WABE's Week In Review: Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies and students push to change school's Confederate name
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene defended her place on the upcoming ballot in court this week. A group is challenging whether she can run for reelection of her north Georgia district, alleging she was involved in the January 6. insurrection.
Here's our @nprpolitics story from today's hearing.
— Sam Gringlas (@gringsam) April 22, 2022
Rep. Greene was asked lots of questions under oath about her posts and conversations in the days leading up to 1/6/21.
She often answered with, "I don't remember" or "I don't recall."https://t.co/uHbGnzJmxJ
Expert: Fewer masks, more infections
The country may soon see a rise in COVID-19 infections now that airlines have made masks optional, according to infectious disease expert and Emory University professor of medicine Dr. Carlos Del Rio. A federal judge in Florida nixed the mask mandate earlier this week. Del Rio spoke with WABE’s Jess Mador just after a federal judge put on hold the nation’s transportation mask requirement on domestic flights.
New Statement on Mask Mandate Ruling pic.twitter.com/SwYHIqTG2e
— Anthony Coley (@AnthonyColeyDOJ) April 19, 2022
“Like living in a Confederate statue”
Students at Wheeler High School in Cobb County are continuing to push officials to rename their school since the summer of 2020. The building was named for Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.
The school board formed a committee in August 2020 to consider a name change but reversed course a few months later. Still, as Martha Dalton reported, that hasn’t stopped students from pressing for change.
Memorializing victims of a horrific past
The city of Atlanta is taking steps to memorialize the victims of convict leasing. This was a practice of forcing people to work under brutal conditions, akin to slavery, but decades after the Civil War. As Molly Samuel reported, the city is buying a property in Northwest Atlanta with plans to build a park and a memorial. It is a place where thousands labored and many died.
Also in this episode
–Emily Wu Pearson looks at a program to help refugees keep their small businesses going.
–A theater southwest of Atlanta is getting a million-dollar cash infusion to bring it back from the dead.