The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will travel to Atlanta next week to showcase a collection of familiar and unreleased pieces to both new and returning audiences.

The company will put on four public performances at the Fox Theatre in downtown from Jan. 25-27 as part of its 2024 national tour celebrating the 65th anniversary of its founding.

Each show will feature an assortment of individual productions brought to life by internationally acclaimed choreographers, including the return of a modern company classic originally choreographed by the late founder himself.

Artistic director emerita of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Judith Jamison, said that the company’s performers and choreographers have prepared a show that combines traditional elements of Ailey’s signature performance style with fresh, updated concepts capable of shifting the company into future programming.

She also said that creating art like Amy Hall Garner’s piece “CENTURY,” which honors the life of the Ailey artist in residence’s 100-year-old grandfather, is critical in that it acknowledges the contributions of previous generations and helps keep cultural traditions in performance alive.

“We extend ourselves through our ancestors,” Jamison said. “We are who we are because of them.”

Among the week’s performances, a contemporary piece by Kyle Abraham called “Are You in Your Feelings?” will explore love, relationships and Black culture on stage while featuring music from influential artists like Kendrick Lamar and Lauryn Hill.

Another piece, choreographed by Ronald K. Brown, will pay tribute to Judith Jamison’s impact and illustrious career, named after her 1993 autobiography, “Dancing Spirit.”

Jamison, who danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 15 years before becoming the company’s artistic director in 1989, said the ensemble has expanded since her debut in 1965 but has nonetheless remained focused on the company’s mission to hold the Ailey name in high regard, as well as the art of dance in general.

“(The company’s) grown, but we are still connected,” Jamison said. “That’s the important thing that differentiates this company from other companies. It’s a big family.”

Jamison also said that Ailey’s cast of artists always strives to leave a lasting impression on its audiences around the world and that those who attend a show should be mindful of the intimacy and importance of live theatre as they watch the performances.

“Have some fun, have a good time, go on a journey, enjoy what you see, absorb what you see,” Jamison said. “We’re there to entertain, we’re there to enlighten, and to make you feel uplifted when you leave the theater.”

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform each evening at 7:30 p.m. and perform an additional Saturday afternoon show beginning at 2 p.m.

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Costs of food, energy, and other related necessities around Atlanta saw modest decreases over the final few months of 2023, prompting consumers to start 2024 with comparably lower prices, particularly for clothing, dairy products, and gasoline.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area ended last year with consumer prices about 3.6 percent higher compared to prices from the year before, but seven-tenths of a percentage point lower than those seen four months prior.

Prices on a national scale, however, have increased steadily month-to-month all throughout 2023, only staying the same from September to October.

2023 marked the first year since 2019 where prices for goods in the metro area declined continuously from August to December, dropping six tenths of a percentage point during the first two months and another tenth of a percentage point by the end of the year.

Labor percentages in Atlanta adjusted by similar means last year, rising long-term while falling marginally over the past few months.

Unemployment rates increased slightly in the city over a 12-month time span, rising from 2.7% in November 2022 to 3.1% last November. Local unemployment reached its 2023 peak in August, reaching 3.7% before dropping to 3.4% in September.

Contrarily, national unemployment rates increased by just a tenth of a percentage point over the course of the same 12 months, from 3.4% to 3.5%. Unemployment for the civilian population aged 16 and older reached 3.7% nationwide in December, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

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Atlanta businesswoman Diane Larché died on Friday, January 12, at the age of 65, after battling pancreatic cancer. Larché was the owner of Larché Communications, an Atlanta-based public relations agency that she operated for over 20 years.

Larché also owned Footittr specialty shoe store with her husband Joseph Larché. 

During her decades working in public relations, marketing, and advertising, Larché was able to represent many clients in politics, entertainment, and sports, including Home Box Office (HBO); Dallas Mavericks Guard Jason Terry (formerly of the Atlanta Hawks); S.T.E.P.S. Events Planning Firm President & CEO Jamahl King; Divine Mill/ Warner Bros. Recording artist Jaheim; 2001 NAACP Image Award nominated actress Krysten Leigh Jones of the blockbuster movie Remember The Titans; and more. 

