First Slice 1-5-16: Ron Clark is nothing like Mr. Clark from 'Lean On Me'
The video of the Atlanta educator hitting the quan with students at his academy has been viewed more than 3 million times in the last 36 hours
Atlanta educator Ron Clark's "Bet You Can't Do It Like Me Challenge" is proof that white men can dance. The video of him whipping, nae-naeing, and hitting the quan with students at Ron Clark Dance Academy has been viewed more than 3 million times in the first 36 hours since posting. Guess they don't make Mr. Clarks like they used to.
Speaking of dancing and Atlanta, the FADER delves into "How Corporations Profit from Black Teens' Viral Content." The story highlights 20-year-old Denzel Meechie, an Atlanta dancer whose viral videos featuring he and his crew doing dances originated in Atlanta have garnered millions of YouTube hits. Despite their popularity — and their use as a promotional tool for major-label artists — YouTube shut his channel down in September. The article breaks down how intellectual property and copyright law serves corporate interests more than the black cultural innovators who produce the content.
A hostage situation in DeKalb County ended without fatality this morning after a SWAT team rescued a woman and 11 children from the Rite4Us Inn & Suites on Snapfinger Woods Drive in Decatur, where a man with a knife was holding them against their will. The man stabbed himself in the neck with the knife.
The City of Atlanta declared Jan. 4, 2016 Alex Cooley Day as Mayor Kasim Reed posthumously presented the legendary local music promoter with the Phoenix Award at City Hall. He passed on Dec. 1 at his home in Florida.
Did you hear the one about the naked escorts chasing two gunmen through the halls of the Atlanta Marriott in Buckhead? Apparently, the would-be tricks are suspected of stealing $3,600 from the working women before escaping on foot.
Lastly, you've got to read AJC writer Bill Torpy's "APT-ATL" column, in which he highlights "Another episode in the never ending Attack of Apartments." He specifically writes about the impending closure of Alfredo's, the 41-year-old Italian restaurant on Cheshire Bridge Road owned by Cuban immigrant Perry Alvarez since the mid-’80s. It will make way for 245 upscale apartments. More of the same is coming to Sandy Springs and Buckhead's revived party district, courtesy Sam Massell.