
Atlanta Is America’s Past and Future
“Ooh, well, they ain’t never gonna win. They made God mad.”
I got a taste of that distinctly Atlantan verve before I’d barely left Hartsfield-Jackson airport. As we passed the six-year-old Mercedes-Benz Stadium, my exasperated Uber driver Chandra pointed out that, to build the 71,000-seat sports and concert venue, the developers razed not only Mount Vernon Baptist Church but also Friendship Baptist Church, the birthplace of two historic Black colleges, Spelman and Morehouse.
I got a taste of that distinctly Atlantan verve before I’d barely left Hartsfield-Jackson airport. As we passed the six-year-old Mercedes-Benz Stadium, my exasperated Uber driver Chandra pointed out that, to build the 71,000-seat sports and concert venue, the developers razed not only Mount Vernon Baptist Church but also Friendship Baptist Church, the birthplace of two historic Black colleges, Spelman and Morehouse.