Insightful Tuesday
June 3 — June is here, Silver Streak readers!
We have a week of profile interviews and historic commemoration over at this edition of Silver Streak.
Singer-songwriter Ron Sowell sat down with Rough Draft intern Hannah Much to discuss guitars, music, and attitudes on aging. Activist and poet Franklin Abbott’s latest poetry collection, “My Ordinary Life,” navigates his experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. And, with the “Save the Fox” campaign turning 50 this year, Atlanta’s beloved theatre reflects on progress in community and education initiatives.
But first, a few headlines:
💵 Watch your mailbox or bank account: The Georgia Department of Revenue will begin issuing one-time state income tax refunds this week.
💻 Georgia Power’s plan to support a surge in data centers with fossil fuels is under scrutiny by the state’s Public Service Commission.
☀️ The installation of solar panels at the Dorothy C. Benson Senior Center and 45 other Fulton County facilities will save taxpayers an estimated $2.4 million over the next 20 years.
🏢 The fate of two historic buildings on the Georgia State University campus in Downtown Atlanta remains uncertain after a contentious town hall meeting.
⚕️ Healthbeat reports that Georgia has the highest rate of new HIV infections in the country, plus they offer a guide on where to get tested in Atlanta.
🧒 The Center for Puppetry Arts announced that it is lowering children’s ticket prices beginning this month due to rising costs for families.
🍽️ Our food mavens, Beth McKibben and Sarra Sedghi, look back at their favorite dishes from local restaurants in May.
🕓 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter.
• Musician Ron Sowell
• Poet and activist Franklin Abbott
• ‘Save the Fox’ turns 50
AND
• Stories of Atlanta | Lance Russell
Enjoy!
‘Aging is inevitable, but getting old is optional;’ an interview with Ron Sowell
🎸 Singer/songwriter Ron Sowell embraces that getting older doesn’t mean getting old. Now in his seventies, Sowell just released his third solo album, “Dance Till the Music Stops,” which encourages people to live in the moment, appreciate life, and stay young no matter how old they get.
Sowell was born in New Mexico, where he fell in love with the guitar in his teenage years. He studied political science in college and intended to enroll in law school, but decided that wasn’t for him.
“Believe in yourself, trust your intuition, and do what you love,” Sowell said. “Find out what you’re passionate about and commit yourself to that, and you’ll never regret it.”
🎶 Read more about Sowell and his music here.
Don’t miss Movies on the Town this summer!
SPONSORED BY TOWN BROOKHAVEN
🎬 Town Brookhaven kicks off Movies on the Town, an annual summer movie series, on June 12.
Gather on the green space for this family-friendly activity to be held on Thursdays at dusk in June and July (excluding July 3). Bring a blanket or chair and order dinner from one of our restaurants to enjoy on the green space.
The movies are perfect for family nights, date nights, girls’ nights, or nights out with a few friends.
➞ Look for a special DIY craft station and character meet on June 12. Free popcorn courtesy of LOOK Dine-In Cinema. Visit our merchants before the movies, too. Learn more here!
Franklin Abbott’s new poetry collection born from COVID lockdown
🏳️🌈 Decatur resident Franklin Abbott has been a guiding presence in LGBTQ+ activism in Atlanta for more than 50 years.
Abbott was active in Civil Rights and anti-war protests before joining the nascent gay rights movement in the early 1970s. His correspondence with gay men, poets, and radicals from all over the world – including Harry Hay, James Broughton, and Assotto Saint – is a backbone of his extensive archive housed at Georgia State University. He is the author of two books of poetry, “Mortal Love: Selected Poems, 1971-1998” and “Pink Zinnia,” and also edited three noted anthologies on men and gender, including “Boyhood: Growing up Male.”
Abbott’s new book, “My Ordinary Life,” was born from his experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown, which forced him to take stock of his life. The book will be published by RFD Press on June 6.
📚 Learn more about Abbott’s new book here.
Fox Theatre celebrates 50th anniversary of ‘Save the Fox’ campaign
🌟 Fifty years after Atlantans rallied to save the Fox Theatre from demolition, the city’s historic entertainment venue is not only still standing — it’s thriving.
This June marks the half century anniversary of the 1975 grassroots “Save the Fox” campaign, a pivotal effort in which local leaders, activists and everyday citizens helped preserve the local theater, which continues to host a wide array of entertainment acts to this day.
In commemoration of this milestone, the Fox Theatre highlighted a number of substantial developments that the venue recently accomplished as part of its “ongoing commitment to arts, education and community.”
🎭 Read more about the anniversary here.
‘The First Election’: Stories of Atlanta by Lance Russell
VIA SAPORTAREPORT
🍻 In this episode of Stories of Atlanta, part of our “Iron and Ambition” series, we travel back to 1848 – the year Atlanta held its very first city election.
Fueled by fistfights, whiskey, and political passions, this raucous vote set the tone for the kind of city Atlanta would become. With just 215 votes, cast in Thomas Kile’s store, located at what is now Five Points in downtown Atlanta, the city’s future was shaped.
The winner? The popular owner of a Decatur Street saloon. And as we will see in future episodes, that was only the beginning.
🗳️ Learn more on this week’s Stories of Atlanta.
Explore more of our newsletters
💡 Did you know Silver Streak has other newsletters that go deeper into what’s happening across metro Atlanta?
➡ Stacks: Our newest newsletter covering Atlanta’s literary scene, author profiles, book reviews, and more comes out the second Sunday of each month.
➡ Sketchbook: All about Atlanta’s art scene. Artist profiles, art openings, museum events. Wednesdays.
➡ Side Dish: News about the food scene. Beyond just openings and closings, Side Dish includes recipes and a regular feature on pop-ups. Thursdays.
➡ Scene: The only newsletter focused on the movie world. Reviews, interviews, podcasts. Fridays.
📧 All of our newsletters are free, you can unsubscribe at any time, and we never sell your data. Subscribe here.
🖋️ Today’s Silver Streak was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.