Author: Jabari Simama

Jabari Simama writes a regular column under heading Jabari Simama Speaks. He is a former educator and elected and public official. He is author of Civil Rights to Cyber Rights (2009). He’s also been a columnist for Creative Loafing, Southwest Atlanta Magazine, and a feature writer for Atlanta Magazine. He was born in Columbia, Missouri and lives in Atlanta, GA. He received a B.S. from the University of Bridgeport, M.A. from Atlanta University in African American Studies, and a Ph.D. from Emory University in American Studies. Contact him: jsimama@mindspring.com

Gentrification: Atlanta 4th fastest growing city

https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/atlanta-ranked-fourth-fastest-gentrifying-city/E74wz9VxF5TxWcsUinKRmK/ This article just posted from the AJC confirms almost all I have written about gentrification recently. Gentrification has both race and class implications, but, moreover, it points to very poor public policy being advanced by our so-called leaders.

Gentrification and the Black Community: Revisited

Last week I posted a column about gentrification and the African American community that stimulated quite a reaction. Some wanted to know why I only dealt with the African American community. They asked, is not “gentrification more of a white problem?” Also, I was asked why I didn’t state my personal belief about it; “had […]

OOPS, THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Gentrification and the African American Community Author’s note: After taking a hiatus for about nearly 7 months to run for city council, it is good to be back lifting my voice and sharing my truth. As a candidate who had not been on a ballot since 1993, it was intriguing to see how much the […]

Why I’m Running for Atlanta City Council . . . Again

I offer myself as a candidate for the Atlanta City Council, District 3 because if we meet the challenges that remain and embrace the opportunities before us and in the future we will have one of the best, diverse, vibrant, and inclusive districts in the city. I am fiercely devoted to maintaining and enhancing the […]

Adventures on Westside Beltline

You meet homeless, racial paranoid, cult of ignorance The Atlanta Beltline when completed will be 33 miles of multiuse trails along abandoned railroad right of-way. The Westside Beltline runs through the historic Washington Park neighborhood, the first Black subdivision in Atlanta, historic West End, and Adair Park, among others. Overlapping with the West End […]

Ivory Young

What Manner of a Man? As big of a man as Ivory Young was his true assets were understated. The 56-year-old Atlanta City Councilman passed November 16 after a courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. He was one of 15 councilpersons who decides on whether or not to fund Arthur Blank’s Mercedes Benz Stadium, the development […]

No Woman no cry: Don’t Cry for Stacey Abrams

Top Democrat in Georgia raised many boats As I watched the midterm returns come in from Florida, for a moment I thought it was déjà vu from 2016. As Democrats’ hopes faded in Florida for Hillary Clinton, so did they fade for Democrats across the country. The red caravan brought to power the 45th president […]