Larché was not only considered a successful businesswoman but an important member of the Atlanta community. She was also a dear friend to The Atlanta Voice and a huge supporter of the Black Press. 

A native of Philadelphia, Larche earned bachelor’s degrees in English and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Certificate in Publishing from Howard University. She started her career as a newspaper and radio journalist. 

While in Pittsburgh, she served as a founder and former board member of the National Association of Black Journalists Pittsburgh Chapter. Larche was also a member of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, Public Relations Society of America, Atlanta Sports Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Press Club, Junior League of Atlanta, Inc., and Atlanta Commission on Women. 

At the time of her passing,  Larché was the founding and current president of the Greater Atlanta Section of the National Council of Negro (NCNW), the largest section ever to be chartered in the 83-year history of NCNW.

She served on the board of directors of the League of Women Voters of Atlanta-Fulton County, the National Association of Black Cardiologists Center For Women’s Health, and the Lupus Foundation of America, Georgia Chapter.

Larché was also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Atlanta Alumnae Chapter and Ben Hill United Methodist Church.

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The City of Sandy Springs hosted a free interactive learning experience at City Springs on Monday afternoon honoring civil rights icon and Atlanta native Martin Luther King, Jr. on what would have been his 95th birthday.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Art and Film Celebration brought together parents, grandparents, and children of all ages to participate in a variety of King-themed arts and crafts and to view a private screening of the 1999 Emmy-nominated classic, “Our Friend, Martin.”

Sandy Springs mayor Rusty Paul said that the city has put on MLK-themed events for the community every year since 2005, making it the longest-running continuous celebration that Sandy Springs has hosted.

“It’s always been oriented toward the kids,” Paul said. “We want them to learn, and we figured that having a more tactile learning experience… would be the best way for kids to learn, because if you want to defeat hate, you have to start early.”

The mayor also said that it’s important to continue organizing community events that bring to light one of the darkest time periods of America’s history, even as critical figures of the era begin to pass away.

“It’s very important that we learn from our history — the good and the bad,” Paul said.

Each of Monday’s activities centered around specific elements of King’s legacy and mission: dream, justice, love, liberty, equality, and freedom. Kids designed keepsake bookmarks featuring quotes from King, completed MLK-themed word searches based on details of the civil rights leader’s life, and went home with a certificate of completion after finishing all six objectives.

Latoya Morgan brought her daughter, Serenity, to Monday’s event to help her grasp the significance of King’s actions and the sacrifices made in the hope of a better future.

“I’ve always loved Dr. King — since I was 11 years old,” Morgan said. “So, I want to make sure she understands the legacy of the impact that his life had on the next generation to continue the work.”

Morgan said she brings Serenity to MLK-related events often, as a way to teach her about her ancestry and as a result of Morgan’s passion for civil rights.

“She needs to understand the elders that came before her and that the privileges that she now is afforded, like the life that she lives, didn’t come easy. It was with a price,” Morgan said. “There were people who laid their lives down for us to be able to have these freedoms.”

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In honor of Martin Luther King Day, NEXT Steps, a youth entrepreneur program, held a MLK day community cleanup and BBQ fundraiser at the Smith Family Ranch in Stockbridge.  

The Smith Family Ranch is a family-owned and operated entity. Centrally located in the city of Stockbridge, it’s home to a variety of furry friends that wait in excitement to be treated by the new visitors. The ranch also serves as the grounds for community events and gatherings where they are thrilled to share all the wonders mother nature has to offer. 

At their first community cleanup event at the Smith Family Ranch, Dana Jewel Harris, executive director of Next Steps Youth Entrepreneur program, said one of her mentees brought her to the ranch because she helps farmers and new beginning ranchers design their spaces and turn them into agritourism states.  

