The Red & Black Podcasts

June is usually a month to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising and the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage. But with the nationwide fight for racial justice and COVID-19 safety concerns, this year’s Pride Month looks a little different. 

We spoke with two Black LGBTQ UGA students to reflect on this month and on intersectionality.

We’re revisiting a feat that has only happened once in the history of University of Georgia history. The Red & Black sports editor, William Newlin, reported the story on the 30 year anniversary of when the Diamond Dogs won the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The team hasn't been able to take home the championship title since that fateful day in early June 1990.

Protests calling for racial justice and police department reform have taken place for the past two weeks in Athens. On today's episode, we talk with our photo editor, Taylor Gerlach, about her experience covering protests and our editorial policy about protesters' anonymity.

Read her article about covering protests here.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Athens to call for racial justice after the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and other black Americans. On today's episode of The Front Page, we take you through Sunday, May 31 to Saturday, June 6, which were last week's two biggest protests in Athens.

We spoke with a protestor who was shot by what he says were "rubber bullets," with a protestor who was tested for COVID-19 and with a brother-and-sister protesting duo who had words of advice for those who want to be better white allies.

Our news assistant Gabriela Miranda speaks with Shawntell Pace, a member of the black community at the University of Georgia, about coping with discrimination, micro-aggressions and the recent deaths affecting the black community. Pace founded The Healing Circle, a support group for black students that aims to create a communal space and offer guidance about accessing mental health services. We ask her about racism, her studies and what the black community needs right now.

This podcast is featured in The Red & Black’s new series, The Minority Report. This series focuses on minority group voices and their experiences when injustices, deaths, protests and current events affect their community. 

Read Gabriela’s story on The Red & Black website on Tuesday, June 2.

This week, we kick off our summer coverage by talking to our enterprise editor Anila Yoganathan on her story about the changing bar scene in Athens, Georgia. Bars in town have lost $4 million in liquor and mixed drinks sales from their closures due to COVID-19. Governor Brian Kemp's executive order expires on May 31, meaning that bars could potentially re-open as soon as June 1. As that date approaches, bars in town are beginning to think about whether or not they'll re-open and how they'll continue to stay afloat.

We also spoke with Jon McRae, owner of the Athens bar Sister Louisa's Church, about how he plans to stay in business and whether or not he'll re-open if he's able to after May 31.   

Read Anila's story here.

We have been doing a lot of COVID-19-related coverage in the past weeks, focusing on specific groups. This week, we try to collect a range of Athens-based perspectives. We speak with a business owner, a student and an Uber driver about how the pandemic has affected them and what they do. 

Since the University of Georgia suspended in person instruction, some students have not been back to campus since March 6, the Friday before spring break. Other students, for a variety of reasons, have remained in their on-campus housing. This week, our guest tells us what it was like to be on an empty, socially distanced Athens campus. 

This week, we speak with Gabriela Miranda, campus news editor, about how her upcoming story on how undocumented families are coping with COVID-19. Without access to healthcare or aid from the current government stimulus package, undocumented residents in Athens are lacking some of the basic protections against the pandemic. 

Gabriela spoke with a few families and community organizers about first hand experiences and what is being done to alleviate the stress. Look out for her story later this week.  

This week, we talk to students who have had to transition from hands-on, in-person classes — music and art — to online classes. We'll see how they’ve adjusted so far and what new classes look like.

We speak with three students from three different areas of study: Will Ruff studies viola and jazz; Klée Schell studies printmaking; Emma Grimsley studies fabric design. 

You can find each of the guests here: 

Will Ruff (@willruffmusic), Klée Schell (@badtoadboy), Emma Grimsley (@emma.grimsley.art)