AJC Opinions

07/18/2025

OPINION: I am a woman of deep faith. I believe in the power of prayer, the importance of community and the need for spiritual guidance in uncertain times. But what I do not believe in — and what our Founders warned against — is the politicization of the pulpit.

The Internal Revenue Service is reportedly preparing to allow churches and faith-based organizations to openly endorse political candidates without penalty. If this becomes official policy, it will be one of the most dangerous erosions of the separation between church and state in modern American history.

Since 1954, the Johnson Amendment has prohibited tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates. To tear down this important firewall now — when we are more divided, more distrustful and more politically tribal than ever — is a recipe for national disaster.

Churches are not campaign headquarters. Pastors are not political operatives. And faith is not a partisan tool: https://bit.ly/4lAHg7J

07/17/2025

OPINION: There is no doubt that Georgia, like most states across the nation, is facing a housing crisis.

While Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s efforts to address the housing crisis are commendable, his investigation into single-family rentals turns a blind eye to the real issues driving up the cost of living and contributing to the housing shortage.

Georgia is facing a housing shortage of between 100,000 and 350,000 homes, and our population continues to skyrocket. What doesn’t help the gross disparity between population and housing availability are the burdensome regulations that add 26.9% to the cost of single-family homes.

Put simply, the problem is not what Sen. Ossoff is alleging, it’s NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard), where existing homeowners resist efforts to welcome new buyers and renters into their neighborhood.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4kMoQQi

07/15/2025

Recently, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board hosted the CEO of MARTA to discuss issues ranging from post-COVID lagging ridership to readiness leading up to the World Cup in 2026.

In a recent column, the AJC's opinion editor invited readers to share their viewpoints about metro Atlanta's transit system and you can find their comments in the link below.

Tell us about your experiences on MARTA. Do you ride? Were you among those passengers going to the recent Beyonce or Shakira concerts? Or running the July 4 AJC Peachtree Road Race? Why would you recommend it or not?

https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2025/06/marta-suffers-from-problems-both-real-and-perceived-our-readers-say/

07/07/2025

The AJC editorial board recently published this essay praising a $60 million deal led by The Conservation Fund to protect the Okefenokee Swamp, a jewel of nature in Georgia, from mining minerals and threatening the ecosystem. This follows years of advocating consistently for leaders across the state to become involved and act. Curious who is on the editorial board? Click on the link and scroll to see who we are and how to contact us.

https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2025/06/our-yellowstone-a-heroic-deal-to-save-the-okefenokee/

06/30/2025

It’s been a while since AJC Opinions has posted here, but we are back with a new opinion editor, David Plazas, to share a variety of compelling perspectives throughout the week and to invite your thoughts. He started in May and previously served for a decade as opinion editor at The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee. He comes to ATL with great curiosity, a desire to build relationships, and to encourage more robust civil and civic dialogue. (His first column is in the comments).

What are the issues that concern you today in your community, state and nation. Add to the conversation. Comment here, send letters to [email protected] and guest opinion columns to [email protected], or contact Plazas at [email protected].

04/12/2024

For the first time, a U.S. court has held parents criminally liable for a school shooting by their child. A judge this week sentenced James and Jennifer Crumbley of Michigan to 10 to 15 years in prison for their failure to keep guns out of the hands of their clearly disturbed 15-year-old who used his early Christmas present, a semiautomatic gun, to kill four classmates and injure others at his high school. In 80% of school shootings, the perpetrators got their guns from family, mostly parents and grandparents.

Prison sentences for the father and mother of a high school shooter in Michigan who killed four classmates should be a wake-up call for parents and politicians.

02/23/2024

An executive coach says the Fani Willis case has many lessons for women leaders.
Chitra Ragavan writes:
"The microscope you will be under as a woman is infinitely more powerful and subjective than your male counterparts."

An executive coach says the Fani Willis courtroom drama points to the pressure and microscope under which female leaders work, magnifying any of their missteps.

02/23/2024

In a guest column, Treva Gear, a Georgia environmentalist, warns: "Our trees are being turned into tiny pellets, shipped to Europe and Asia, and burned to make electricity in a process that emits more carbon than burning coal does."

The Biden/Harris administration’s latest efforts to protect forests focus on preserving old growth trees on public land. That sounds pretty good – unless you live in the South.

02/23/2024

An Atlanta attorney who believes her own use of hair relaxers since childhood damaged her health writes about safety concerns.

As a young girl, attorney Danielle Ward Mason used hair relaxers, which she now believes caused serious health problems for her and many other Black women. She is representing some of those women in a class-action lawsuit.

02/23/2024

In a guest column, Steve Suitts, author of the new book, “A War of Sections: How Deep South Political Suppression Shaped Voting Rights in America," looks at the effort in Georgia to supress the Black vote.
Suitts writes:
"Now, after Georgia recently elected with huge Black support its first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate, the Republican legislature enacted a new Republican-dominated state elections board for the expressed purpose of fighting against voter fraud. It also passed new restrictions on voting and polling places while making it easier for anyone to challenge thousands of persons’ right to vote.
Old ways die hard."

A historian warns the growing impact of Black voters in Georgia has made the Republican leadership worried and led to efforts to make it easier to challenge their ballots.

02/23/2024

A historian praises the courage and integrity of America's reluctant first president, who rejected calls that he seize control and install himself as a dictator.

George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was urged to declare himself king or dictator and essentially become the law in America but he refused, saying the new nation could only flourish under the rule of law.

02/23/2024

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler comes out swinging in this rebuke of Fulton DA Fani Willis and what Loeffler deems the abuse of the courts by Democrats.

Former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler says Fulton DA Fani Willis should be removed from the Trump case by the judge and from office by the voters.