Tommie James, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Java Cats Cafe, Southern Blood

Last week President Trump disparaged professional football players for kneeling during the national anthem. The president’s comments generated gestures of unity at NFL games Sunday. The Atlanta Falcons were among the many players, coaches and owners who locked arms during the anthem to protest racial injustice. Fifty years ago two Olympic athletes brought this kind of silent protest to the medal podium. Track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists during the ceremony. We revisit a conversation with Tommie James from last year, after he and John Carlos were honored by President Barack Obama.

Former Spelman College President Beverly Daniel Tatum is on a long quest to understand of psychology of racism. In 1997, she wrote a book about called, ”Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race.” Twenty years later, Tatum has updated the book. We talk with her ahead of an appearance Tuesday night, Sept. 26, at the Atlanta History Center.

Atlanta recently got its first coffee shop devoted to cat lovers. The Java Cats Cafe opened earlier this year. The space has two sections, one to drink coffee with humans and another to hang out with adoptable cats. GPB’s Sean Powers sends an audio postcard from this feline paradise.

Before Gregg Allman passed away this past summer, he was recording an album full of original works. The posthumously released “Southern Blood” came out earlier this month. The heart-shattering album reflects on Allman's life as his terminal illness overtook him. We listen to the record and talk with Allman's longtime friend Chank Middleton and Allman's guitarist and band leader Scott Sharrard. We also hear from Allman's producer, Don Was.