285 South

05/20/2025

After 30 years of supporting South Asian American domestic violence survivors in Georgia, Raksha, Inc is at a turning point.

In April, the organization learned that two of its Department of Justice grants were abruptly terminated.

Raksha is at a turning point after 30 years of service to Atlanta area communities.

03/25/2025

📢 285 South: Covering Immigration with Depth and Accountability

In Metro Atlanta, immigration isn’t just a policy debate—it’s a lived reality for thousands. 285 South, a Pivot Fund grantee, is ensuring those stories are told with nuance, urgency, and impact.

Led by Sophia Qureshi, 285 South is providing critical coverage on:
✅ The Laken Riley Act and how it’s affecting Latino communities in Georgia.
✅ Afghan families left without electricity despite paying their bills.
✅ New citizen voter registrations, adding 9,000 naturalized voters to Georgia’s electorate.
✅ Workplace raids and deportation threats impacting immigrant families.

"Immigration coverage often misses the most important perspective—the people living it every day," Qureshi says. "That’s why 285 South exists. Our goal is to ensure immigrant communities aren’t just a side note in local news but a central focus."

With The Pivot Fund’s support, 285 South is hiring new journalists, expanding its reach, and deepening its investigative work—ensuring that immigrants in Georgia have a newsroom that speaks to them.

📖 Read more: https://bit.ly/4ijXYXD

03/19/2025

Excited that Grist republished our story about Green Ramadan efforts in Atlanta!

At some places of worship, hundreds of people attend the evening breaking of the fast — which means a lot of discarded food and plastic water bottles. This year, more than a dozen sites of worship are planning “zero-waste” iftars to tackle the problem.

03/13/2025

At many mosques during Ramadan, hundreds of people attend the evening breaking of the fast—iftar- which means a lot of discarded food and plastic water bottles.

This year, more than a dozen sites of worship in Metro Atlanta are planning “zero-waste” iftars to tackle the problem.

At some places of worship, hundreds of people attend the evening breaking of the fast—which means a lot of discarded food and plastic water bottles. This year, more than a dozen sites of worship are planning “zero-waste” iftars to tackle the problem. How Atlanta area mosques are cutting down o...

01/27/2025

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested multiple people across the metro Atlanta region on Sunday. Though it’s not clear how many people were taken into custody locally, ICE agents arrested 956 people nationwide on Sunday. The daily average when former President Joe Biden was in office was 311.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Lilburn on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Mario Guevara News. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

01/03/2025

In 2024, brothers-in-law Angel Enriquez and Koushik Alam opened the halal Brothers Chimichurry food truck to make Latin American food—like grilled meats, empanadas and tostones—more accessible to metro Atlanta’s Muslim community.

Two brothers-in-law opened the business earlier this year to make Latin American food—grilled meats, empanadas, tostones, and more—accessible to a bigger share of the metro’s Muslim community.

12/18/2024

On the campaign trail, Trump promised mass deportations that could affect undocumented immigrants & refugees. How many of Trump’s promises will come to pass is now a major concern among immigrant advocacy orgs in GA. New from us:

Here’s how some Atlanta-area immigrant rights groups are getting their communities organized for a second Trump Administration.

12/13/2024

Born in Chicago into a Palestinian family, Duluth-based Wowbooza's Loqman Salem spent several years as a child in the West Bank, in a small village near Ramallah. In the summers, he became an ice cream salesman. Now Salem's bringing his love of Palestinian delights to Metro Atlanta, with a new cafe serving booza, crepes, baklawa, kunafa, and the viral TikTok sensation known as Dubai chocolate.

Loqman Salem’s new Gwinnett County cafe, Wowbooza, specializes in the chewy, elastic ice cream popular in the Middle East—but rarely found in the U.S.

12/10/2024

For more than a century, pan de jamón has been eaten during the Christmas season in Luisania “Lucy” Brito's native Venezuela. Now, she’s bringing flavors of home to Metro Atlanta with Lucy's Bakery.

With her new business Lucy’s Bakery, Luisania Brito re-creates the flavors of home—including the holiday favorite pan de jamón

12/06/2024

Meet Marietta-based Halima Arshad, the mind behind Caramelized By Halima, who’s bringing the flavors of traditional Pakistan to metro Atlanta. Her Ras Malai Cake—a tres leches-inspired cake infused with cardamom, rose, and topped with pistachios—is a nod to tradition with a modern twist.

Read more about Halima here:

An afternoon with baker and caterer Caramelized by Halima.

12/05/2024

In October, 285 South spoke to at least eight men who were seeking help at the Afghan American Alliance of Georgia (AAAGA) offices in Clarkston to file online reimbursement claims for money that had been stolen from their EBT accounts. Most were Afghans who’d recently arrived in the United States. Many hadn’t yet found jobs, and were supporting families who depended on the benefits to eat. Just weeks after 285 South contacted the Georgia Department of Human Services for comment, AAAGA says the majority of families they filed online claims for were finally reimbursed.

Mirza Mohammed’s family was one of more than two dozen Afghan families in Metro Atlanta whose food stamp benefits appeared to be stolen.