MARTA’s Transit Ambassadors return this Labor Day, guiding riders through busy stations and events. Born during Super Bowl 2019, the program now prepares Atlanta for the 2026 World Cup.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 27, 2025
As Labor Day weekend approaches, MARTA is once again deploying its Transit Ambassadors across the rail and bus system to help guide travelers through one of Atlanta’s busiest holiday weekends. The program, which began in the lead-up to Super Bowl LIII in 2019, has grown into a cornerstone of MARTA’s customer service strategy.
The Transit Ambassador Program was born out of necessity during Atlanta’s hosting duties for the Super Bowl. With more than half a million fans navigating the city, MARTA saw an opportunity to reimagine how it welcomed riders. Staff members from across the Authority stepped into stations to offer directions, assist with Breeze cards, and provide a human connection that technology alone could not deliver. This personal touch, often missing in large transit systems, has been a key to the program’s success.
Since its inception, Transit Ambassadors have been a fixture at major events. They have guided fans during international soccer tournaments, eased congestion at concerts in State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and offered reassurance to new riders during peak travel times.
“This is one of the few programs where you’ll see someone from the executive office standing next to a customer at a faregate, walking them through how to tap in,” said Jon Gordon, MARTA’s Director of Customer Engagement. “It’s a shared effort that reflects our commitment to the rider experience.”
The program stands out because it is powered by MARTA employees themselves. From finance and administration to operations and communications, staffers volunteer for shifts to serve as Ambassadors. They are equipped to troubleshoot faregate issues, guide customers through transfers, and provide quick fixes when ticket vending machines malfunction. In some cases, Ambassadors even carry complimentary tickets to keep riders moving during bottlenecks.
During the recent safety briefing at Chamblee Station, I experienced my own confusion as well as that among riders when no attendants or Ambassadors were on hand to assist. In such situations, attendants and Ambassadors play a crucial role in solving problems, guiding riders through safety procedures, providing reassurance, and ensuring a smooth flow of operations.
Although MARTA showcased its Real-Time Crime Center and Emergency Operations Center — complete with motorcycles, an armored vehicle, and drones — the lack of direct rider support left some passengers struggling at faregates and ticket vending machines.
As I wrote in The Truth Seekers Journal’s coverage of that event, MARTA is generally a safe and reliable system. Still, moments like this remind us that a missing attendant or Ambassador can leave first-time or casual riders with the impression of poor operating standards.
MARTA officials have said the long-term goal is to expand Ambassador coverage beyond major events, precisely to avoid gaps like these.
Rider feedback has helped refine the program. A recently introduced internal app allows Ambassadors to check in at stations, log issues in real time, and coordinate responses more effectively. The combination of technology and human interaction has not only made Atlanta’s transit system more accessible, but also reassured riders that their concerns are being addressed in real time.
Looking ahead, MARTA is considering expanding the program beyond special events. Plans are underway to provide Ambassador coverage during daily peak hours, ensuring regular commuters benefit from the same level of personal assistance as travelers heading to major sporting events or concerts. This expansion aims to fill the gaps in rider support and enhance the overall transit experience.
The timing is crucial. In less than a year, Atlanta will host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of international visitors. MARTA leadership sees the Ambassador program as central to its readiness plan.
“This is about more than just moving people,” Gordon said. “It’s about making them feel welcome, confident, and connected to the city.”
This Labor Day, MARTA Ambassadors will be on the ground once again — in stations, at faregates, and on platforms — helping riders reach their destinations smoothly. It is a reminder that Atlanta’s transit system is not just about trains and buses, but about the people who power them.
Chit Chat Atlanta Tours launches Labor Day with immersive Black history, Civil Rights, and cultural experiences, offering visitors a powerful way to discover the soul of Atlanta.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 27, 2025
This Labor Day, Atlanta visitors and residents will have a new way to experience the city’s legacy of resilience, creativity, and pride. Chit Chat Atlanta Tours, a Black woman-owned cultural tourism company, officially launches September 1 with a lineup of immersive experiences spotlighting the city’s Black history, Civil Rights heritage, and modern cultural excellence.
The company, founded by veteran public relations professional and cultural storyteller Carla Morrison, promises more than sightseeing. Through carefully curated routes, guests will walk the streets where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached, hear the stories of Atlanta’s trailblazers, and taste the flavors of Black-owned restaurants shaping today’s culture.
“Our mission is to preserve legacy, educate all generations, and spotlight the rich culture of Atlanta’s Black community,” said Morrison. “Whether it’s a family reunion, corporate group, or school trip, our tours are soul-stirring journeys designed to honor the past while celebrating the present.”
A Journey Through Atlanta’s Soul
The tours weave together landmarks and hidden gems across the city. Stops include Ebenezer Baptist Church, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Sweet Auburn Avenue, the APEX Museum, Castleberry Hill, Trap City Café, Patchwerk Studios, the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and Tyler Perry Studios.
Each experience blends education with entertainment, giving participants “a little bit of trap, a little bit of truth, and a whole lot of Atlanta pride.”
Signature Experiences
Black History & Civil Rights Tour (2–4 hours): Visits Ebenezer, the MLK Historic Site, Sweet Auburn, SCLC, Big Bethel AME, and historic Black-owned businesses.
Reality ATL Restaurant Tour: A culinary journey highlighting Black-owned restaurants and chefs defining the city’s food scene.
The ATL Remix Tour: Designed for tourists interested in music, film, and fame, mixing history with Atlanta’s cultural flair.
HBCU Campus Tour: Explores Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their enduring impact.
Peachtree Street Tour: Examines Atlanta’s main artery with its blend of business, culture, and contradictions.
Custom Group Tours: Tailored for schools, churches, DEI retreats, and special events.
Tours start at $75 per person, with private and custom packages available. Year-round bookings are expected to peak during Black History Month, Juneteenth, and the summer reunion season.
A Cultural Legacy Reimagined
By blending storytelling, history, and cultural immersion, Chit Chat Atlanta Tours positions itself as more than a tourism venture—it’s a living classroom and cultural celebration. The company is part of a growing movement in Atlanta to recenter the city’s narrative around the voices that built it.
For bookings or more information, visit www.ChitChatCommunications.biz, follow @ChitChatAtlantaTours on Instagram, or call (404) 319-2130.
Negro Leagues star Rap Dixon, a five-tool outfielder from Harrisburg, earned Hall of Fame-worthy praise from legends like Oscar Charleston and dominated globally.
