Atlanta Through the Archives

West Side (1950s)

Summary

“Over in Europe they call it an Iron Curtain; an intangible obstruction that can hold one back with much greater potence than iron or steel. Here we have a nicer home; a polite one... Buffer Zone. The Inglorious title, and the Negro community will move no further in this direction.”
George Coleman, “The Town I Live In,” Atlanta Daily World. October 30, 1956.

Beginning in the 1950s, Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood became the city’s frontline in the negotiation between changing neighborhood demographics and race relations. City officials continued to promote the aggressive slum clearance agenda of the 40’s, and more and more black families found themselves displaced from their long-term homes and communities. The city’s proposed relocation sites were often overwhelmingly white, and current residents of those neighborhoods fought violently to insulate themselves from the migration of displaced black communities. No neighborhood better tells this story as Atlanta’s Westside.

Throughout the 1950s, Atlanta officials pursued an aggressive agenda of slum clearance and urban development, leaving thousands of families displaced and without homes.The target majority black, low-income communities for demolition. The highway’s locations were strategically planned not only to destroy such communities, but also to act as a racial ‘buffer between existing white and black neighborhoods. As neighborhoods were demolished, more and more low-income black families found themselves displaced, and urged city officials to provide adequate public housing in replacement. Despite massive community organization, many attempts to construct housing nearby demolition sites failed, pushing displaced residents into new areas like auburn avenue and the Westside, where white residents responded by selling their homes and fleeing to the suburbs.