It takes special people to make a city a special place. Much of what makes the ATL a happening city are the people behind the scenes, those who work tirelessly to make the city live and breathe with energy and excitement.
Creative Loafing is identifying the people who do just that — make Atlanta a better place and, through our city’s global reach, change the world.
The following four individuals were among many nominated by CL readers and selected by our panel of community insiders for the inaugural presentation of the CL Influentials. Each quarter, Creative Loafing will be accepting your nominations for people who you, our readers, feel deserve the accolades and attention they may not otherwise receive for making Atlanta such a great place to live.
All four recipients were asked five questions to introduce themselves to readers. The questions – and their answers – follow.
1. What attracted you to Atlanta?
2. Do you see your work as “a calling,” or is it something you enjoy and chose as a career?
3. Why do you think that what you do has resulted in your being labeled a “Creative Loafing Influential”?
4. What is your goal, your endgame? What do you hope to achieve by taking the path you have chosen?
5. Were you successful from the beginning, or have you encountered obstacles you had to overcome? What were they, and how did you get past them?
The next nomination period will be in the fall. Start thinking now of who you want to see take their place among the CL Influentials responsible for creating a better Atlanta, whether in the arts, sports, entertainment, education or business world.
We would like to thank We Work Midtown and Tequila Herradura for their assistance in this project.
Maurice Cherry:
1. I’ve always had an idea of Atlanta and what kind of city it was since I was a kid. I’m from rural Alabama, and whenever our class had some kind of end-of-year surprise, it was a trip to Atlanta to go to Six Flags Over Georgia. Because of that, I’ve visited Atlanta probably about a dozen or more times! Atlanta wasn’t specifically on my radar when it came time for me to go to college, but I definitely wanted to get out of Alabama. My mother, on the other hand, didn’t want me going too far from Alabama. My senior year of high school, I was offered a full scholarship to attend Morehouse College, so going to Atlanta ended up being the most practical decision.
2. My work is something I enjoy that ended up becoming a calling somewhere along the way. When I started Revision Path, it was initially just a way for me to connect with other Black designers and developers and creatives that I knew weren’t getting any sort of recognition from the design community. Five years later, Revision Path is still keeping with its mission, but now our reach is worldwide. We even expanded it four years ago into 28 Days of the Web, a celebration of Black designers during Black History Month. This year, I was awarded the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary, which is a huge honor and a testament to the visibility and recognition of the work I’ve done over the years.
3. That’s a good question! I usually tell people that I’m “just a podcaster,” because when it comes down to the essence of what I do, it’s not that different from what any other podcasters do — I get on a microphone and I talk to people. But I truly believe that the focus and scope of the work of highlighting Black creatives here in Atlanta and beyond is what’s most important. I mean, I even got my start as a designer in Atlanta because of a classified ad in the back of an issue of Creative Loafing, so being labeled a “Creative Loafing Influential” is really kind of a full circle moment for me. I’m really proud that the work I’m doing is finally being recognized here in the city that I call home.
4. My main goal is to change the conversation and perception about who is a designer and who can be a designer. For a long time, there’s been a specific monocultural view of who a designer is and what they look like. It’s something which has been perpetuated not just by design media, but by design education as well. I feel that with Revision Path, I’m helping to not only shift the design community’s gaze to an underrepresented group of designers, but to also provide these designers with a platform to tell the world who they are and what they do. For many of my guests, it’s the first time anyone has interviewed them about their work. My hope is that it’s not the only time.
5. I’m a Black man in America, so obstacles in my path are a given. The legitimacy of my work is continually questioned. The level of my work ethic is always tested. The quality of my work is always undermined. I try not to let those issues get to me, but I’m only human. The way that I have gotten past them is to just stay in my lane, not compare myself to others, and always remember that what I’m doing is to the service of a greater good. Overall, I’m blessed that I’ve been able to overcome many of the obstacles in my path to get to the level of success I’ve attained.