"On Second Thought" For Friday, April 26, 2019

An estimated one million people thronged to Atlanta for the 2019 Super Bowl. When the opposing teams and visiting fans returned home, a series of murals depicting Atlanta's civil rights and social justice journey stayed behind. 

Among the 11 artists who painted murals for the WonderRoot "Off The Wall" initiative surrounding the big game is renowned artist Gilbert Young. His iconic, 40-year old image, "He Ain't Heavy" is now installed in huge scale on the side of Capitol Gateway Apartments in Atlanta. 

On Second Thought for Friday, April 26, 2019.

Young stopped by On Second Thought to talk about his expansive career, including meeting former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama. To honor the 40th anniversary of Young's "He Ain't Heavy," the artist is offering special editions of the work. 

The Peabody Awards announced winners in radio and podcasting this week, among them Type Investigations and Reveal for their "Monumental Lies" episode. After filing 175 open records requests to track public spending on Confederate memorials and organizations, reporters Brian Palmer and Seth Freed Wessler found that more than $40 million in state and federal funds have been spent on the maintenance and expansion of such monuments and sites over the past decade.

The pair also visited more than 50 of those sites, including the A. H. Stephens State Park in Crawfordville, the Robert Toombs House Historic Site in Wilkes County and Stone Mountain in metro Atlanta. They found some of them omit, or revise, the namesakes' history with slavery. We spoke with Palmer and Freed Wessler last year when their investigation, which they also published in Smithsonian Magazine, came out.

Atlanta's own Black Lips is a band that keeps audiences on their toes, literally — which you'd know if you've ever landed in the mosh pit at one of their shows — and figuratively, given that the latest it-bag line from Gucci is named after band member Zumi Rosow. 

For 20 years, founding members Cole Alexander and Jared Swilley have been making unruly garage rock, rockabilly records, and sometimes, they can sound like old country crooners. They are currently on a short U.S. tour, but will return to Atlanta just in time to hit the stage on the first day of the 2019 Shaky Knees Music Festival, which begins Friday, May 3.

Swilley and Alexander spoke with On Second Thought while on the road, from The Studio in Portland, Maine, describing their journey from Dunwoody High School to recording with Yoko Ono.

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