By Ted Knorr & Chris Rainey | Harrisburg, PA | Updated August 22, 2025
On December 12, 2018, at the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Museum President Bob Kendrick, with historian Jay Caldwell, announced the Negro League Centennial Team. The team was a key part of the Museum’s celebration in 2020 of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues. The team of 30 players, a manager, and an owner was to honor the greatest Negro League players of all-time. Of the 19 position players on the team, only one was not already enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York — Herbert Alphonso “Rap” Dixon.
Further affirmation of Rap Dixon’s greatness was provided 70 years earlier when in 1949, the greatest of all Negro League outfielders, Oscar Charleston, was asked by a reporter from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin for his all-time Negro League lineup, Charleston, whose career began before the Negro Leagues were organized, and ended several years after their demise as a major league, offered his team. In the outfield, he placed future Hall of Famers Martin Dihigo in left and Cristobal Torriente in right … between that pair, at his old position of center field, he inserted Rap Dixon. High praise indeed for a lesser-known player among the pantheon of Negro League stars.
A 6-foot-1, 185-pound dynamo who batted and threw right-handed, and played all three outfield positions, Dixon was a classic five-tool player: hitting for both power and average, running, fielding, and throwing. He also had a knack for performing well on the big stage. During his 16-year career, he was a key player on great teams in the Negro Leagues as well as in offseason leagues and a tour of Japan.
Herbert Alphonso Dixon was born on September 15, 1902, in Kingston, Georgia, about 56 miles northwest of Atlanta. He was the first of John and Rosa Goodwin Dixon’s five children. Herbert and his younger brother Paul (also a future Negro League outfielder) developed their rudimentary baseball talents in Georgia’s rural farm country.
Photo courtesy of Phillip Dewey – Rap Dixon
Just before the First World War, Rosa’s brother Oliver P. Goodwin accepted a position in Steelton, Pennsylvania, as pastor of the First Baptist Church. Steelton lies along the Susquehanna River south of the state capital of Harrisburg. Shortly thereafter, additional Dixon and Goodwin families, including John and Rosa Dixon, headed north for greener pastures, joining approximately 1.6 million African Americans opting to leave the South as part of the Great Migration.
The Dixon and Goodwin families settled on Adams Street near Uncle Oliver’s church. Just down the street was the Hygienic School for Colored Children, where Herbert began formal education. He graduated from eighth grade on May 23, 1919, before matriculating at Steelton High School. Herbert’s extracurriculars, in addition to baseball, included boxing, football, and playing the trumpet in the school band. In addition, Herbert worked part-time in the steel mill once he was old enough. According to Chappie Gardner: “[Dixon] got his wonderful strength of arms and shoulder from throwing pig iron billets at the crane operators in the steel mills.”
Herbert Dixon completed only two years of high school. Purportedly, Dixon’s schooling ended, and his “career in baseball started one day when his high school science teacher announced that the class was going to dissect a cat. Dixon, feeling squeamish, exited quickly and went straight to a sporting goods store; with the money he had earned working weekends at the Bethlehem Steel Company, he purchased a glove and bat, took a train to Atlantic City, and joined the Bacharach Giants.” Neither Seamheads.com nor Baseball-Reference.com lists him playing any games with the Giants that year.
By 1919, Dixon became a regular with Steelton’s semipro Keystone Giants. On May 31, the Harrisburg Telegraph announced that “Dixon, the Giants new shortstop, played fast ball and made two healthy swats” in an 8-3 victory over the Middletown White Sox. Dixon usually batted leadoff and was one of the team’s stars, even at age 16.
Perhaps the biggest game for young Herbert with Steelton came on July 16, 1921, at Harrisburg’s Island Park, when they took on the best of the local semipro clubs — Colonel W. Strothers’ Harrisburg Giants. The upstart Steelton club held a 9-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning before the more polished Harrisburg team rallied and eventually won the game in the 10th. Dixon played shortstop, batted third, and had two hits in the loss.
Herbert Dixon was briefly with the Keystone Giants in early May 1922 before Colonel Strothers recruited him. Dixon’s debut with Harrisburg occurred on May 20 against the powerful Hilldale Club when he stroked one hit in three at-bats with a run and a ribbie in a 5-3 loss. By mid-June, Dixon was the Harrisburg center fielder. When the veteran fly hawk, Jess Barbour, returned to the lineup, Dixon mainly played right field. Over the summer, he continuously upped his place in the batting order from eighth to fourth. The 1922 season ended on an unhappy note for Harrisburg as they lost their city title in a nine-game series against the fast Motive Power semipro team.
As the 1923 season dawned, Colonel Strothers struggled to find talent for his independent team competing against 14 teams in two leagues. These difficulties were eased when E.B. Lamar of the New York Bacharach Giants joined Harrisburg’s administrative team and brought with him several outstanding players, including outfielder Fats Jenkins, second baseman Dick Jackson, and pitchers Harold Treadwell and Nip Winters. In addition, Strothers brought in William Pettus of the Richmond Giants to anchor the infield at first and to manage the team.
By early 1923, Dixon’s nickname began to appear in print. There are two suggestions as to its origin. One supposes it was derived from the Rappahannock River, which flows through Virginia. How this relates to him is unclear. Sportswriter Chester L. Washington offered a more plausible suggestion: that it grew out of Dixon’s hitting ability while still in high school.
Washington claimed, “Rap hits the old apple with the same degree of force that made William Tell famous.”
The Giants’ primary opponent in 1923 was again the local Motive Power team. John Brackenridge, Motive Power’s manager, threw down the gauntlet in the offseason saying he had “signed the same aggregation of stars that annexed the City championship from Strothers’ Harrisburg Giants.” Unlike 1922, where the Giants got off to a slow start losing 11 of their first 17 contests, the 1923 Harrisburg team captured a dozen victories in their initial 17 games. They faced Ben Taylor’s Washington Potomacs nine times and emerged with six wins.
Dixon started the season slowly at the plate before being sidelined most of July with an undisclosed illness. It was a harbinger of the future for Dixon, who would be haunted by injury and illness during his career. He had powerful arms, but author James Riley called attention to his spindly legs. Riley also suggests that drinking was an issue with Dixon, especially later in his career.
The season culminated, as it had the previous year, with a series against Motive Power. The Giants dropped the opener, 7-4, on the Island Park field. Dixon’s bat led the team to an 8-3 victory in the second game. The remainder of the series was dominated by Giant’s pitcher Nip Winters, who captured three complete-game wins.