“This ranch is 42 acres, and I will be developing a supply chain management system as well, but it’ll be rooted in education and training. With agritourism, it involves education but also involves hospitality, tourism, outdoor recreation, and entertainment,” Harris said. “So, we’ve done Easter egg hunts where we get about 400 people here. We did a jazz festival last October, where we had 150 people here, so this place lends for a lot of community outreach and engagement, but it’s also an outdoor venue.” 

At the community cleanup, Harris said they are starting the beautification process. 

The entire area of the ranch is going to be beautified over the course of the year. We have petting farms, so we have a lot of field trips and we do birthday parties and family reunions,” she said. “People get to feed the animals as part of the experience, we have a seven-mile walking trail, and have pocket gardens throughout the area, and we also have a three-acre pond in the back where we teach fishing and ultimately want to do concerts around the pond.” 

At some point this year, Harris said, they will be holding garden parties and teaching how to grow all kinds of things in the area.  

“We’re going to expand on that to include a greenhouse, have an outdoor kitchen, and really make it engaging and inviting to get more people outdoors to do this part of therapy,” she said. “I’m beginning my journey to be licensed in horticulture therapy. The kids that are shoveling looks like work, but that’s a therapy activity because collaboration and doing something that is bigger than yourself for someone else. So, for people that’s feeling depressed or something like that, it helps them, and we do equine therapy where every second Saturday, we teach people how to ride horses.” 

Harris said she chose to do the cleanup and BBQ fundraiser on MLK day because MLK day has always been an amazing day of service. 

Also, she used to have an old farm in west Atlanta called Atwood Community Gardens and was one of the top community partners with Hands On Atlanta.  

“I would serve about 1,500 people a year. Every MLK day I’d have about 1,500 a day and MLK day is when people are off and then is called the day of service. So, people would look out for things to do that they could do with their family,” she said. “Not only is it helping the community, but it’s something that you come back to, so MLK day has always been an amazing day of service, and finding people is a great marketing tool to get people to come to your property. It helps the business, the community, and the kids get to learn and stay out of trouble.” 

For more information, visit https://www.thesmithfamilyranch.com. 

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Grammy-nominated rapper, Atlanta native, and business owner Killer Mike performed at halftime of this year’s Atlanta Hawks MLK Day game. This wasn’t Killer Mike’s (neé Michael Render) first time performing in front of large crowds at a sporting event – the attendance for Monday’s MLK Day game was 17,447 – and it wasn’t his first time performing on MLK Day. It was however a unique opportunity for him to speak to a large swath of Georgia voters on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses.

“On a hyper-local level it’s very important that people stay engaged because hyper-locally is where the change happens,” Killer Mike said.

During his performance, Killer Mike prefaced his hit single, “Run”, by saying “Y’all better run to the polls this year.” Afterwards he used the example of the $40 million of federal funding that went towards metro Atlanta trade schools and how important that was to educating thousands of people as a reason for focussing on local politics.

“When you look at the $40 million coming down the pipeline for trade schools a few years ago, Atlanta would have gotten skipped had it not been for Vincent Fort,” he said. “If Vincent Fort wouldn’t have raised hell about it we wouldn’t have had the trade schools blossoming on Metropolitan Avenue like we have now.”

The turnout for recent local elections has been low in Georgia, particularly during non-presidential years. For example, There were just over 97,000 reported votes for the 2021 mayoral election. The subsequent runoff between Andre Dickens and Felicia Moore, both well-known members of Atlanta City Council at that time, saw 78,643 voters cast ballots.

“For me, it’s important on a hyper-local level,” Killer Mike explained. “I know it’s sexy to be arguing about who is going to be president, but it’s sexier to know who you are voting for judge, who your prosecutors are going to be, who your mayor is going to be, and who they are going to anoint as police chief.”

There are more than seven million registered voters in Georgia, with more than 750,000 of them registered to vote within Fulton County. “Get to know your city councilperson,” said Killer Mike, who added that he recently spoke with Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Lewis. “I want to see more young legislators, I want to see more young people in city council, and I want to see more progressive mayors like the one we currently have.”

