Atlanta, GA

We’re headed to Honduras for a two-week medical mission and decided to stay for a night in Atlanta, GA, to optimize flight connections, visit our niece and her husband, and spend a little time in a city that I’ve only seen from the airport. 

Atlanta is Georgia’s capital and largest city, with a population of around 500,000. The metropolitan area holds more than 6.5 million, making it the eighth-largest in the country. The Creek and Cherokee lived here for thousands of years, before a railroad hub was established in 1837. Originally called Terminus, then Marthasville, the town was renamed Atlanta in 1845, a shortening of the Western and Atlantic line, the largest railroad that served the community. In 1864 it was a major Confederate supply center, and was captured and nearly burned to the ground by Union troops led by General William Tecumseh Sherman, although it recovered quickly during Reconstruction. Atlanta was a major hub for the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, Atlanta is home to the world headquarters of Coca-Cola, Home Depot, United Parcel Service, Delta Air Lines, Aflac, Georgia-Pacific, Equifax, NCR and others, ranking third in the U.S. for Fortune 500 companies. 

We landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest by passenger count, a title its held since 1998. The airport is enormous, with trams and shuttles connecting the two terminals and seven concourses. We had to wait 45 minutes to get our rental car from Budget, then grabbed lunch nearby. 

Our first tourist stop was the Georgia State Capitol. Completed in 1889, the gold-domed structure is one of many in the country styled after the U.S. Capitol. Atlanta became Georgia’s fifth capital city in 1868, after previously being located in Savannah, Augusta, Louisville, and Milledgeville. Map link: Georgia State Capitol

Next we drove a few miles through heavy downtown traffic to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, located in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, the historic center of black Atlantans’ commercial, spiritual and social life during Jim Crow era segregation. King was born in the family home on Auburn Avenue in 1929, one block away from the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he worshipped and preached alongside his father, Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr.  Some of the buildings in the park were closed for renovations, but the grounds are large and beautiful, including a reflecting pool, eternal flame and the final resting place of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King. As we read inscriptions and heard recordings of Dr. King’s beliefs about non-violent protestation of injustice, we couldn’t help but reflect on the recent federal ICE invasion in our beloved Twin Cities. Map link: Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park

Bonus Question: What is a kakistocracy? (answer at end of post)

We braved Atlanta’s rush-hour traffic and headed north to the suburb of Brookhaven, arriving at the home of our niece Maria and her husband Mike. After catching up, we went out for some excellent Vietnamese food, then stayed up past everyone’s bedtime talking and watching the Winter Olympics. 

Bonus Question Answer: Kakistocracy is a government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a society. Coined in the 17th century, the term comes from the Greek “kakistos,” meaning “worst.”