SEASON 02, EPISODE 04: HISTORY IS HAPPENING NOW
As rapper Andre 3000 from the Atlanta-based duo Outkast proclaimed to the world during the 1995 Source Awards: “The South got something to say!” For Season 2 of the BLK IRL Podcast, Anuli travels to Atlanta, GA to learn more about the local tensions between "Old Atlanta'' and "New Atlanta'' that began to take root in the 1990s as the city prepared its bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games and how Atlanta has since evolved to become one of America’s cultural capitals.
In this episode, Anuli talks to Kristian Weatherspoon, the Vice President of Digital Storytelling at Atlanta History Center, about the role cultural institutions like Atlanta History Center play in interpreting history, the lasting impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games on the city of Atlanta, and Atlanta’s influence in the Southern U.S. as a region and America as a whole.
FEATURED GUEST: Kristian Weatherspoon, Vice President of Digital Storytelling at Atlanta History Center
Kristian Weatherspoon is Vice President of Digital Storytelling. With nearly 10 years of digital journalism experience, she has worked with news, public policy, and government organizations to effectively deliver content to a variety of audiences across digital and social media platforms. Her passion for amplifying untold stories has taken her across the Southeast from blueberry farms in South Georgia exploring issues surrounding immigration to coastal Louisiana documenting the devastating impact of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deep Water Horizon oil spill on local communities. As much of her work has been traditional broadcast journalism, she’s also spent time building digital issue campaigns in efforts to shift policy to improve the lives of the underserved populations in Mississippi. Kristian has received awards from the Georgia Associated Press and the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists (AABJ) for her work. Kristian received her master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University’s renowned Medill School of Journalism and a Bachelor of Science from Jackson State University.
Learn more about Atlanta History Center here.
referenced materials
Ashly, Jaclynn. 2020. “The Black residents fighting Atlanta to stay in their homes.” Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/11/30/atlanta-gentrification
Atlanta History Center. 2021. “Atlanta ‘96. Shaping An Olympic and Paralympic City.” https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/exhibitions/atlanta-96-shaping-an-olympic-and-paralympic-city/
Byrne, Denis. 2011. “Archaeological heritage and cultural intimacy An interview with Michael Herzfeld.” Journal of Social Archaeology. 11(2), 144-157.
Georgia State University Library. 1995. “City of Atlanta comprehensive development plan.” Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/digital/collection/PlanATL/id/23462.
Hotchkiss, Julie L., Robert E. Moore, and Stephanie M. Zobay. 2003. “Impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games on Employment and Wages in Georgia.” Southern Economic Journal 69, no. 3: 691–704. https://doi.org/10.2307/1061702.
Keating, Larry. 2010. Atlanta: Race, Class, And Urban Expansion. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Lartey, Jamiles. 2018. “Nowhere for people to go: who will survive the gentrification of Atlanta?” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/nowhere-for-people-to-go-who-will-survive-the-gentrification-of-atlanta?
Lonetree, A. 2012. ‘The Ziibiwing Center for Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways: Decolonization, Truth Telling and Addressing Historical Unresolved Grief’ in Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native Americans in National and Tribal Museums University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill.
Smith, Laurajane. 2002. ‘The History of Heritage’ in The Uses of Heritage Routledge Press: London.
Srinivasan, R., K. Becvar, et al. 2010. ‘Diverse Knowledges and Contact Zones within the Digital Museum.’ Science, Technology, Human Values, 35: 735.