Blog Topic: ICYMI

In the Loop: Clarke County School Superintendent Nominee Demond Means Is 'All In' on Social Justice

By Blake Aued | April 4, 2017 11:31am

Photo Credit: Austin Steele

Means speaks at a public forum Monday night at Whitehead Road Elementary School.

Speaking to an audience of Athens parents, teachers and concerned citizens for the first time, Demond Means, the sole finalist for Clarke County school superintendent, described himself as someone who's committed to social justice, marginalized students and raising his family in Clarke County.

The board is expected to formally appoint Means today after a public forum Monday night.

Although Means has been superintendent of a smaller, largely white and affluent district in suburban Milwaukee for nine years, he was raised in inner-city Milwaukee and graduated from public schools there.

One of the reasons he felt drawn to Clarke County, he said, is the opportunity to help minority and low-income students. (CCSD is 79 percent minority, and more than 80 percent of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches before a USDA grant made them free for everyone.)

"I firmly believe our most marginalized children deserve the most attention," he said. "Those children who don't have an advocate in the superintendent's office or other places are the ones who need us the most."

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In the Loop: Video: Kids, Cops and Charlayne Hunter-Gault at the Chess and Community Conference

By Joshua L. Jones | April 3, 2017 4:17pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

The fifth annual Chess and Community conference Saturday at the Georgia Center featured entrepreneur Beau Shell (the Lil' Ice Cream Dude), journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault (who integrated the University of Georgia) and a tournament between the Classic City Knights youth chess team and local police officers.

Here's a video by Flagpole senior staff photographer Joshua L. Jones featuring Chess and Community founder Lemuel "Life the Griot" LaRoche.

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In the Loop: Photos: Clarke County School District Maker Faire

By Blake Aued and Austin Steele | April 2, 2017 2:05pm

The Clarke County School District held its first-ever Maker Faire Saturday afternoon at Clarke Central High School. The event featured more than 100 students from all 21 CCSD schools, including exhibits on arts and crafts, 3D printing, film, music, drones, robots, science, engineering, agriculture and more. All photos by Flagpole contributing photographer Austin Steele.

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In the Loop: Photo Gallery: Athens Womens' March

By Blake Aued | January 23, 2017 2:43pm

As more than 1 million women (and men) marched on Washington, D.C. Jan. 21, Athens was having its own women's march, which drew several hundred people to the Classic Center—home of the Athena statue—in spite of being somewhat hastily organized.

Reader Brendan Vaganek was kind enough to send along photos of some of his favorite signs:

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In the Loop: UGA Students Walked Out Friday to Protest Trump

By Kat Khoury | January 22, 2017 10:47am

Photo Credit: Kat Khoury

Several hundred students, professors and community members gathered on Friday at 11:45 a.m.—the same moment that President Donald Trump was inaugurated into office—to voice opposition to the incoming administration. “Walk Out” protestors met in groups at the main library on the University of Georgia's North Campus and the ROTC building on South Campus. Two parades of black-clad marchers then made their way to the rendezvous point at Tate Plaza.

Real Food & Amnesty, the Lambda Alliance, the Women's Studies Student Organization, the UGA National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Undocumented Student Alliance, Students for Justice in Palestine and Athens for Everyone had representatives speak to a crowd that continued to grow. The black clothes of the marchers eventually mingled with the plainclothes passersby who were drawn to stay, some out of solidarity, some out of curiosity.

“We were hoping for a good turnout; this is an amazing turnout,” said Adwoa Agyepong, co-president of Amnesty International at UGA.

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In the Loop: Thousands March Against Trump in Downtown Athens

By Martha Michael | January 20, 2017 10:38pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

Jesse Houle fires up the crowd at the City Hall before the march starts.

On an unseasonably warm night for mid-January, a makeshift band, giant bird puppets and a crowd of thousands gathered around Athens City Hall in protest of newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, filling in every inch of space from Washington Street to Hancock Avenue and from College Avenue to the City Hall doors.

At what might be the largest march in Athens history, the Day of Resistance drew an estimated 2,500–4,500 attendees, according to Athens for Everyone, who helped organize it.

While the march was organized in response to the inauguration of Trump, it was not specific to one cause. Speakers included representatives from U-Lead Athens, an organization for undocumented students; The Cottage, a nonprofit that assists sexual assault survivors; Students for Justice in Palestine and Athens for Everyone.

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In the Loop: Photo Gallery: Athens' First MLK Day Parade

By Blake Aued and Joshua L. Jones | January 17, 2017 12:52pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

Former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe speaks with parade organizer Mokah Jasmine Johnson after the Athens in Harmony concert at the 40 Watt Club Monday night.

Athens' first-ever Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade drew several thousand people downtown on Monday to enjoy not only marching bands and classic cars, but food trucks, kids' activities, live music and more. Flagpole photographer Joshua L. Jones was there to capture the event. [Blake Aued]

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Homedrone: 11 Days of Christmas: Ludacris' Liquor and Condoms

By Blake Aued | January 1, 2017 10:23am

Photo Credit: David Barnes/UGA Athletics

Ludacris performs at G-Day.

As the Flagpole staff takes a much-needed break over the holidays, we're reposting 11 of our most popular, most important, funniest and/or otherwise noteworthy stories of this most dismal of years. Look for a new post each day through Jan. 2.

New Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart wanted to bring 90,000 fans to Athens for the Bulldogs' annual spring practice game, and what better way to do it than to hire gazillion-selling rapper Ludacris to perform on G-Day?

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In the Loop: 11 Days of Christmas: 2 Many Chainz

By Blake Aued | January 2, 2017 9:00am

This is a locally owned business.

As the Flagpole staff takes a much-needed break over the holidays, we're reposting 11 of our most popular, most important, funniest and/or otherwise noteworthy stories of this most dismal of years. Look for a new post each day through Jan. 2.

In August, a UGA student wrote a dumb column for The Red & Black about how students prefer chains to local businesses. It outraged a lot of people, and I was bored, so I wrote a takedown that wound up being the most-read article on our website of the whole year. Read it again here.

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Culture Briefs: 11 Days of Christmas: RIP Jack Davis, a Damn Good Dawg

By Blake Aued | December 31, 2016 10:53am

Photo Credit: Jack Davis

As the Flagpole staff takes a much-needed break over the holidays, we're reposting 11 of our most popular, most important, funniest and/or otherwise noteworthy stories of this most dismal of years. Look for a new post each day through Jan. 2.

Illustrator Jack Davis—a UGA graduate renowned for his satirical cartoons in Mad magazine as well as his popular Georgia Bulldog-themed drawings—died July 27 at the age of 91. From Arts Editor Jessica Smith's obituary:

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