During the offseason, the Giants joined the ECL and signed Oscar Charleston to guide the team. Charleston arrived in Harrisburg on March 3, 1924. Immediately, he and Strothers began building a ballclub that Charleston thought could be a dark-horse contender. Retained were outfielders Dixon, Jenkins, and Barbour, and five others. Charleston brought four pitchers with him from the Indianapolis ABCs. Other fresh faces included first baseman Edgar Wesley from the Detroit Stars and pitcher Slim Branham. The new manager gushed about the potential he saw. “We got the stuff, boy, we got the stuff.”
The season began on April 19 with a non-league contest versus the York White Roses, featuring Del Bissonette. The Giants lost a close encounter, 3-1, and Dixon appeared as a defensive replacement for Dick Jackson, the second baseman. Charleston started in right field. Dixon saw little action early in the season as Jackson held down right field. At 21, Rap was the youngest member of the team and may not have won Charleston’s favor yet.
Dixon’s chance to impress came in early June in New York against the Lincoln Giants at the Catholic Protectory Grounds. In a doubleheader victory, he supplied five hits off a quartet of hurlers. By late June, Dixon had cemented his place in right field, joining Jenkins (left) and Charleston (center).
The trio was soon dubbed the “million-dollar outfield” and played together through the 1927 season. Combined, they posted a stellar .351 batting average (898-for-2559) in their time together. The trio is one of only 12 outfield groups that played four or more years together while featuring a future Hall of Famer. Local sportswriter Wellington “Welly” Jones said, “There is no better outfield than Dixon, Charleston, and Jenkins.”
While Dixon maintained his hold on the right-field spot, he hit only .259 in ECL action. His first ECL home run came on July 15 off Brooklyn’s Pud Flournoy. Jenkins batted .336, and Charleston dominated league pitching with 15 home runs and a .405 average. A revolving door at third base and a struggling pitching staff doomed the Giants to a 30-31 mark.
The following season, 1925, was the Harrisburg Giants’ high-water mark. Charleston captured his second consecutive triple crown (.427/20/97 in a 73-game ECL season). Jenkins hit .317 and scored 82 runs, while Dixon made his presence known, hitting .352/8/53. The team finished second (48-24-1, .664) behind Hilldale. The outfield trio was honored with both Charleston and Dixon being named first team All-East, and Jenkins as an honorable mention in left.
That fall, Dixon accepted an invitation from Hilldale’s Biz Mackey and joined the Philadelphia Royal Giants in the California Winter League. The team won the season’s second half with an overall record of 24-15-3. Dixon batted just .271 and usually was in the bottom of the order. He struck four hits as the Royal Giants swept the White King Soapsters in a three-game postseason battle.
The Royal Giants remained in the West after the Winter League season, playing local semipro squads and PCL teams. Dixon hit well in these exhibitions, although the most significant impression his bat made was on the head of Portland catcher Frank Tobin. In a game on March 19, Dixon swung and missed but knocked Tobin unconscious. The team wrapped up their stay in California in early April.
His fine 1925 season made Dixon a star. New York Giants manager John “Muggsy” McGraw told the press that winter that, “If that boy Dixon was not so black, I could make a Cuban out of him and the National League would have another star to talk about. He is, without question, one of the greatest outfielders in the United States.” Despite the glowing praise, Colonel Strothers listened to offers from Rube Foster that might have sent Dixon to Chicago.
In the 1926 season, Dixon again put up nice stats, .323/6/40, while playing 47 of the 49 league games. Charleston’s numbers dipped dramatically, and John Beckwith led the team with a .330 average. Perhaps it was his off-year or maybe the pitching staff’s 5.00 ERA, but, as his biographer Jeremy Beer notes, Charleston “increasingly edged into hotheadedness as the year dragged on.” The manager’s attitude rubbed off on his players. Dixon tried to fight an umpire in Baltimore. Shortstop Rev Cannady went further by slugging an umpire in the jaw. The team finished fourth in the ECL at 27-22.
When the ECL season ended, Dixon again joined Mackey in California. He joined a spectacular lineup featuring holdovers Mackey and Bullet Joe Rogan, plus Turkey Stearnes, Willie Wells, and Andy Cooper. After a decent (9-8) first half, the Royal Giants added Bill Foster. The team caught fire, winning 13 of 14 second-half decisions to capture the playoff qualifying title. In the playoffs, they split four games but failed to capture the official league title when the deciding fifth game with Shell Oil was never played.
Dixon batted .349 — third in the league behind Stearnes (.387) and Shell’s Bob Jones (.361) while leading the league in games and doubles. He finished second on the team (and league) in hits to Stearnes. As in the previous winter, he was the team’s left fielder.
After the season, Philadelphia Royal Giants owner/promoter Lonnie Goodwin desired to take the squad on a tour of Japan, Korea, and the Hawaiian Islands. With the core of his team under contract to Negro League teams such plans were not without controversy. Ownership threatened a five-year suspension on any Negro Leaguers who failed to show for spring training. Of the 14 players on the Winter League team only five risked the potential punishment — Mackey, Cooper, Dixon, Frank Duncan, and Neal Pullen.
On March 9, Goodwin and his team set sail on the La Plata Maru to Yokohama, Japan. The touring Royal Giants were not the same team that had participated in the California Winter League, but they remained a formidable unit. They arrived in Japan on March 29 to begin a 27-game schedule (22 games in Japan; 5 in Korea).
The major-league tour of Japan in 1934, featuring Babe Ruth, was highly influential in the birth of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Writers also credit the two earlier Negro League tours for creating a love for the game in Japan. In his study of Ruth’s tour, Robert K. Fitts notes that the “Negro Leaguers conducted themselves far better than their white counterparts.” Years of barnstorming had taught them not to embarrass an opponent with antics or running up the score.
The tour opened on April 1 in Tokyo against the Keio University’s Mita Club, which five years earlier had defeated the Herb Hunter All-Stars, 9-3. The Mita Club fell, 2-0, to Cooper, and then Mackey beat them, 10-6, the following day. No box score exists for the opener, but Dixon went three for three with a double, a walk, and a sac fly in the second game. He followed that performance with a five-for-five day (including a triple and double) in cavernous Koshien Stadium.
The Japanese fans were in awe of Dixon’s bat, speed, and throwing arm. Dixon’s eighth consecutive hit was a mere appetizer for his next feat. Koshien Stadium had been built in 1924 with a left-center-field gap that measured 128 meters (420 feet). No native batter had hit or cleared the fence, but on April 6, Dixon smashed a ball that ricocheted off the wall for a triple. Dixon next wowed the fans at Jingu Stadium on April 28 after a 14-0 win. He stood at home plate and threw balls on target to players in the left-field seats.
