Better known as Smiley: Co-founder of SPARK Art—the creative force behind Columbus, Georgia Rocks sensation and Phenix City ArtPark New public park celebrates Grand Opening Saturday, Sept. 14 Why did Columbus, Georgia Rocks become such a fun phenomenon? “I feel like it became such a big success because it let everyone, whether they are artistic or not, get involved. It was more about...
Community Steps Up & Together to End Alzheimer’s “I think that, presently, almost everyone has a tie to the disease, either by losing a loved one, or as a caregiver to someone with Alzheimer’s.” Autumn Amos, Development Director for Alzheimer’s Assoc.: Georgia Chapter, said that to ECL in June to explain the personal relationships at the core of the community’s fight to cure this...
Retired President & CEO, W..C. Bradley Co. Real Estate; Pioneer of Uptown’s Urban Renewal Looking around us, is the Columbus riverfront today living proof of that old city slogan—’What Progress Has Preserved’? “Yeah, I think so.The re-adaptive use of these old mills just south of here set the stage for the modern style here at the Rapids, which also incorporates aspects of the textile...
How did you come up with the name, Heritage Art Center? “I wanted to pay tribute to my dad, Roger Williamson, who passed away. He always wanted to pursue art but he worked in the mills all his life, putting in lots of hours first at Fieldcrest and then the majority of his career at Swift. My dad loved woodworking. He made incredible furniture; he did phenomenal cabinetry. He always...
by Natalia N. Temesgen One summer nearly a century ago, Columbus, Georgia hosted two literary giants for a brief time as they road-tripped through the state. Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, arguably the most significant writers of the Harlem Renaissance, came into Columbus on August 15, 1927 after a week in Tuskegee, Alabama, chugging along in Hurston’s old Nash coupe. Hughes, prolific...
“Caught Up; Criminal Justice in the Chattahoochee Valley” Vol. 2 Jerome Lawson offers video intro to his Bridge the Gap approach and his newfound life as a self-made business owner. 7.2.2019 FULL AUDIO: ECL Editor Frank Etheridge interview with Jerome Lawson 7.2.2019 “Caught Up” is a series of profiles of diverse perspectives and experience with the criminal-justice...
Illustrator / Graphic Designer / Real Toon Social-Justice Doodler You caused an online stir back in February, when Buzzfeed wrote about your renderings of Black Disney princesses. What do you think the general public’s reaction is going to be when they’re shown Jesus was a black man? “I think we’ve already started to see more and more images of Jesus as a black man. I know that I’ve personally...
Cultivating Gardens of Eden in Babylon With Project 3 founder Abeika Alexander “A lot of people are just used to fast food,” Abeika Alexander says. City Master Plan onnecting Columbus via bicycle Parking her bike and walking with ECL south along MLK Blvd. and its fresh-cement DragonFly Trail—city planners’ dragonfly reference an homage to the insect that’s a universal harbinger of healthy...
Trombonist (Atlantis Collective), Label Co-Founder (CloudStepper Records), Audio Engineer (The Loft Recording Studio) How did playing in a marching band prepare you to become a professional musician? “A lot of the marching band stuff that I did, especially later in high school, was in more of a leadership role. A lot of it was listening skills—knowing how to be part of a band. The leadership...
Executive Director, Homeless Resource Network Center, Inc. Is the homeless population of Columbus swept under the rug? “I don’t think it’s visible for many people. I don’t think many people feel there’s much homelessness in the community. But we do. Poverty is the best indicator of homelessness and we have growing poverty here—so we’ll probably continue to have a growing homeless population...