Killer Mike, whose latest album “Michael” has been nominated for multiple Grammy awards, wanted to further reiterate his points on the importance of voting and voter education.

“Whoever is going to be president is going to be a bigger argument, but hyper-locally you should care about who is going to be your mayor, who are your state representatives and who your governor is more than anything,” he said.

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Equipped with gloves and masks, volunteers gathered on Sunday, January 14, 2024, to participate in the “Spin The Block” event. A community service project aimed at cleaning the streets of downtown beginning at the Forsyth and Brotherton intersection, “Spin the Block,” began that morning. 

“Before I had the studio, I was just a photographer,” said founder and owner of Cam Kirk Studios,  Cam Kirk. “But when I opened up the studio six and a half years ago, I just met so many young creators, I met so many real people from the city, and it just inspired me to want to build a community around our business.”

“Spin the Block” serves as a predecessor to the studio’s “Yesterday’s Tomorrow” conference on MLK Day, which has featured comedian D.C Youngfly, Ryan Wilson, CEO & Co-Founder of The Gathering Spot, and artist-musician J.I.D. Entry to the conference is now facilitated through community cleanup participation. 

Spin The Block first came into action in 2019 and has been a regularly recurring event happening every quarter since, with Cam Kirk adopting Forsyth and Brotherton streets. “All the blue and black trash cans and recycling bins, we put those out there. We put 25 different recycling bins and trash cans. The first recycling to exist on the street, just encouraging people to know the difference between trash and going green,” said Kirk.

Volunteers, including Ebony Watson from Stone Mountain, a psych coordinator from the Sync Community Learning Center in Decatur, who decided to volunteer after seeing Shelly Nicole Andrews’ Instagram post, the president of the Cam Kirk Foundation. “I love cleaning up our community, cleaning up trash. People live on the streets and if we make it cleaner for them, it’ll do something to make the world a better place,” said Watson.

Larger groups, such as the “New Look” Leadership Academy, Usher’s youth-oriented leadership organization, also engaged with the community. DeniséAnn Malcolm, assistant program coordinator for the New Look Foundation, emphasized the importance of disconnecting from technology and fostering a sense of ownership in the city through activities like cleaning up trash. Malcolm praised Cam Kirk’s unique impact on the community, stating, “There’s something special about Cam Kirk, something special about what he’s doing in the city. That’s why we chose this particular event to come to.”

Reflecting on the significance of community leaders giving back, Malcolm expressed appreciation for Kirk’s humility and involvement, “It’s great to see when people like Cam Kirk are doing something positive in the community. He’s super connected with the community. He’s super humble, really big about connecting and making sure that people get opportunities,” said Malcolm. 

The event, sponsored by Athlete’s Foot, was attended by executive Darius Billings, Vice President of Marketing and Community Engagement, who spoke about the company’s commitment to community involvement. “Athletes Foot is all about being a part of something bigger than sneakers, participating in initiatives like ‘Spin The Block,’ and keeping our communities clean aligns with our values,” said Billings. He continued by stating what sets Athlete’s Foot apart from other corporations is their tangible commitment to action and emphasizing that community care goes beyond mere sponsorship, “People think philanthropy, you have to be rich, right? It’s not about that. It’s about time, it’s just as important as money. So for these young people to be out here and donating their time, all the while, wanting to do better in the community and wanting to do things,” said Billings.

Billings, accompanied by his 8-year-old son, Baker, expressed the desire to set an example, “I want my son to see everything I do because that’s how we develop young men,” Billings told The Atlanta Voice.

Speaking on the importance of taking ownership in the community, Kirk further stated, “This is our community. This is our home. It’s important for me to ensure when people come here and when they create at our studio, that they feel welcomed by the environment, the atmosphere, and they feel warm. I can’t wait for anybody else to do it. It’s our community, we get together and we do it ourselves,” Kirk told The Atlanta Voice.