After Emperor Hirohito commemorated the Japanese tour of Dixon and his mates by presenting them with a trophy, the team headed for Korea. Dixon pitched the May 19 game in present-day Daegu, picking up the victory, 14-2. From there, the team traveled to Honolulu, where they played for two weeks before heading back to the mainland. The threatened lengthy suspension had been reduced to approximately two weeks by ECL President Isaac Nutter.
Dixon finally returned to Harrisburg on July 22. Things were vastly different with the Giants as Oscar Charleston was being dealt to the Hilldale club, and John Beckwith was the manager. Charleston’s departure fell through, and he took the field with Dixon against a Brooklyn Royal Giants team rattled from an auto accident en route to the game.
Brooklyn’s late arrival and a rain shower held the game to just four-and-a-half innings with Harrisburg on top, 8-7. Dixon had a hit and scored a run while batting in the seventh spot and playing his traditional right field. Harrisburg had finished the first half with a 25-20 mark. They were 0-3 in the second half before the victory over Brooklyn. With their million-dollar outfield again intact, the team finished second and posted a 13-8 record after Dixon’s return. Dixon hit .282 in 21 league games.
Dixon returned to the California League that winter, but circumstances were far different than the previous year. A second Black team was entered, called the Cleveland Stars, with a roster that included Dixon’s former Royal Giants teammates Stearnes, Newt Allen, Crush Holloway, and Wells. In addition, Commissioner Landis had imposed restrictions on major leaguers playing in the circuit.
Besides the newly minted Stars, the Royal Giants’ main competition came from Pirrone’s All-Stars. Anchored by Babe Herman and Bob Meusel, Pirrone’s squad beat Dixon’s team early in the campaign, but then Herman and Meusel stopped play to comply with Landis’s edict. After their departure, the All-Stars faded, and the Royal Giants ran away with the title.
After his shortened season with Harrisburg, Dixon exploded in California. His .380 batting average was second in the league behind teammate Jess Hubbard (.442). He exhibited power with a league-leading six doubles and three triples in just 79 at-bats. His five home runs were second to Stearnes’ seven.
Dixon played with the Cleveland Giants in California in 1928-29. His .360 average was only sixth on the team. After a winter in Cuba, Dixon returned to California in 1930-31 with the Royal Giants. In five seasons on the coast, he batted .326 (156-479) and had 21 home runs.
Citing poor attendance, Colonel Strothers disbanded his Harrisburg team in March 1928. Dixon signed with the Baltimore Black Sox and turned in two of the finest seasons ever seen in baseball. In 1928, he posted a line of .398/13/58. They were nearly Triple Crown numbers had teammate Jud Wilson not hit .399 (.0006 points separated them). He also led the circuit with 34 walks. Using modern statistics, he posted an OPS of 1.180 and an OPS+ of 190.
The following year found the team in the American Negro League, where they captured the flag in both halves and posted a league (ANL) best 55-25 mark. In 76 games, Dixon produced even better numbers: .415/16/92. His OPS rose to 1.204 and his OPS+ to 191. Dixon’s marvelous season was jeopardized in July when he was beaned in a game with the Homestead Grays. He fearlessly returned to the lineup the next day and proceeded to rap out 14 consecutive league hits during the week. The streak started against the Grays and culminated on July 28 when he collected eight hits in a doubleheader versus Hilldale. The major-league record for consecutive hits is 12.. Including two walks against the Grays, he had 16 consecutive on-base appearances, which is bested only by Piggy Ward’s 17 in 1893.
Dixon did not go west in the offseason, opting instead to play in Cuba with Almendares. He displayed his power and speed, leading the league in stolen bases (19) and the team with five home runs. (Mule Suttles led the league with seven.)
Dixon entered the 1930 season as a 27-year-old, with his prime years ahead of him. Rather than improving on the two impressive seasons, he tailed off and found himself packing bags to go from team to team. He opened 1930 with the Black Sox and played the first Negro League games at Yankee Stadium in a doubleheader versus the Lincoln Giants on July 5.
Dixon had a reputation for saving his best for big occasions. He opened the scoring in the first game with a home run in the first inning off Bill Holland, but the Giants prevailed easily, 13-4. In the second game, Dixon again homered in the first, then added an inside-the-park blow to deep left-center in the third as Baltimore won, 5-3.
There were 15 Black ballclubs in 1930: nine in the NNL and six Eastern Independent teams. The competition between the two leagues led to players jumping from one circuit to the other. Dixon was one of three big names (with Suttles and Jenkins) to leave the Black Sox as he skipped to the NNL Chicago American Giants. He hit .305 with eight home runs in 49 games for Baltimore and Chicago.
Dixon opened the 1931 season playing left field for the Hilldale club that featured Mackey and Martin Dihigo. He struggled to a .226 average in 44 games before joining the Black Sox late in the season. In 1932, he reunited with manager Oscar Charleston with the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He wowed the fans at Greenlee Field on May 28 with a single and double, two stolen bases, and four runs scored in a 13-4 win over Birmingham. The Crawfords featured 20-year-old catcher Josh Gibson, whose eight home runs took the team title over Dixon’s seven home runs.
Dixon married Rosa (aka Rose) Yarbrough in August 1931 in Richmond, Virginia. The couple was divorced in October 1934, also in Richmond. The decree listed desertion as the cause and noted that Rap had not contested the proceedings. Dixon’s death certificate shows a second wife, Edith Dixon.
Dixon joined the independent Philadelphia Stars in 1933 and came out slugging. He hit a robust .360, finishing second on the team to Jud Wilson (.376). The Stars finished out of contention with a 22-13 mark. Fans rewarded Dixon with a spot on the East roster in the first East-West All-Star game. While the East squad lost 11-7, Dixon had a strong game, going 1-for-3 with a walk, sacrifice fly, and stolen base against Bill Foster.
In November 1933, Dixon joined Josh Gibson and league players on a boat trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The players formed a team that the Pittsburgh Courier called the Ramirez Stars. Following the Puerto Rican season, Dixon and Gibson joined the Concordia team from Venezuela. Dr. Leyton Revel and Luis Munoz list Dixon with 21 at-bats with Concordia. It has often been suggested that Dixon injured his back badly during the winter of 1933-34. Concordia played in four series, one of them going nine games, so it appears (from his limited at-bats) that Dixon was injured while with this team. We can further pinpoint the timing by noting that the Philadelphia Tribune reported a trade offer of Cool Papa Bell for Dixon in early February 1934. News of a serious injury had presumably not made its way back to the States by that time.
