Atlanta, GA

New play 'The Wash' highlights real-life Atlanta labor strike

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2024

New play 'The Wash' highlights real-life Atlanta labor strike

New play highlights Atlanta labor history

The new play ”The Wash” tells the real-life story of the 1881 Atlanta washerwomen strike, during which Black laundresses led a strike for better wages in the weeks leading up to the International Cotton Exposition.

ATLANTA – “How come I have never heard of this before?”

That single question changed Atlanta native Kelundra Smith’s life. And now, with her world-premiere play “The Wash,” Smith is hoping nobody will need to ask it again.

“The Wash” tells the real-life story of the 1881 Atlanta washerwomen strike, during which Black laundresses led a strike for better wages in the weeks leading up to the International Cotton Exposition.

“The Atlanta washerwomen strike was one of the first and largest successful labor strikes of the post-Civil War era,” explains Smith. “African-American laundresses who were fed up with being stiffed on their wages decided to take their power back, and they said, ‘No pay, no wash.’”

Smith first became aware of the story during a 2017 trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The writer says she was astounded that she hadn’t previously learned about the historical event, and upon further research, became inspired to write about it.

“When I think of clothes flying in the street, people getting their laundry back wet or soiled, people wrestling each other to say, ’No, you’re on strike now, we’re not working anymore,’ it felt theatrical to me,” Smith says.

“The Wash” was chosen by the National New Play Network for its Rolling World Premiere initiative, which means three or more theaters premiere distinct productions of the play within an 18-month period. The play opened at Atlanta’s Synchronicity Theatre last month and is set to take the stage at The Academy Theatre in Hapeville in a production from Impact Theatre Atlanta from July 11 through 28. It is then scheduled to open in theaters in St. Louis and Chicago in 2025.

For more information on the upcoming Impact Theatre Atlanta production (directed by Brenda Porter), click here.

For full interviews with Kelundra Smith, director Brenda Porter, and actor Nevaina, watch this weekend’s all-new “Behind the Scenes with Paul Milliken” at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, streaming on all FOX 5 Atlanta platforms.

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Atlanta, GA

Atlanta closes Bell Street homeless encampment

Published

57 minutes ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Atlanta closes Bell Street homeless encampment

Atlanta police and public works crews have begun closing a prominent homeless encampment near Grady Memorial Hospital as part of a multi-year “Downtown Rising” initiative to transition residents into permanent housing.

Posted March 6, 2026 5:39pm EST

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Atlanta, GA

Stolen bikes derail program that teaches Atlanta youth to ride

Published

13 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Stolen bikes derail program that teaches Atlanta youth to ride

A program that teaches young Atlantans how to ride bikes suffered a major loss this week, after thieves emptied a storage trailer, making off with 26 bikes and 24 helmets.

The “Shifting Gears” program helps young cyclists learn how to navigate city streets on two wheels from an early age — particularly in underserved communities that suffer from high rates of traffic injuries and fatalities.

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Atlanta, GA

Thieves steal dozens of bikes meant for underprivileged kids from Atlanta nonprofit

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Thieves steal dozens of bikes meant for underprivileged kids from Atlanta nonprofit

March 5, 2026 / 5:10 PM EST
/ CBS Atlanta

An Atlanta nonprofit is asking the public for help after it was the victim of a brazen theft earlier this week.

Propel ATL said that thieves cleared out an entire trailer of bicycles meant for underprivileged kids sometime on Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

Jeremiah Jones, the nonprofit’s advocacy manager, said that someone broke into the trailer and took 26 bikes and 24 helmets.

Nonprofit Propel Atl said someone stole dozens of bikes and helmets meant to go to children from their trailer this week.

CBS News Atlanta

The equipment was part of a program that gives bikes to children from low-income schools and teaches them how to ride.

“My heart sank when I got the call that all the bikes were gone. I said, ‘Surely not all of them.’ And all of them are gone,” Jones said. “This class is solely for kids, and this crime is affecting them.”

Atlanta police are reviewing security footage from the area. Jones said you could see people taking the bikes out of the trailer, carrying them down a hill, and bringing them into a nearby parking lot.

The nonprofit is now trying to raise more than $10,000 to replace the bikes.

Propel ATL is also asking who may have information about the theft to contact them at programs@letspropelatl.org.