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Showcase Atlanta, the citywide initiative created by Mayor Andre Dickens to ensure major global events benefit local businesses and neighborhoods, closed out the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament month by delivering on the core commitment it was built around. Since January, the nonprofit onboarded more than 1,900 small businesses into its Vendor Directory, connected over 500 businesses to vending and contracting opportunities, and invested $1,222,500 in grants and business resources. The month culminated with the Celebration of Soccer & Sound on July 19 in Piedmont Park, a free public event headlined by Ludacris that drew thousands of attendees and featured 68 local small business vendors. Key Takeaways Showcase Atlanta onboarded more than 1,900 small businesses into its Vendor Directory and connected over 500 to vending, contracting, and partnership opportunities since January 2026 The initiative invested $1,222,500 in grants and business resources, including $500,000 for the Downtown Pop-Up Opportunity Fund, $100,000 in digital marketing grants, $102,500 in Google Ad Credits, and $30,000 in youth entrepreneurship programming The Celebration of Soccer & Sound on July 19 in Piedmont Park, headlined by Ludacris and produced with ONE Musicfest, featured 68 local small business vendors and championship match watch parties across three viewing areas

Atlanta Dream stars Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese were named to the 12-player USA Basketball Women’s National Team roster on August 6, becoming the first pair of Dream players in franchise history to simultaneously represent the United States at a 5-on-5 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup or Olympic Games, with the tournament set for September 4 through 13 in Berlin. Key Takeaways Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese are the first Atlanta Dream duo in franchise history to be selected together for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team at a 5-on-5 FIBA World Cup or Olympic Games. Howard, a four-time WNBA All-Star, is averaging 17.0 points per game this season while leading the WNBA in steals; Reese is averaging a league-leading double-double and pacing the league in rebounding. Both players helped Team USA qualify for the World Cup during the qualifying tournament in March, where the U.S. posted a 5-0 record in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 12-player roster also includes Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Kelsey Plum; Team USA is pursuing its fifth consecutive World Cup gold medal and 12th overall. The U.S. has been drawn into Group D alongside China, Czechia, and Italy, with the

Minneapolis kicked off its sixth annual Black Business Week on Monday, July 27, opening a seven-day stretch of networking summits, resource workshops, and community events designed to support Black-owned businesses across the city just ahead of National Black Business Month in August. The week launched with a keynote from Sheletta Brundidge, a marketing veteran and founder of ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com, whose address — titled “Let Your WHY Build Your WEALTH” — centered on a message that has become a defining theme of Black entrepreneurship in 2026: storytelling is the competitive advantage that separates businesses that survive from businesses that scale. Key Takeaways Minneapolis opened its sixth annual Black Business Week on July 27, running through August 2, with programming that includes a kickoff summit, food business licensing workshops through the Northside Economic Opportunity Network, and networking events for emerging and established Black entrepreneurs. Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States, with women over 50 driving the trend, according to Wall Street Journal reporting cited during the week’s programming. The week arrives as Minneapolis Black businesses continue recovering from the economic impact of “Operation Metro Surge,” a federal immigration enforcement action earlier this year that reduced foot traffic

A decade ago, Black Maternal Health Week was a declaration. In 2026, it is an infrastructure. What began as a campaign to name and confront the crisis of Black maternal mortality has grown into a nationwide network of birth workers, organizers, advocates, and community members who have stopped waiting for broken systems to fix themselves — and started building their own. The 10th annual Black Maternal Health Week, themed “Rooted in Justice and Joy,” officially opened following a community walk in Atlanta on April 11, where families, birth workers, and advocates gathered for what has become an annual rallying kickoff. From that opening walk, the energy spread across the country — city by city, block by block — through a week of events that looked less like awareness campaigns and more like community architecture. A Movement That Grew Its Own Roots When Black Mamas Matter Alliance launched Black Maternal Health Week in 2017, it entered a public conversation that had largely failed to center Black women. Maternal mortality rates for Black women in the United States remain disproportionately high compared to white women — a disparity driven not by biology, but by systemic failures in access, treatment, and trust. The