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Georgia Today
Republican won’t run for reelection; Georgia Power bills; Savannah ICE protests
00:13:54
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Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, a Republican on the State Public Service Commission says she won't run for reelection. Georgia Power offers a plan to lower electricity bills. And one day after the death of a beloved teacher during an immigration enforcement action, protesters took to the streets in Savannah.
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The only good thing that I can make out of all of the ICE chaos and is that it's caused so many more people to get off the bench and get into the conversation.
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Today is Wednesday, February 18th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. A day after the death of a beloved Savannah teacher during an ICE immigration enforcement action, protesters took to the city's historic Forsyth Park. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more say her name Linda Davis.
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The group near the fountain in the center of Savannah's iconic park chanted the names of Renee Goode and Alex Predd alongside that of Savannah teacher Linda Davis, killed by a man fleeing ICE near the school where she taught. Meanwhile, many more people jogged, walked their dogs or like Jay Thorne, tried to let their kids burn off energy at the nearby playground. But the army veteran with two tours of duty in Afghanistan and one in Iraq was glad the protesters came out.
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B
The only good thing that I can make out of all the ice chaos is that it's caused so many more people to get off the bench and get into the conversation.
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In their official response to Davis death, the Department of Homeland Security blamed the incident on anti ICE rhetoric. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship. In Savannah.
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Republican Stephen McNeil won a runoff election for a Macon area Georgia Senate seat yesterday, holding off Democrat lamario Brown, who had sought to flip the district. Democrats had hoped to gain ground in the GOP dominated Senate after victories in statewide Public Service Commission elections last November and and in a special election for an Athens area state House seat in December, McNeil received nearly 60% of the vote, keeping the seat in Republican hands. That's according to unofficial results. Attorney and timber farm manager McNeil will replace former state Senator John F. Kennedy, who resigned to run for lieutenant governor. Savannah author, playwright, real estate agent, civic activist and spiritual guide Miriam Senter has died. GPB's Orlando Montoya remembers an icon of the city's social and political life.
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A white, liberal Jewish woman, Miriam Senter stood out in Savannah's conservative, white, male dominated social and political scenes in the 60s, 70s and 80s. She broke down racial barriers to home ownership, selling a home in downtown Savannah to jazz bassist Ben Tucker, a black man in the early 1970s. She befriended the legendary songwriter Johnny Mercer and the infamous antiques dealer Jim Williams, stories that became books and plays. In 2015, she told me that her outsider identities in the Hostess City never bothered her because I don't give a damn what other people think. And that was part of her witty and irrepressible personality. The divorced wife of a Savannah alderman, she ran unsuccessfully for public office twice. Her obituary lists many prominent Savannians as pallbearers and honorary pallbearers. Miriam center was 99 years old. For GPB news, I'm Orlando Montoya.
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Georgia Power has unveiled a plan to lower customer bills the state's largest electric utility said the proposal, filed with state regulators yesterday would save the average residential customer about $1.32 per month. It relies on using fuel cost adjustments to pay for damage recovery from storms during 2024's Hurricane Helene. The Georgia Public Service Commission has the final say on the plan. Meanwhile, a Republican incumbent on the Georgia Public Service Commission says she will not run for re election. Tricia Pridemore wrote on social media this week that she is considering a run for Congress in The metro Atlanta U.S. house district represented by Republican Barry Loudermilk, who recently said he won't be running for reelection. The five member commission regulates Georgia utilities, including Georgia Power. Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson has given his final State of the City presentation this year. He will complete his second four year term and can't run again because of term limits. He told an audience yesterday that he's worried about possible state level tax reductions that could squeeze the local government's budget. But overall, he says he's optimistic about the area's economy and his work is not finished.
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We're running through the tape. We got things we want to do and we're going to keep pushing to try to get them done. But I will tell you, it's been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve y'.
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All. A crowded field of candidates seeking to replace him will appear on voter ballots in May. Think of someone that you would call Appalachian. Odds are that you thought of someone white. Photographer Chris Aluca Berry used to think that, too, before he learned about the centuries of African American history in the Appalachian South. Images from his book documenting black Appalachian communities, called Afrilachian Testimonies, are already in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. Now they have been added to the collection of Atlanta's high Museum, too. GPB's Amanda Andrews called Barry outside his Tennessee home to talk about his work.
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You're Documenting this history of, like, African American folks in Appalachia. What made you want to focus on that?
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A lot of times folks look at me and they just think I'm a white dude. But I grew up. My father is black and my mother is white, and I grew up in black neighborhoods. I've experienced a lot of racism growing up, from cops pulling my dad over and thinking that I wasn't his child, to the KKK burning the cross in our front yard when I was a baby. A lot of different things that's played a big part in my photography as far as stereotypes. But representation is extremely important to me. And to be completely honest with you, when I started on this project more than 10 years ago, I didn't know about the rich history and culture of African Americans in the Appalachian Mountains. I've been hiking and camping in these mountains, but I never saw black folks. And then when I found out that not only have there been black communities all throughout these mountains, but that Africans came into these mountains in the 1500s with the Spaniards, long before the Scottish or Irish came. And when I started looking online, trying to find documentation, like contemporary documentation, I couldn't find anything. It was like this huge gap in American history. Now I say I couldn't find anything. I couldn't find visual. I couldn't find photographers. I did find poets. I found the Appalachian poets out of Kentucky. I found Dr. Bill Turner, who wrote the first book, Blacks in Appalachia, back in 1984. But as far as photographers trying to preserve this history, I couldn't find it. I could find all kinds of stuff on white folks, and I could find stuff on Native Americans.