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took a step away from the lectern inside the pulpit at Big Bethel AME Church and caught herself. She was in the middle of her testimony, a discussion she recently had with God, and was about to cry. Willis was invited to be the guest speaker for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial service at the historic 175-year-old church located in the heart of Auburn Avenue, and moments earlier told the congregation that this was going to be a different kind of interruption in service.

“Now I must warn you, if you are looking today to hear from a perfect person, well he was crucified and he died for your sins,” said Willis. “Today what God has brought you is his very flawed, hard-headed, and imperfect servant. So I pray for him to please use me this morning.”

Willis announced to the congregation that the theme being celebrated on the eve of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is, “It starts with me.” She proclaimed that there has been and can continue to be a shift in the cultural climate through the study and practice of Dr. King’s non-violent philosophy. The current climate she said she was in was one of hatred, racism, sexism, violence, and constant death threats. As one of a very few female district attorneys of color in the United States, Willis already had a tough job to do in Atlanta’s largest and most populated county. Of the 50 district attorneys in the state of Georgia, only seven are Black women.

On Sunday, without having to mention the name of the former United States president currently dealing with indictments in Fulton County, she was clear that the weight of her lofty position had gotten much heavier following the charges levied against Donald J. Trump.

“This church is built on faith and resilience and this hard-headed, flawed, imperfect servant before you is built and is being constantly chiseled on faith and resilience,” Willis said. “I knew God was telling me I’m sending you where you need to be. God always brings you to that safe place where you need to be.”

Willis asked a question that felt more introspective than rhetorical. “How much are you presently willing to sacrifice for the greater good of His purpose?,” she said. “I want to talk to you today about what is required to be a soldier in warfare to shift the cultural climate.”

A mother of two adult daughters, Willis, 52, said, “I must reveal a secret, the journey is ugly, the journey is painful, the journey is full of pitfalls, but if you are one of His children you must answer the purpose, the call, and you must answer the mandate.”

During her 30 minutes in the pulpit, Willis shared stories that her father, former defense attorney and member of the Black Panther Party, John C. Floyd III, shared with her of Dr. King. She said her father spent time with King and often told her stories about speaking with King and how tired the slain Civil Rights era leader was.

“I must confess to you, as a little girl I really didn’t think that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream would still be just a work in progress. I thought by 2024 that us humans would have gotten it together. That the cultural shift would have already taken place. I thought by now we would all just be getting along. Boy was I wrong.”

She said now, as much as any time in history this country needs a cultural shift. She used the lack of respect for law enforcement and the racist, bigoted, and hateful rhetoric being shared on social media and in public as examples. “Americans have normalized cruelty, bigotry, and hate,” Willis said. “See they criticize me for who my Earthly father is and my Heavenly one.”

Floyd let his daughter know there is a big difference in how King is celebrated today versus when he was alive and one of the faces of a cultural change in America. Those lessons on perspective have not left Willis, who was uncharacteristically open and vulnerable during her time at Big Bethel. “Oh we’re going to tell the truth this morning,” she said. “This week at one point I became so in need of my source that I stopped and to tap in I penned a letter to my Heavenly father. I desperately needed to tap into that one source. God knows my heart, my joys, my pains, my sins, my faults.”

She prefaced that point by proclaiming, “In my life I have experienced things that taught me that Jesus is the only source I can rely on every time and all the time,” Willis said.

Willis shared that she still receives a steady diet of death and bomb threats. Through different means, King shared similar experiences of threats of violence to himself and his family during his journey from co-pastor under his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church and the first president of the Student Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to global icon and later civil rights martyr.

In a candid moment that drew a hush over the crowd, Willis shared that if she isn’t alerted of multiple death threats per week

On Christmas Day 2023 she was alerted of a shooting at her home only to learn that it was a cruel prank. She called it just another day when her joy was stolen while trying to celebrate God.

“God, I trust you, God, I thank you, God, I love you, I thank you for every attack that makes me stronger,” she said. “See, I sit here with a peace that passes all understanding.” The latter statement brought the congregation to its feet.