In the spring of 1934, the Philadelphia Stars released Dixon while he was in the hospital. Was he being treated for the back injury that plagued him the remainder of his life? Dixon’s numbers when he returned to action from 1934-37 indicate a severe downturn. He batted .272 in those seasons, 50 points below his career average.
The Baltimore Black Sox entered the NNL for the second half of the 1934 campaign, and Dixon served as their player/manager. Confident in his recovery, he used himself as a utilityman, even playing third base in a win over the Homestead Grays. That was one of just three wins the team earned. As a manager, he won praise for his work with the young, unknown players, including rookie Leon Day. Dixon’s reputation was rewarded with a spot on the East roster in the All-Star Game. He replaced Vic Harris midgame and went 1-for-2 in the East’s classic win, 1-0.
The following year the Brooklyn Eagles’ Ben Taylor invited Dixon to training camp in Gadsden, Alabama. Soon after his arrival, Dixon was referred to a dentist who discovered four infected molars. Once they were removed, Dixon’s health improved remarkably, and he showed flashes of his athletic talent.
Dixon split the season with Brooklyn and the New York Cubans, batting .301. The Cubans were the second-half champions and faced the Crawfords in the championship. In the spotlight for the final time in his career, Dixon responded by leading all hitters with a .421 average and 1.079 OPS, but was on the losing side.
He joined the Grays in 1936, then finished with a few games with the Crawfords in 1937. He joined the all-star contingent, often labeled the Ciudad Trujillo team, which captured the crown in the Denver Post tournament that August. He played sparingly in the games, quite possibly managing the team. Upon leaving that team, the 35-year-old returned home to Steelton. Dixon took a job with Bethlehem Steel, then in the 1940s, he took a job with the county. Later, he operated a pool hall in Steelton.
While his professional days were over, Rap Dixon still played with Harrisburg area semipros. But mostly he dreamed of bringing the NNL back to Harrisburg. To that end, he became a great advocate for the game in his area, throwing his support and reputation behind numerous efforts to keep the sport alive during the Depression and ensuing war years. This included managing an American Legion team in 1940 and an integrated semipro team.
In 1943 Dixon made an unsuccessful run as a Republican nominee for constable. After the election defeat and a burglary at his pool hall, he left Steelton for greener pastures in Detroit, supposedly for a job coaching a baseball team. A heart attack hospitalized him on July 18, followed by his death on July 20. His body was returned to Harrisburg for funeral services that were attended by his parents, two brothers, a sister, and other family and friends. On June 8, 2007, a citizen’s group dedicated a fitting grave marker in the Midland Cemetery where he had been laid to rest. The Orioles sent Paul Blair and Curt Motton to honor the former Baltimore Black Sox.
Sources
Unless otherwise cited, Rap Dixon’s baseball statistics were compiled by SABR members Gary Ashwill and Kevin Johnson and are available at Seamheads.com. Extensive use of the Harrisburg newspapers provided background. Ancestry.com provided extensive family background information, complemented by 10 years of research and family interviews conducted by Ted Knorr.
Howard University President Ben Vinson III will step down on August 31 after less than two years. Former President Wayne Frederick returns as interim leader during the transition.
By Milton Kirby | Washington, D.C. | August 22, 2025
Howard University announced Friday that President Ben Vinson III will step down on August 31, less than two years into his tenure as the school’s 18th president. His departure comes just days into the start of the fall semester at the historically Black university in Washington, D.C.
Vinson, who assumed office in September 2023, said in a statement that he intends to spend more time with his family while continuing his research.
“Over the course of my tenure as president, I have worked with unwavering commitment to advance the strategic vision I believe best serves the future of this institution, including in the areas of AI, data science and analytics, and global and diasporic engagement,” Vinson said. “My foremost priority has always been the well-being and success of this community, and I remain committed to ensuring a smooth and constructive transition.”
The university’s Board of Trustees praised Vinson’s leadership while announcing that Wayne A. I. Frederick, the school’s former president, will come out of retirement to serve as interim president beginning September 1.
Courtesy Howard University – President Ben Vinson
“On behalf of the Howard University Board of Trustees, we extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Vinson for his service and leadership,” said board chair Leslie D. Hale. “Given our focus and commitment, the board has selected an interim president who is uniquely equipped to serve the university during this time of transition.”
Frederick previously served as Howard’s 17th president from 2014 to 2023, a period marked by record fundraising, campus modernization, and expansion of student support services. His deep ties to Howard include three degrees from the university. The board said his return would ensure “stability, continuity, and continued progress” as Howard undergoes a nationwide search for its 19th president.
Vinson’s departure is one of the shortest presidencies in the school’s 158-year history. The university did not provide a reason beyond his personal statement, but the change comes as Howard faces several challenges. Recent reporting by the student newspaper, The Hilltop, highlighted frustrations over student account billing errors and limited housing availability. Meanwhile, federal funding battles have placed Howard under financial pressure, with recent attempts to cut the university’s congressional appropriation by tens of millions of dollars. These challenges have put a strain on the university’s leadership and resources.
At the same time, Howard has celebrated historic achievements. In February, the university became the first HBCU to earn Carnegie’s coveted Research One classification, a prestigious designation that reflects its significant growth in research spending and doctoral programs. Enrollment has also surged, topping nearly 15,000 students last fall—up from fewer than 10,000 in 2019.
Despite the sudden leadership transition, Howard officials stressed that the university’s mission remains firm. “Together with our community, we are unwavering in our commitment to build on the university’s positive momentum and accelerate its upward trajectory,” Hale said. This reassurance underscores the continuity of Howard’s values and goals.
Frederick will serve until a permanent successor is selected following a nationwide search.
The Negro National League’s first game on May 2, 1920, marked a historic turning point for Black baseball, led by visionary founder Rube Foster.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | Updated August 22, 2025
On May 2, 1920, thousands gathered at Washington Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. They came to witness a moment that would change baseball forever. That day, the Negro National League (NNL) played its first official game. The Indianapolis ABCs beat the Chicago American Giants 4 to 2. Between 6,000 and 8,000 fans filled the stands, making history together.
The man behind it all was Andrew “Rube” Foster. A former star pitcher and manager, Foster dreamed of a league for Black players. At the time, Black athletes were banned from white baseball leagues due to segregation. Foster wanted to give them a stage of their own. His goal was simple but powerful: create a profession for Black players that paid well and made the race proud.
Earlier that year, Foster met with team owners at a YMCA in Kansas City. Together, they formed the Negro National League. Foster boldly declared, “We are the ship, all else the sea.” He became the league’s first president.
