WABE’s Week In Review: A VP Visit, Juneteenth Celebrations And The Sordid History of Flowers

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June 18th, 2021

Vice President Kamala Harris came to Atlanta this week as part of the White House’s push to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Getting vaccinated is about building the power of community,” said Harris. “Getting vaccinated is about building the power of our country, and we can do this, Georgia. We can do this.”

The White House hopes to have 70% of all adults partially vaccinated by July 4.

Harris also held a listening session at Clark Atlanta University Friday about voting rights.

“We talked about seniors, and the need to make sure they can vote without barriers to their access to the polls,” said Harris. “People who have lived a long life and have a right to make sure their voice is heard and reflected in elections.”

Harris has been assigned by President Joe Biden with leading the administration’s efforts around voting rights.

Some beauty has an ugly history… 

Alison Guillory/ WABE

In a new book, “Strange Bright Blooms,” Randy Malamud, regents professor of English at Georgia State University, explores flowers’ complicated place in human history. He joined WABE’s “Morning Edition” to discuss how flowers have been used to inspire, celebrate, shock, demean — and even commit crimes.

Also in this episode: 

–Susanna Capelouto explores the complicated reasons for the increase in violent crime in Atlanta and other major cities.

–Emil Moffatt looks back one year when a Confederate monument was brought down in Decatur and the 2021 Juneteenth celebration in that same spot.

–Sam Whitehead has a one-on-one interview with the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

–Roxanne Scott looks at the redrawing of the state’s voting districts (aka redistricting).

–Johnny Kauffman reports on the spending habits of Atlanta’s top-level managers with city funds.

 

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