United States Representative Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga, 14th District) and Fulton County Commissioner Bridget Thorne were mentioned during Willis’ testimony. “God, I don’t want to be like those who attack me. I don’t want to be like a Marjorie Taylor Greene,” said Willis. “How is this woman who has the honor of being a leader in my state, how is it that she has not reached out to me? She can tell me I don’t agree with anything that you’re doing, but I do not agree with people threatening your life or the life of your family.”

She said God asked her to pray for Greene, Thorne, and others who have ill intentions or thoughts about her and her family.

During the reading of her letter to God, Willis also shared with the congregation that she sometimes feels unworthy of the position she currently holds. She read: “Lord, even right now I continue to feel unworthy of the honor. A divorced single mom who doesn’t belong to the right social groups, that doesn’t necessarily come from the right family, and doesn’t have the right pedigree, the assignment was just too high for lowly me.”

Willis shared that she “struggled the entire time” raising her children following her divorce from their father, but obeyed God and carried on to eventually become the first ever female Fulton County District Attorney. “It will always be one of my greatest honors. I worked so hard for it for so long, but I still humbly realize that only one percent of the district attorneys in this country are women of color.”

Carla Morrison, chair of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worship service, said to Willis, “Sister Willis, Big Bethel pulled out all the stops for you this morning.”

Willis was presented with a plaque and some gifts by church leaders, including senior pastor Rev. Dr. John Foster and Presiding Prelate, Sixth Episcopal District AME Church Bishop Reginald T. Jackson who said of Willis during his introduction of her as the guest speaker, “She’s prepared for the job for which she was elected. I want Fulton County to know that this is one of the best things you’ve done. I am so proud of our speaker this morning.”

Willis closed with her time in church with some homework for the congregation: “Please find a way to do your God-given assignment to make this world a better place for all people.” 

The post “Me and my God, we talk like regular folks’: Fani Wilis opens up about racism, death threats & solitude in her fight for justice as D.A. appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

The pews inside historic Ebenezer Baptist Church were filling fast as the rain fell outside Friday, Jan. 12. The crowd assembled inside was there for the 3 p.m. “Church Talk,” a discussion about the history of the church and the men and women that helped build it.

Hosting that afternoon’s talk was National Park Service park ranger Doug Coyle. Having worked there for the past 21 years Coyle was well versed in the history of the church, which is part of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site.

During the talk, which ended with guests asking questions and taking photos, Coyle told stories about the pastors of Ebenezer, including the first two pastoral leaders of the church, reverends John A. Parker and A.D. Williams.

A chronological history of the church includes the installation of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., who’s image is forever part of the church by way of a stain glass window. King, Sr., the father of Civil Rights era icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., allowed a 17-year-old Martin to deliver a trial sermon from the very pulpit inside the church today. Upon learning this fact many of the people inside for the “Church Talk” whipped out their phones to get pictures of the wooden pulpit with the tithe box in front (as seen below). The news that Dr. King, the younger, had never been senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and was solely a co-pastor, elicited looks of wonder from a couple of the people in the pews. King was well on his way to becoming a national figure for his work as the first president of the Student Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) while his brother A.D. Williams King was co-pastoring alongside their father.

“Dr. King did not just happen in a vacuum, history just builds and builds upon itself,” said Coyle while explaining the King family lineage within the church.

Asked why he enjoys giving these talks the past two decades, Coyle said, “Because people need to know history. You know what they say about history. If you don’t know you are doomed to repeat it.”

Ebenezer was finished being built in 1922 and was the church home for many Atlantans for 76 years until the new church was built across the street in 1999. The new building seats 1,700, nearly three times as much as the original.

Looking around at the crowd following his talk, Coyle quipped, “This is as close as we get to a service these days.”

The “Church Talks” were free and are a part of the tours given throughout the year at the King Center.

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Joscelin Mackey, an author, principal designer, and founder of Accessible Design Studios celebrated the grand opening for Fayetteville’s first and only Black-owned commercial interior design firm earlier this month.