The NNL began with eight teams: the Chicago American Giants, Chicago Giants, Indianapolis ABCs, Cuban Stars, Detroit Stars, Dayton Marcos, St. Louis Giants, and the Kansas City Monarchs. While other Negro Leagues had been attempted in the past, none had lasted. Foster made sure this league was different. He worked 15-hour days and even loaned his own money to keep teams going. He shifted players between teams to keep games exciting and fair. He believed in excellence and often reminded players always to be ready, because integration would come one day.
The energy at that first game was electric. Though the American Giants lost, they would later become league champions. And the game itself lit a fire in Black communities across the country. Baseball was the favorite sport of the day. Just like football and basketball are now, Black baseball was the heart of the community. People gathered on weekends to cheer for their local teams in small towns and big cities. The game was easy to play and cheap to set up. All you needed was a bat, a ball, and some open land.
Negro League games were full of energy, speed, and flair. Stars like Satchel Paige wowed crowds with their talent and showmanship. Paige, a tall and confident pitcher, sometimes made his outfield sit down while he struck out batters. “Cool Papa” Bell, one of the fastest men in the sport, could steal two bases on one pitch. Josh Gibson, known as the “Black Babe Ruth,” hit home runs over 575 feet. Oscar Charleston, called the “Black Ty Cobb,” thrilled fans with speed and power.
But life in the Negro Leagues wasn’t easy. Players faced racism daily. They couldn’t eat in most restaurants or stay in white-owned hotels. Some slept on the bus for days. Ted Radcliffe once said, “We didn’t get a chance sometimes to take a bath for 3 or 4 days because they wouldn’t let us.”
Still, the league brought people together. By the 1940s, Black-owned ballparks were places of pride and celebration. Owners gave back to the community, raising money for civil rights causes and Black colleges.
Then came 1947. Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier. Within five years, more than 150 players from the Negro Leagues had joined Major League Baseball. Without its stars and with fewer fans, the Negro Leagues faded away.
But what they built was lasting. The first game on May 2, 1920, wasn’t just a win for the ABCs. It was a win for Black history, sports, and the fight for equality. Rube Foster’s dream came true and paved the way for future generations.
MARTA’s safety briefing showcased advanced crime-fighting tools, but my frustrating experience finding the event revealed lapses in accessibility, raising concerns about rider assistance and emergency readiness.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 21, 2025
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Police Department invited reporters Thursday to its Chamblee rail station for a press conference on safety and security, including a tour of the Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC). But for at least one attendee, the effort to highlight safety underscored a different problem: accessibility.
I arrived at the station around 9:35 a.m., well ahead of the 10 a.m. start time. With no signs directing the press to the proper entrance, I approached the east side of the station near New Peachtree Road and attempted to use one of the white assistance phones. It did not work. I tried a nearby blue police phone—also dead.
Photo by Milton Kirby – MARTA Team Addressing Media
After several minutes of circling, I spotted a uniformed officer inside the fare gate. The officer was courteous, but admitted he was not assigned to the press detail. He radioed his dispatcher for guidance, only to be told that they had no information on where the briefing was being held. I expected more of an effort to help. I then walked the station’s perimeter, still with no luck.
From about 9:40 to 10:20, I searched for assistance. I called MARTA’s help line, where an agent transferred me to customer service—without response. It was not until a MARTA researcher, who happened to park at the station, escorted me that I finally found the briefing area. Ironically, the event was staged in the same lot where she normally parked, which had been closed off.
Along the way, I encountered a young rider whose MARTA card showed a zero balance. To help, I gave her my own card so she could make it to work. That’s what community looks like.
Photo by Milton Kirby – RealTime Crime Center
Chief Scott Kreher, who addressed the media, had stressed in the press release that “hundreds of MARTA police officers patrol rail stations, trains, buses, and parking lots 24-hours a day… responding immediately when someone breaks the law.” Yet on Thursday, even with police nearby, help proved elusive.
This was particularly disappointing given my history with the system. Since I arrived in Atlanta in 1983, I have been a regular MARTA patron, boarding and or exiting from every station in the system except Bankhead. At one point, when my office was located on Forsyth Street in downtown Atlanta, I boarded at Indian Creek and arrived at Five Points just 22 minutes later—a testament to the convenience MARTA can provide.
Over the decades, I have also been a vocal advocate for the transit system because I understand the need for affordable and reliable transportation. To MARTA’s credit, since requesting to be added to the media distribution list, I have consistently received communications—both favorable and not so—which reflects a degree of transparency. I continue to believe MARTA is, overall, a safe and reliable system. Still, Thursday’s incident was a stark reminder of how lapses in attention to detail can leave a casual or first-time visitor with the impression of poor standards and a lack safety measures.
Photo by Milton Kiby – Emergency Command Center
Once inside, the displays were impressive. The Real-Time Crime Center and Emergency Operations Center showcased MARTA’s technological backbone, while the motorcycles, armored car, and drones demonstrated its ability to respond quickly to investigate incidents.
Chief Kreher later explained that many of the system’s elements are currently being upgraded. Renovations include updated fare collection, station improvements, and new trains designed to ease operations. He was apologetic for the confusion, but I could not help thinking: in an actual emergency, my morning experience “could” have been a matter of life or death. In my view, MARTA failed miserably in that respect.
MARTA police officials used the briefing to emphasize preparations for the busy Labor Day weekend and next summer’s World Cup. But the lack of signage, nonfunctional assistance phones, and scarce direction raised serious questions about how accessible help truly is—for both reporters and riders.
As someone who has seen MARTA evolve since the days of eight-car trains with cushioned seats, I found the morning disheartening. With a press event expected to draw outsiders, the authority could have easily provided clear signage or attendants to guide the way. For everyday riders, however, the stakes are higher than a missed briefing. Needing assistance in an emergency should never mean waiting half an hour for answers—or finding only silence on the other end of the phone.
The 16th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival opened in Atlanta with The Rhythm & The Blues, a moving tribute to Eddie Taylor, celebrating diverse stories and filmmakers of color.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 21, 2025
A near-capacity crowd filled the historic Tara Theatre Wednesday night for the opening of the 16th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival, a celebration of filmmakers of color that has become a cornerstone of Atlanta’s cultural calendar.
The festival launched with the premiere of The Rhythm & The Blues, a feature directed and written by Darryl Pitts. “We started this project back in 2014,” Pitts said. “Through a series of twists and turns, the film came to fruition.” The film shines a long-overdue spotlight on blues guitarist Eddie Taylor, a key but often overlooked figure in American music. Actor Leon Robinson delivered a moving portrayal of Taylor, whose career was marked by artistic brilliance and exploitation by a music industry that too often erased or commodified Black artists.
