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News Articles: 1996 olympics

Billy Payne and Andrew Young are the subjects of the new documentary, 'The Games in Black & White.'

Tagged as: 

  • Arts & Culture News

New documentary reframes Atlanta's 1996 Olympic Games as a blueprint for overcoming division

The Games in Black & White goes beyond the headlines to spotlight the legendary friendship between two Georgia icons who built bridges between Atlanta and the world.

April 25, 2025
|
By:
  • Kristi York Wooten
In this July 19, 1995, file photo, Izzy, the mascot of the Olympic Games of Atlanta 1996, dances in front of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The much-hated blob that represented the 1996 Atlanta Games has been supplanted by the mascot for the Paris Olympics — a Phrygian cap.

Tagged as: 

  • Sports

Column: Izzy's long run as worst Olympic mascot is over

Hey, Izzy, we've got some good news. Your 26-year reign as the worst Olympic mascot is over. The often-ridiculed computer-generated blob from the 1996 Atlanta Games has been toppled as the G.O.A.T., for Grossest Of All Time, by the mascot for the 2024 Paris Olympics, a floppy hat known as a Phryge.

November 18, 2022
|
By:
  • Associated Press
Dan Immergluck is the author of "Red Hot City: Housing, Race, and Exclusion in Twenty-First-Century Atlanta"

Tagged as: 

  • News

How did Atlanta accelerate gentrification and displacement? Local author counts the ways

Over the past few decades, the cost of owning a home in the Atlanta metro area has risen dramatically, and that has pushed some low income residents out of the area. In his new book, Dan Immergluck, professor of urban studies at Georgia State University, says the city of Atlanta failed to protect Atlanta's poorest residents from being displaced by gentrification.

November 17, 2022
|
By:
  • Peter Biello

Tagged as: 

  • News

OST Full Show: Legislation For Senior Care, Richard Jewell, Robyn Hitchcock

Health and Human Services Chair Sharon Cooper says she will introduce legislation to improve staffing and oversight of senior care facilities after an...

December 13, 2019
|
By:
  • Virginia Prescott ,
  • Amy Kiley ,
  • and 6 more
(l to r): Latino USA producers Zakiya Gibbons and Jeanne Montalvo Lucar listen as host  Maria Hinojosa interviews Carlos Chavez, a restaurant owner at Plaza Fiesta in Chamblee, Georgia.

What's Behind The South's Latino Boom?

The South has seen its Hispanic population increase 43 percent between 2007 and 2014, according to the Pew Research Center . The story of the 1996...

September 21, 2017
|
By:
  • Tony Harris and
  • Sean Powers
An undated photo shows Eric Rudolph.

How Eric Rudolph Changed Domestic Terrorism

The bombing at Atlanta’s Centennial Park wasn’t the first terror attack on U.S. soil, but it changed how investigators and experts viewed domestic...

July 27, 2016
|
By:
  • Celeste Headlee and
  • Amanda Art
Defense attorney Richard Jaffe, left, and bomber Eric Rudolph, right, are shown in this courtroom artist's rendering, during a hearing Tuesday, June 22, 2004, in Huntsville, Ala.

Defense Attorney On Gaining Eric Rudolph's Trust

Georgia will probably never forget the moment 20 years ago when a bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park. The man behind that attack - and several...

July 27, 2016
|
By:
  • Celeste Headlee and
  • Sean Powers
Eric Rudolph was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list during the five-year manhunt to find him.

Why Did It Take 5 Years To Catch Eric Rudolph?

Twenty years ago, just as the world’s attention was focused on Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics, a bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park. Eric Rudolph...

July 27, 2016
|
By:
  • Celeste Headlee and
  • Sean Powers

On Second Thought For Monday, July 25, 2016

Police shootings of unarmed African American men have sparked protests across the country, including in Atlanta. The protests in the city have been...

July 25, 2016
|
By:
  • Celeste Headlee
Muhammad Ali holding the Olympic torch during the 1996 games in Atlanta.

'When Muhammad Ali Lit The Olympic Torch, I Was Two Feet From Him'

Atlanta became an Olympic city 20 years ago. One of the game's most celebrated moments was when champion fighter Muhammad Ali surprised the world and...

July 25, 2016
|
By:
  • Sean Powers
One of the earliest sketches of Izzy, known as Hi-Rez at the time, by John Ryan.

'96 Atlanta Olympics: Artist Recounts The Birth Of 'Izzy'

One of the strangest aspects of Atlanta's 1996 Olympics was the mascot chosen to represent the games. Izzy, the controversial mascot, was met with a...

July 21, 2016
|
By:
  • Celeste Headlee and
  • Linda Chen
Emergency personnel and volunteers surround an injured person after an explosion in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park early Saturday morning July 27, 1996.

Covering The Olympic Bombing As A Teen Journalist

Twenty years ago, the Olympic Games kicked off in Atlanta, but the international celebration of athleticism turned a dark corner about a week later when...

July 19, 2016
|
By:
  • Sean Powers

Atlanta’s Olympic Legacy, 20 Years Later

Twenty years have passed since Atlanta became an Olympic city. We look back at the games and examine how the city transformed with former NPR...

July 19, 2016
|
By:
  • Celeste Headlee ,
  • Linda Chen ,
  • and 1 more

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