashion and tech communities together. Fashion has always been part of this former model’s life, from his early childhood in Nigeria to his current role as a client advisor at Louis Vuitton.
Love Me Do: A Beatles-inspired home office
An affinity for the Beatles was the starting point for John Byrne’s office, where the retired Coca-Cola exec now relaxes among his beloved British icons. Cartersville-based interior designer Beverly Baribault deftly channeled Carnaby Street—circa 1968—throughout the space.
Miscellaneous
From a church basement to a prestigious HBCU: the founding of Spelman College
Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles, two missionaries, traveled south to educate newly freed people after the Civil War. With the financial help of John and Laura Rockefeller, Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary is now known as Spelman College, one of the country’s most prestigious historically black colleges.
