Beltline, barbecue and civil rights history in Atlanta

Focal point of the Civil Rights movement is also modern hub for hip-hop, film and national politics

When my wife and I moved to Atlanta from Orlando more than a decade ago, we quickly learned that when someone asks “how y’all doin’,” they mean it. This is a city where generosity is as abundant as its sweet tea — so much so that a stranger once towed my broken-down car using a hook, chain and truck, all borrowed from three different neighbors.

While most people may know this city, the capital of the U.S. state of Georgia, from its place in American history — as a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War and as a focal point of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s — it’s also a modern hub for hip-hop, film and national politics, the latter of which I cover for Reuters.

A person flies a kite at the summit of Stone Mountain waiting to view the sunset. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

Here are my tips on how to explore this city like a local:

Getting around: Although most Atlantans own a car, don’t assume you can easily drive everywhere. Atlanta’s traffic is among the worst in the nation. But the city’s public transit system, MARTA, is reliable and can help you bypass a lot of the congestion. For $2.50, you can get directly from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Five Points Station, the city’s major transit hub, in about 20 minutes.

How to eat like a Southerner: Apart from fetching a juicy, sweet peach fresh from a local orchard in the self-described peach state, you’ll want to stop by Mary Mac’s Tea Room for a taste of Southern hospitality and history. The Midtown relic dates back to the 1940s, when women weren’t permitted to own restaurants, forcing them to open tea rooms instead. At Mary Mac’s, you’ll find homemade bread, freshly shucked corn and Southern comfort food. You can get a meat and two sides for about $30. Add golden fried hush puppies to start and peach cobbler for dessert and you might spend closer to $40. My favorite is the fried chicken made with a generations-old recipe.

People visit Fox Bros Bar-B-Q. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

If you’re interested in barbecue, then Fox Bros Bar-B-Q is the place to go, in the city’s Candler Park neighborhood. They have their own branded sauce made with molasses, vinegar and cayenne peppers. Try a bowl of brisket chili for $12.

Footing around: One of the best ways to explore is to take a walk on Atlanta’s Beltline, a 22-mile (35 km) urban trail loop that connects most neighborhoods across the city. Popular with locals, there’s plenty to take in — from people-watching, biking and riding scooters to shops, restaurants and art displays. I often take my Maltese, Butchie, walking along a stretch of it.

Built on former railroad beds, the Beltline nods to Atlanta’s roots — the city was founded in 1837 at the end of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, earning its former name Terminus. When completed in 2030 with an added transit element, the Beltline will be one of the largest urban redevelopments in the country, with a $4.8 billion price tag.

People visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

Civil rights history: Atlanta has been called the cradle of the Civil Rights movement, and for good reason. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood and his boyhood home still stands here, as does Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached and planned marches and acts of non-violent resistance. The famed march on Selma, led by King’s protégé and my late congressman John Lewis, was planned at the church.

You can visit the church today and pray in the sanctuary, as lots of tourists do. But locals know that the church also built a much larger sanctuary around the corner that is still an active house of worship. It’s open to anyone to join their Sunday services, usually led by U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock.

For more civil rights history, walk around the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park and see the exhibits related to his life and legacy. Across the street, you’ll find The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, founded by King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, about two months after his assassination in 1968.

A person walks through the campus of Morehouse College. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

The hot ticket: Atlanta has a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College,each boasting their own marching band — the kind often seen in parades and American football halftime shows, with drumlines, brass sections, and colorful uniforms. Look out for HBCU band showcases, including the Band of the Year National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 12 this year. Tickets go for around $87 for good seats.

Local artist: Michael Santiago Render, known by his stage name Killer Mike, is a rapper, hip-hop artist and social activist native to Atlanta’s Adamsville neighborhood. His 2023 album, “Michael,” was met with acclaim and won three Grammys. His six-episode docuseries “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike,” which explores social issues that affect Black Americans, aired on Netflix in 2019.

A mural of Outkast, an Atlanta hip-hop duo, on a building wall in the Little Five Points neighborhood. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

CITY MEMO DATA POINTS

Price of a scoop of ice cream: $5.25 at Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream in Ormewood Park. All the locals go there, and it was rated fourth best ice cream in America by Bon Appetit.

Price of a cup of coffee: $5.72 for a medium cold brew iced coffee from Joe’s Coffee House, an East Atlanta neighborhood hangout where students and business entrepreneurs alike sit all day using the Wi-Fi.

Price of one dozen eggs: $3.19 for Grade A Large eggs at any Kroger.

Great place to see a sunset: Atop Stone Mountain at Stone Mountain Park, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The so-called mountain is a granite outcrop 825 feet above the surrounding area and on clear days you can see the Atlanta skyline.