When asked how he approaches his varied roles, Robinson explained, “In order to be someone real, you have to be them. With that, I do not feel like I am acting.”
Photo by Milton Kirby – Leon Robison & Darryl Pitts
Preserving a Musical Legacy
Founded in 2009, BronzeLens has dedicated itself to showcasing stories by and about people of color while positioning Atlanta as a global hub for filmmaking. This year’s hybrid edition runs August 20–24, with online screenings extending beyond the festival dates.
At precisely 7:45 p.m., the curtain rose on The Rhythm & The Blues, a narrative infused with recollections from Taylor’s son, Chicago bluesman Larry Taylor, and journalist Bonni McKeown. The cast includes Guy Davis as Jimmy Reed and Toni Belafonte as Vera Taylor, Eddie’s wife, whose presence added emotional depth to the story. The soundtrack, featuring contributions from Larry Taylor and the late Eddie Taylor Jr., gave the film an authenticity that resonated deeply with the audience.
BronzeLens Film Festival
The film previously sold out its New York debut at Lincoln Center during May’s African Film Festival. Its Atlanta premiere further cemented its reputation as a work that blends cultural history with personal struggle.
Shorts Highlight Diverse Narratives
Opening day also featured a series of shorts that reflected the variety and spirit of BronzeLens:
The Off-Brands, directed by Shayla Racquel, followed Constance McKinney, a quirky Black teenager with sickle cell disease, navigating small-town high school life. The story drew on Y2K nostalgia while addressing disability, culture, and belonging.
Grounded: Creating Space for Black Peace, directed by Brittney Brackett, explored how Black and Brown communities confront trauma and mental health struggles, emphasizing healing through art and safe spaces for youth.
Curtain Call, a poignant drama, chronicled a teenager’s choice between the streets and possible incarceration and freedom, ultimately finding redemption through resilience.
A Passing of the Torch
The evening closed with a bittersweet announcement. Deidre McDonald, BronzeLens’s founding artistic director, shared that 2025 will be her final year leading the festival. Since its inception, McDonald has been the festival’s guiding force, cultivating an event that attracts filmmakers from Angola, Canada, Jamaica, and Georgia alike.
“The mission of BronzeLens has always been to elevate diverse voices and to celebrate stories that inform and inspire,” McDonald said. “That mission will continue.”
Looking Ahead
With opening night behind it, BronzeLens now turns to a week of programming that includes documentaries, panel discussions on AI’s role in film and representation, and screenings from filmmakers around the globe.
For many, The Rhythm & The Blues set the perfect tone for the days ahead—a reminder that music and film are both powerful acts of protest, legacy, and cultural preservation.
The festival continues through Sunday, promising to showcase stories that challenge, uplift, and reflect the richness of communities often left out of mainstream narratives.
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Atlanta’s Xocolatl crafts award-winning bean-to-bar chocolate, ethically sourced from small farms, blending bold flavors with social justice, sustainability, and community impact in every handmade bar.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 21, 2025
Elaine Read and Matt Weyandt’s backpacking trip to the jungles of Costa Rica led them to build one of Atlanta’s most unique food businesses.
Their passion for ethically sourced, small-batch chocolate has grown into Xocolatl (pronounced chock-oh-LAH-tul), a nationally recognized bean-to-bar chocolate company with roots deeply planted in community and sustainability. Xocolatl became carbon-neutral certified by The Change Climate Project in October 2023.
The couple’s journey began in 2012, when they moved with their toddler and newborn to a sleepy Costa Rican town where the jungle meets the sea. There, they discovered dark chocolate made from locally grown cacao—intensely flavorful, unprocessed, and unlike the candy bars of their childhood. Their passion for chocolate was ignited as they quickly realized that chocolate from different farms had noticeably different flavor profiles. It was an entirely new experience of what chocolate could be.
They returned to Atlanta with bags of cacao and a new vision: to introduce craft chocolate to their hometown. After a year of experimenting with recipes and sourcing beans directly from farmers, they opened their micro-factory and retail store at Krog Street Market in late 2014.
Today, Xocolatl has grown significantly, employing 19 full- and part-time staff, operating a micro-factory in Atlanta, and shipping its award-winning chocolate across the United States. This growth is a testament to their dedication and the quality of their products.
Grinding the beans
Bean-to-Bar, Start to Finish
Unlike many chocolatiers who melt down mass-produced chocolate, Xocolatl makes its products from scratch. The process starts with hand-sorting cacao beans sourced from farmer co-ops in Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Tanzania. This commitment to ethical sourcing ensures that the beans are of the highest quality and that the farmers are fairly compensated. After roasting to highlight unique flavor notes, the beans are cracked into nibs and ground for days until the chocolate develops its smooth texture. Only organic cane sugar is added for single-origin bars, while other bars feature carefully chosen flavor inclusions.
Molding the chocolate
The final step is tempering and molding the chocolate into bars, each wrapped by hand in sustainably produced paper designed and printed locally. “It takes about a week for one batch, start to finish,” Matt said. “It’s labor-intensive, but that’s what makes the difference.”
Social Justice Through Chocolate
Xocolatl’s mission extends beyond flavor. Matt, a former campaign manager for the late Congressman John Lewis, and Elaine, a former Peace Corps volunteer and nonprofit professional, are determined to use their company as a force for good.
This commitment has not gone unnoticed. Xocolatl has won multiple awards, including recognition from the Academy of Chocolate, a Good Food Award, and even a feature in O, The Oprah Magazine.
Challenges and Growth
Like many small businesses, Xocolatl faces hurdles. Tariffs on imported goods and a volatile economy have made planning difficult. The company has limited storage capacity and often partners with other chocolatiers in New York, North Carolina, and California to share import container space for cacao and sugar.
Despite the challenges, demand remains strong. Nearly half of Xocolatl’s revenue comes from retail sales, with another 29 percent from wholesale accounts—including Whole Foods and local businesses like Big Softie ice cream, who uses Xocolatll chocolate in their ice cream coating process, and several Atlanta coffee shops that use Xocolatl chocolate in their mocha drinks. Online sales make up about 16 percent of revenue.
“We’re careful with our cash right now, but we’re excited about the future,” Elaine said. Plans for a second retail location are in the works, though tempered by caution in the current economic climate.
