On the evening of September 28, the IRC in Atlanta’s Executive Director, Justin Howell, was invited to speak as part of an important panel discussion following a screening of The U.S. and the Holocaust, a new three-part documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century.

In June, the IRC in Atlanta’s Community Health Response Manager, Dr. Omar Aziz, was invited to present at the annual North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC), held in Cleveland, Ohio. The NARHC is recognized as the preeminent conference destination for healthcare and resettlement professionals working with refugee populations, with approximately 700 attendees from across the continent.

We put endless efforts, energy and passion into our services here at the IRC in Atlanta to ensure the process of resettlement and integration is as smooth as possible for our refugee clients. But how do we succeed? One answer is to ask our clients.

On Valentine’s Day, the IRC in Atlanta’s staff, clients and volunteers joined nearly 300 fellow advocates at the Georgia State Capitol for the tenth annual New Americans Celebration (NAC).

The IRC in Atlanta’s Career Development and Adult Education programs, in collaboration with Gwinnett Dental Career Academy (GDCA), recently graduated a second cohort of three former refugees—all young women from Afghanistan—through their Integrated Education and Training (IET) Dental Assistant course, a ten-week program focused on certifying new Americans in dental care and placing them in jobs.

Brittney Cooper decided to start Shyne Auto Detail LLC in December 2018. Her passion for auto detailing grew after managing detailing for more than 20 dealerships around the metro Atlanta area. Opportunities for new accounts developed fairly quickly and today, Brittney is proud to be one of the best female auto detailers in Atlanta. 

The IRC in Atlanta's free English classes are back in person! Offering flexible schedules and both online and in-person classes, these English classes for refugees and immigrants are complemented by an early childhood education program, ensuring families can improve language and literacy skills together.

Olga Ngalula was a financial officer and local seamstress in the Democratic Republic of Congo before being forced to flee her country. Olga and her family were resettled in the United States in August of 2015 and began rebuilding their lives in the greater Atlanta area.

The IRC in Atlanta’s staff were honored to attend and speak as part of the 7th annual Women’s Day Summit held by the Georgia Women’s Chamber of Commerce on March 8.

Like all immigrant populations, Black immigrants' contributions to science, art, food, sports and more are part of the history and development of the United States.