Mackey invited the Atlanta metro community to celebrate the studio’s grand opening which included appearances from notable representatives including Fayetteville’s Mayor Edward Johnson, and World Changers Church International CEO and Minister Vernon Harrison.  

Attendees also had the chance to participate in a virtual reality experience demonstrating the evolution of technology within the interior design industry.  

Accessible Design Studios is one of the roughly 400 registered interior designers in the state of Georgia to receive a license from the Secretary of State to stamp their own non-structural construction drawings for building permits which represents a very small percentage of professional minority women commercial interior designers in the state to hold this designation.  

This certification is a major accomplishment for Mackey due to the statistic of there being less than two percent of Black interior designers in the United States, and only a handful of Black interior designers in the Atlanta metro area as of 2023. 

Mackey has also been a member of the Fayette County community for over 24 years, is the Director of Community Service for the Rotary Club of Fayetteville, a member of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, a Professional Member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and a Member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW).  

Mackey said she is proud to have her first brick-and-mortar location in her beloved city where she’s lived for more than 20 years and completed some of her first projects, including the interior design of a local barber shop, pharmacy, and retail showroom over the past 15 years. Mackey’s projects expand to commercial buildings in the Atlanta metro area and beyond, including medical spas, salons, medical offices, corporate offices, and more.  

Joscelin’s husband, Rick, with their two daughters Kelly and Valerie said they are all very happy for Mackey’s accomplishments and hard work.  

“I feel extremely proud and happy of my mom,” Kelly said. “This is a big accomplishment for her. I’m just super excited for this new coming for her finally with opening her business to the community and to the world.” 

“I’m just super proud that we are another minority of minority business, because not only is she a black woman, but she is also black,” Valerie said. “In an industry that can’t do what everybody in this industry can do, she’s a very small percentage of people, even in the state of Georgia, that can stamp her own plans, which is a huge deal, which is even a smaller percentage of black women that can do that period in the United States of America. So, I’m just excited to be able to bring that into Fayetteville where we’re the only ones in the city of Fayetteville that has that capability. I’m happy to give that to the community and she can share her talents with everyone.” 

“That’s my wife and I support everything that she does. I feel like there are so many things, but I’m specifically proud of the fact that this is her baby, and I watched the entire process and entire iteration of how she brought this to life,” Rick said. “I’m proud to say that she’s doing something great, not just for herself, but for the city of Fayetteville and for black women across America.” 

Additionally, to help up-and-coming and experienced interior designers continue to grow in the industry, Mackey has developed a book titled “Designing for the Senses, a Neuroscientific Exploration of Interiors”. 

Mackey wrote this book to enlighten designers and design enthusiasts on the influence the built environment has on the mental, emotional, and physiological well-being of its users. She also recognizes that the design of spaces is not merely an aesthetic endeavor but a powerful tool for shaping human experiences.  

Q&A with Joscelin Mackey: 

The Atlanta Voice: How are you feeling about opening your first interior design studio? 

Joscelin Mackey: It’s like birthing a baby. I started in two design years and years ago but moved into this building right after COVID. So, the ribbon cutting has been a long time coming. At least six months. Opening an interior design studio has been a longtime dream of mine and I’m honored to be part of a small number of Black interior designers in the country who were able to take interior design to the next level. I’m also appreciative of my clients who’ve trusted me with their vision for their businesses over the past 15 years. My clients have encouraged me to continue the work as a trailblazer in the interior design industry and I look forward to encouraging more up-and-coming Black interior designers to stake their claim in the industry.   

AV: Why did you decide to start Accessible Design Studios?  

JM: When I graduated initially from Interior Design School back in 2011, that was during the recession. During that time, I had to get out and find business because no one was hiring. So, I’ve always been kind of entrepreneurial anyway. When COVID hit and Delta said that they weren’t laying anyone off, they let everyone go who had contracts and so I was contracted. So, I said, well, I know what to do and so I just put my stake in the ground and said, I’m just going to step back. 

AV: Was there a moment that inspired you to start Accessible Design Studios? 