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But I was.
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So. It was curiosity, and it just really intrigued me, and that's kind of what got me on this path.
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What has it been like to be on this journey of documenting black folks in Appalachia and, like, contributing this to, I guess, the larger preservation of, you know, their cultural existence? Right.
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G
It. It's been beautiful, Amanda. I tell you what, it's been beautiful. Every time I would go into a new community, I would start at the church because the communities are small, and I've seen entire communities disappear. And I'd always start at the church, and I always felt at home at church because I grew up in this little black church in South Carolina, you know, so I'd start at the church, and it was just a beautiful thing. People started inviting me to graduations and funerals, and just people just welcomed me in, like family.
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You said that you started in churches, and, I mean, I think that's really been like a center point of so much of intergenerational, like black connections and history. What were some of the other places that you went to to connect with these people of like, Afrilacha?
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So, yeah, that's a great question. You know, I started at the church, but really my whole reason for going to the church was to get access to go home with people. Like, for me, when I'm trying to capture the essence of someone, I'm trying to tell their story. I want to be in their homes, you know, and some people would let me stay with them. This one guy named Mark Pickens, he'd let me sleep at his house, you know, because you want to capture those early morning moments and those late evening moments. So, you know, intimacy is real, real high on the scale of the type of photography that I love to do. So spending time in people's homes, spending time, you know, I went hunting a bunch of times with folks I've photographed, you know, hog slaughtering. So. On the land, you know, because this project is all about the land. You know, I could have done this project in South Georgia, you know, you and I could go out and do a project in South Carol telling histories and stories that haven't been told, you know, but this project is. It's about the land, it's about this place. It's about the stereotypes of this place. So, you know, outside of that, you know, I went to schools, of course, cemeteries, funeral homes, camp meetings. There's this old timey camp meeting. I've been photographed in North Georgia. It's in the book. It's. It's been going on since 1886 under the same structure that was built by formerly enslaved people. It still stands to this day. And think about that. These weren't people that were architects, these weren't folks that went to Georgia Tech, you know what I'm saying? But these were people that built a structure out of hand hewn logs more than 100 years ago. And it still stands to this day, you know, and to me, that speaks of the ingenuity and the intelligence of those folks.
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F
You had mentioned that this project took. You've been doing it longer than you thought you would, right? Thought this would maybe be like a one year turnaround. And now we've been going nine years longer than you originally thought. What was it that kept you coming back to be like, okay, there's a little bit more I gotta do. I gotta go back out there. I'm not done yet for all those years, really?
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The thing that made it take so long and the thing that I'm hoping won't happen on this second one was funding. I did this whole book out of my own pocket. I had to raise $16,000. Even though university Press Kentucky published the book they wanted to do, they were going to just do this little small, like paperback book. And I said, no, man, if we're going to do it, we got to do this right. This book is hardcover, 11 inch by 11 inch. I had to raise $16,000. That was extremely challenging. But not having the money, you know, I would sleep in my car, I'd go up there with like crackers and sardines, you know what I'm saying? And it was hard to turn down work to go not make money. Welcomed me in. And now that I've done this work, the work it is in the archives at the High Museum. There's a portfolio of 13 photos there. It is in the archives at the national, the Smith National Museum of African American History and culture in Washington, D.C. and I've had people come to me and say, I feel like I'm being seen. I feel like people know, hey, we are here. We've always been here. I thought I was going to work on this for like a year and then it just, it's just grown. And I've learned so much. But it's sad too because like I say, communities have completely disappeared. And you know, when an elder dies, all those stories go with them. So normally when I go into a community, I like to start with the elders first. But it's been a blessing to me.
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You heard GPB's Amanda Andrews talking to photographer Chris Aluka Berry about his work. Afro Latchen testimonies recently added to the permanent collection at the High Museum in Atlanta. A popular Athens restaurant is closing for good after serving the community for nearly four decades. The downtown Italian eatery De Palmas announced the Feb. 27 closure on social media. Yesterday, owner Dave Cappy said a new restaurant would take its place and he would continue working at his other two restaurants in the classic city.
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Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of FRESH AIR. Hey, take a break from the 24 hour news cycle with us and listen to long form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians and musicians. The people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the FRESH AIR podcast from NPR and WHYY.
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The Atlanta Braves hopes for a healthier 2026 season are already facing setbacks. The team says right hander Spencer Schwellenbach has undergone a procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow and is expected to return later this year, while pitching prospect Hurston Waldrop is also headed for elbow surgery next week and is expected to be put on the 60 day injured list. The injuries thin Atlanta's starting depth just weeks before the season begins. Team officials remain optimistic about the rotation, even as questions grow about the club's pitching depth. And that is a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check out gpb.org news and remember to subscribe to this podcast. We're coming at you again tomorrow with all of the latest headlines, and remember to send your feedback to us by email. The address is Georgia Today@GPB.ORG, i'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.