More Than a Chocolate Bar
Beyond retail, Xocolatl has expanded into company gifting, offering custom sets and branded chocolate for corporate clients. They also host weekly chocolate tastings at their Atlanta factory, where guests can learn about cacao farming, taste single-origin chocolates, and experience the bean-to-bar process firsthand.
Krog Street Retail Store
Their name, Xocolatl, pays homage to the Aztec and Mayan word for chocolate, meaning “bitter water.” It reflects both the ancient origins of chocolate and the company’s Atlanta roots—cleverly highlighted in the “ATL” at the end of their name.
For Elaine and Matt, every bar of chocolate represents more than a treat. It is a celebration of culture, craft, and connection. “We hope people feel the same sense of adventure and contentment that first inspired us.”
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Senator Raphael Warnock visited Georgia farms, hospitals, and small businesses, warning Trump tariffs and GOP tax cuts threaten farmers, rural hospitals, and small business survival statewide.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 20, 2025
U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock spent the past week crisscrossing Georgia, meeting with farmers, health care providers, and small business owners to highlight the economic risks he says stem from former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and the recently passed GOP tax bill.
Tariffs Burden Georgia Farmers
On Saturday, Warnock toured Three Bees Pecan Farm in Wrens with owner Jeb Barrow Jr., meeting local producers to discuss the financial uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policy. Georgia farmers, already operating on thin margins, said shifting trade rules make it difficult to plan investments and sustain jobs.
“I just know how hard farmers work in this state, and if you talk to them, they’re not interested in aid, they’re interested in trade,” Warnock said. “They want to see their products make it to India. But right now, this whole thing is being operated willy-nilly, from Donald Trump’s back pocket. One announcement, then a reversal. How do you plan a farm around that?”
Barrow praised Warnock’s approach: “He takes a genuine interest in our problems, and when we sit down at the table, he listens.”
Georgia is the nation’s top pecan producer, and nearly 28% of U.S. pecans are exported, making access to foreign markets critical. In 2022, Warnock helped lower India’s trade barriers on pecans by 70%, opening a major market for Georgia growers.
Senator Raphael Warnock visited Georgia pecan farm
As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Trade, Warnock has pressed administration officials for relief, voting to roll back tariffs on Canada, urging expedited USDA action on pecan exports, and demanding answers on how tariffs impact small producers.
Rural Hospitals Under Pressure
In Claxton, Warnock visited Evans Memorial Hospital, which faces an annual shortfall of $3.3 million due to cuts embedded in the GOP tax bill. The hospital, already forced to close its labor and delivery unit, now risks cutting intensive care or cardio-pulmonary rehab services.
“This is a matter of life and death,” Warnock said. “We’re cutting services and endangering rural health care, all to give billionaires a tax cut. That’s bad public policy.”
According to the Georgia Hospital Association, more than 16,000 rural health care jobs could be at risk statewide. Medicaid cuts would remove up to 93,000 Georgians from coverage, while raising premiums for 1.2 million.
Warnock previously secured $1 million for Evans Memorial to replace its leaking roof, protecting equipment and patient safety. He continues to push the Health Care Affordability Act to prevent premium hikes for Georgians on the state’s insurance marketplace.
Tariffs Strain Small Businesses
On Tuesday, Warnock traveled to Atlanta’s XocolATLChocolate Factory, where owners Matt Weyandt and Elaine Read described the challenges of importing cacao beans from Central America and Africa, as well as sugar from Brazil. Tariffs on those products have spiked between 10% and 50%, forcing the business to raise prices and stockpile raw materials.
Warnock Visits Candy Factory
“We don’t even know what our cost of goods will be in six months,” Weyandt said. “Setting a price for customers is almost impossible.”
Warnock called the tariff policy “a job killer,” emphasizing that small businesses are the backbone of Georgia’s economy. “Congress could put forward a coherent tariff policy, but so far, my Republican colleagues have ceded all their power to the executive branch,” he said.
During his visit, the Senator joined employees in grinding cocoa beans and mixing sugar, joking, “I can’t even wrap my Christmas gifts. This is a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.”
Broader Message
The Senator tied the week’s visits together with a broader critique: tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy, and health care reductions are connected by what he sees as misplaced priorities. “When you center politics rather than people, you hurt farmers, you hurt families, and you hurt the very businesses that fuel Georgia’s economy,” Warnock said.
For Georgia’s farmers, small business owners, and rural health workers, the message was clear: the fight over tariffs and tax policy is not just about Washington politics — it’s about survival at home.
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At Atlanta City Council, reflection on the Pledge of Allegiance revealed America’s unfulfilled promises of liberty and justice, systemic racism, and enduring struggles for Black equality
By Richard Rose | August 20, 2025
I attended a recent Atlanta City Council recognition of a community organizing colleague. The custom is the delivery of the invocation and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The protocol is to stand, face the flag, and place one’s right hand over the heart. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
As I stood, I reflected on today’s America and how it currently tends toward yesterday’s America. I could not recite the pledge, although the words echoed in my mind. There is no liberty and justice for all in America. There was no justice for all in 1942 when the pledge was adopted. At that time, Black citizens across America were denied the right to vote, especially in the states of the short-lived yet ever-present Confederate States of America.
The systems of American society have limited access to its benefits for descendants of African enslavement in America that continues today. Then, as now, there were two flags. Southern states proudly flew versions of both the Confederate battle flag and that of the Confederate States of America, and in doing so proclaimed, and still proclaims, white supremacy and its evil progeny, racism.
It would be another 6 years before the American military was desegregated by executive order of Democrat President Harry Truman, and 12 years before the Supreme Court ruled that the concept of “separate but equal” is a cruel myth, ushering in Federal troop protection of six-year-old schoolgirls and boys past screaming white adults and teenagers.
Still today, there are obstacles to voting designed to suppress Black votes, some of which rely on the generational economic and educational barriers of racism.
I wish that the “pledge” truly reflected the realities of America and not just the aspirations of equality. I wish that Federal, state, county, and city governments would immediately abolish all systems and policies that promote and maintain racism and all forms of bigotry. I wish that the statues and monuments that promote and teach racism would be removed from public property. I wish that the state of Georgia would repeal its statutes that protect and fund the largest shrine to white supremacy in the history of the world at Stone Mountain Park. I wish that Black politicians would recognize the neo-colonialism in their service that maintains the barriers to liberty and justice for all. I wish that the words I learned in my segregated Tennessee elementary school, sitting at pockmarked desks supplied with 15-year-old books with missing pages, really meant something for me and the next generations.
Until then, I cannot, will not, and should not recite America’s pledge of allegiance.
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