The station that put Black Atlanta on the air
Before “Black radio” became a national industry, WERD proved that ownership could turn a local signal into cultural power.
Stories
The people, places and moments that made Atlanta.
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Before “Black radio” became a national industry, WERD proved that ownership could turn a local signal into cultural power.
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The station that put Black Atlanta on the air
Before “Black radio” became a national industry, WERD proved that ownership could turn a local signal into cultural power.
The station upstairs, the movement downstairs
On Auburn Avenue, a single building connected culture, enterprise and the civil-rights movement.
Atlanta made data beautiful before dashboards
Du Bois and Atlanta University students used design to challenge racist claims at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
When washerwomen used a world's fair as leverage
In 1881, Black laundresses organized for better pay as Atlanta prepared to welcome the world.
What might you have heard on WERD?
Music, worship, public affairs and neighborhood news shared the airwaves.
Sweet Auburn: A City's Voice
Black business, faith and culture meet on Auburn Avenue.
Bo Legs and Atlanta Civic Legacy
Marvin Arrington, Sr., An Atlanta Story.
The Old Atlanta Megamix
A city of voices, together on one record.
SWATS and the City
Southwest Atlanta, music and neighborhood memory.
Maynard Jackson and an Atlanta Era
A connection to Atlanta's civic history.
Atlanta 1996 and Downtown Memory
Where were you when the world came to Atlanta?
Churches, Businesses and Block Memory
The places that made a neighborhood feel like home.
Old Atlanta Artist Roll Call
Meet the voices behind the records.
Share Your Old Atlanta Memory
A photograph, a place, a voice. Your part of the city's story.
Flyers, Photos and Records
The things we kept tell stories of their own.
Bring Bo Legs to Your Community
Film, music and conversation.
Corrections and Context
Help us get the names, dates and details right.
Browse the Archive
OldATL can move like a map, a timeline, a source desk, a roll call, a reading path, or a shelf of records.
Send names, dates, places, photos, flyers, and correction notes. Shared memories are reviewed before publication.