JM: Probably COVID. I’m sure if not, I probably would still be working on projects. I was designing Delta Sky Clubs as part of that team, traveling a lot and so if it had not been for COVID, just making me slow down and ask myself, ‘what is it that I really want to do or what should I be doing, what would be doing that?’ I think that you need an interruption in life to kind of focus. 

AV: Why did you think it was important to include a virtual reality experience demonstrating the evolution of technology within the interior design industry? 

JM: There’s nothing like being in your own space. So, I can show you construction drawings because I do those. You probably wouldn’t be able to read them right now trying to describe them or I can draw a drawing or give you something two dimensional or even try to do like a three-dimensional rendering and that might take you to the place, but it’s not. When you put those goggles on and you can feel like you’re interacting with the space that we’ve created for you, that you get a real sense of what’s going on and what you’re looking at right there. That’s kind of just like the sketch, but once you put the goggles on, then you can color, you can move through the space. 

AV: What was your idea and intention behind your book, “Designing for the Senses: A Neuroscientific Exploration of Interiors”? 

JM: Most people, when they think of interior design, they get interior designer and decorating kind of misconstrued. To do what I did, you go to school for four years and to become a registered interior designer and you must take an exam? It’s the NCIDQ. It’s an 11-hour exam with three parts. So, in that process, you’re learning about health and safety. Then, in school, you learn about health and safety, and then you start realizing that is not enough to be aesthetically pleasing and it’s not enough to be functional. However, there are real people interacting with real space that have real needs. So, your neurological system is affected by lighting, affected by smell, and just in all your senses. Interior designers have a responsibility to design spaces that are about the safety and welfare and so that’s why I wrote the book.  

AV: Mackey of Accessible Design Studios is one of the roughly 400 registered interior designers in the state of Georgia to receive a license from the Secretary of State to stamp their own non-structural construction drawings for building permits which represents a very small percentage of professional minority women commercial interior designers in the state to hold this designation. How do you feel about this? 

JM: That’s not good enough, right? We have for one, as an interior designer, have a lot to just get a name. Our name is owned by decorators, and we must continuously say ‘I’m like an interior architect because I can start writing instruction guides, but we can’t use the word architect because it’s protected, and our title is not protected. We just get the word registered before it. So, for one, there’s not enough understanding about our specific niche in interiors. Only 2% of all interior designers, including decorators within the country, are black and that’s just not enough either, because we need to be represented. Unless you have a proper sampling of what is the United States, then you’re not getting diverse environments. So more of us need to become schooled more less need to become educated through certification and more of us need to become registered.  

AV: How does it feel to be part of a small number of Black interior designers in the country who were able to take interior design to the next level? 

JM: Sometimes it’s a lonely walk, right? Because not only is this a white-dominated industry and an interior design is a white-woman dominated industry, and architecture is a white man dominated industry. So, sometimes when you want to have real conversations about issues it’s hard to find.  

AV: What do you think you can do to be able to do to bring more people of color into the interior design industry? 

JM: I wrote my book, but also, I’m working on creating a platform to begin speaking to get a larger mic and platform. I’m going to begin using that to talk to more of us to kind of shine the light in schools where children don’t even know that this is an opportunity. I know our children don’t know that this is an opportunity or even what it is. So, it’s just finding that stage. Getting that large money and hiring more people that look like us.  

AV: What are your business goals for 2024? 

JM: Well, currently, I have this building with two sides (A and B). So, once I hire a few designers, which is the goal, and to get some more projects going as we move into this year to expand and to begin to develop on the other side of our office space.  

AV: Any advice to future business owners about taking the plunge? 

JM: There are a few things about being an entrepreneur I want future business owners to know. You must be a person who is tenacious, one that doesn’t understand the word ‘no’ because it doesn’t exist. Also, be a person with grit because you’re going to need the stick-to-it-ness in a person that knows how to surround themselves with the right people. If you have those things, then you have an advantage and if you don’t, maybe you need to work for those that do. 

Mackey’s book can be purchased on Amazon, or at accessibledesignstudios.com.  

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