One Man's Opinion: Taking stock in Stockbridge

I’m standing at the precipice, looking down into a sparkling, new state-of-the-art, 3,500-seat amphitheater, wondering in part how it got here in the charming Southern Crescent town of Stockbridge. It occurs to me during the tour that follows that this is a town that has taken advantage of the “down-time” brought on by this pandemic, taking stock of its assets as well as its liabilities, and deciding to make some additions. The venue is so new it doesn’t yet have a name, but it will open a bit later this month, with Georgian Gladys Knight and the peerless Patti LaBelle. Stockbridge, now the largest municipality in Henry County (the seventh most populous in Georgia), may be due for a diva wattage overload on Saturday, Sept. 25th at 7 p.m.

A short three years ago, Stockbridge, a majority/minority community with predominantly Black elected officials, faced an attack on its assets and tax base by the neighboring and more affluent community of Eagles Landing nearby. Eagle’s Landing is majority white, though it does also have minority residents, such as the late radio legend and former presidential aspirant Herman Cain, who was a big fan of the community and its world-class golf course. Cain also maintained his offices in another Henry County hamlet, the county seat of McDonough.