Morning, y’all! Was anyone else ... warm yesterday? Like too warm? Like bring a jacket in the morning, put it on in the afternoon and accidentally sous vide yourself in your own sweat warm? OK, maybe not the most appetizing visual for the morning, but I wish the weather would stop playing with us. I looked it up and the average high temperature in Atlanta on Feb. 5 (yesterday) is 53 degrees. Yesterday the high was 73. Make it make sense.
A PAINFUL CHAPTER, CLOSED
Credit: Hyosub Shin / AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin / AJC
The trial of former Georgia District Attorney Jackie Johnson screeched to a halt yesterday after the judge in the case dismissed both charges against her. Johnson had been accused of hindering the investigation into the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and faced two serious charges. The judge in the case threw out Johnson’s misdemeanor obstruction charge on Monday, and then her felony charge of violating her oath of office on Wednesday.
The judge had doubts: Senior Judge John R. Turner said he hadn’t seen “one scintilla of evidence” that Johnson instructed police not to arrest Arbery’s killers. (Johnson had a professional history with one of the men convicted of Arbery’s murder.)
A shaky strategy: The prosecution’s approach had problems from the start, to the extent that even Arbery’s family members raised concerns about how it was presented. Some witnesses called for the prosecution even testified that Johnson did nothing illegal.
Disappointment and acceptance: After the decision, Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper Jones said she was disappointed, but understood the judge’s rationale. She also said she still believes Johnson was somehow involved in the initial coverup of her son’s murder.
“The law is the law,” Cooper Jones said. “But this was a win for us, because we got to find out what really went on.”
Ahmaud Arbery’s death weighed heavily on the Brunswick community after the young Black man was chased by a trio of white men in their trucks and gunned down. All three men were eventually handed life sentences for their parts in his murder.
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DON’T WORRY, YOUR LITTLE TRINKETS ARE SAFE
Credit: Daniel Pearson/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
Credit: Daniel Pearson/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
Will you or won’t you, USPS? On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service said it was placing a ban on all incoming packages from Hong Kong and China. That was terrible news for fans of Temu, Shein and other low-cost, Chinese-based fashion brands that have gotten so popular.
However, the threat was fleeting. The USPS reversed course yesterday, so whatever impulse buys were on their way stateside can still complete their journey.
The USPS didn’t give a reason for either the ban or the reversal, but it’s definitely related to new trade restrictions on China. The U.S. has imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception for small-value packages. The USPS did say, however, it will work with Customs and Border Patrol to make sure tariff requirements are met without slowing down shipping times.
THE AJC CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY
Here’s your trivia question of the day: One hundred years ago, the first labor organization led by African Americans was born. What line of work did the organization represent?
A. dock workers
B. passenger train workers
C. miners
D. teachers
Answer at the bottom!
POLITICS RUNDOWN
💵 A group of GA lawmakers has proposed a bill that would make college athletes’ NIL earnings tax-exempt. Follow me here: NIL, or name, image and likeness, refers to the new way student athletes are allowed to make money while playing for their college teams. Georgia’s income tax is the highest in the Southeast — 5.49%. Since that cuts into potential earnings, it could make Georgia schools less competitive in the recruiting world.
🦺 State Dems and Republicans are split on how to approach school safety measures. The state legislation is trying to chart a course after last year’s school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. Republicans are more focused on shoring up physical safety in schools. Gov. Brian Kemp, for instance, has put $50 million on the table for K-12 security grants. State Dems favor some form of firearm restrictions.
However, there are some possibilities both sides agree on, like better record sharing about students between school districts.
💰 Georgia has a $16.5 million budget reserve. That’s way higher than neighboring states. However, Gov. Brian Kemp has signaled he’s ready to start spending some of that stash.
OUT AND ANNOYED
Credit: Courtesy of OUT Georgia Business Alliance Photo/Mark Morin
Credit: Courtesy of OUT Georgia Business Alliance Photo/Mark Morin
The OUT Georgia Business Alliance is looking for a new place to host its annual Economic Inclusion Summit after President Donald Trump’s DEI orders threw a wrench in the original plans.
The gathering of LGBTQ entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders and corporate workers was supposed to happen at the Atlanta Fed in April. In fact, the same event was held at the Atlanta Fed’s Midtown campus in 2023 and 2024.
However, Trump’s executive orders dismantling DEI efforts across the federal government has complicated relationships between government entities and organizations that partner with them. A similar situation happened last month in Houston, when the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce was going to hold an event at the city’s Federal Reserve Bank, only to be told it would violate executive orders.
WISHING ON DANDELIONS ALL OF THE TIME
Credit: Stephen B. Morton/AJC
Credit: Stephen B. Morton/AJC
A Savannah artist has been chosen to design a memorial for COVID-19 victims timed to the 5-year anniversary of the pandemic. (Gosh, it’s been that long. It feels like one 1,800-day year.)
Sculptor and art educator Casey Schachner’s design was selected during an international competition, and is expected to be unveiled in Chicago later this year. The design is evocative of dandelions. Schachner said looking at images of the coronavirus reminded her of the plant, and how interesting it was that some cultures actually see dandelions as a sign of healing.
NEWS BITES
Eight GA high school football players will be in the Super Bowl
If you, like the majority of the country, don’t really much care who wins, you can just root for these dudes.
Breakaway, a major touring festival for EDM acts, is coming to Atlanta this spring
I bet you’ll be able to feel the music from a mile away.
Another Georgia Mall is poised for a mixed-use redo
Are you ready for your fab new 49-acre look, Lakeshore?
Why Galentine’s Day is good for your health (really!)
Unless you’re a queer gal, I guess. Then Galentine’s Day is ... complicated.
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 6, 1960
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
From the front page of the Atlanta Constitution: Jekyll Asks $3.6 Million For 3 Years. Money and salesmanship — state officials asked for both Friday as a way of turning Jekyll Island into a first-class resort center ... “The people can become the state’s best salesmen for the state’s leading asset by telling their friends in other states of the advantages of Jekyll Island.”
Hey, have y’all been to Jekyll Island? It’s awesome! (Just doing my civic duty ... luckily it really is beautiful!)
ONE MORE THING
The answer is B: Passenger train workers! In 1925, working as a sleeping car porter (the person who would carry luggage and attend to passengers’ needs) was a highly desirable job for Black men because it paid well, allowed them to see different parts of the country and put them in close proximity to influential people.
However, hours were terrible and workers were treated extremely poorly. They weren’t even called by their own names: Every Black man who worked as a sleeping car porter for the Pullman Company was simply called “George,” a derogatory insinuation that they were all “owned” by the company’s founder, George Pullman.
That changed in 1925 when the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters got a charter from the American Federation of Labor, making it the first labor organization led by African Americans. The men who fought for better labor conditions — and the basic dignity of their own names pinned to their uniforms — changed the Black middle class. Read more about them here. I’ll be honest, I never thought a story about train car porters could be so fascinating. Leave it to the AJC’s Ernie Suggs to prove me happily wrong.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tellus@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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