During the decades when Black people were being suppressed and subjugated by racist laws, many fought to carve out their own place in a segregated society. The results were black-owned businesses, churches and clubs. Some led the way to establish their own neighborhoods, organizations and newspapers. They built their own banks, schools and parks. And these became legacies of their fight and their success. But many of these legacies have been neglected and forgotten. For Black History Month, TheVillageCelebration will look at some of these abandoned legacies.
At a time
when Black people were barred from white-owned restaurants and hotels, and when
they couldn’t buy decent burial insurance or purchase property, they came
together and built their own.
On
a stretch of street two-miles long and sixty-feet wide, they established an
empire that would become known as the wealthiest African American neighborhood in the world.
For
years Auburn Avenue was the epicenter of African American business acumen,
excellence and innovation, according to a 2017 article by The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. The concentration of wealth and influence was
unparalleled, the AJC reported.
African
Americans had their own doctors, dentists and dry cleaners. They opened their own banks,
barbershops and beauty parlors. From drug stores, grocery and flower shops to
insurance companies, churches and photography studios, Black-owned businesses
flourished.
And in 1956, Fortune Magazine named Auburn Avenue, “The
richest Negro street in the World.” But with integration, many left and Auburn
Avenue became a shadow of itself – and what was once a magnet of black
enterprise became another symbol of what happens when people abandon their own.
“For black people,
the street was a symbol of pride,” said pastor and historian Dr. Herman “Skip”
Mason, Jr. “It was a street of pride and it serviced the community, and
everybody patronized Auburn Avenue.”
Back then, he said,
“We served our own, we took care of our own, we patronized our own people.”
Dan Moore,
founder and president of the APEX Museum on Auburn Avenue, said what Black
people accomplished on Auburn Avenue back then took courage.
“Black
people had a vision and wasn’t afraid to go against the grain,” Moore said. “You
had men and women, who had courage, step out and do their thing. They couldn’t
buy property on other streets, so they came together and started their own
businesses on Auburn Avenue.”
With its hotels, restaurants and nightclubs, Auburn Avenue was a commercial
center of Black Atlanta. It saw the first Black daily newspaper (Atlanta Daily World),
America’s first Black-owned radio station (WERD) and the first black-owned life
insurance company (Atlanta Life), which was started by the city’s first black
millionaire, Alonzo Herndon, a former slave.
The nightclub, the
Peacock Lounge, hosted famous acts from Gladys Knight, B.B. King and The Four
Tops to Little Richard, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles,
according to online reports. The nightlife on Auburn Avenue sparkled as men and
women came out dressed in style to walk down the avenue.
Such was the
success of Auburn Avenue that it attracted Blacks from other cities and states,
Moore said. It also became a center for empowerment.
Home
to History
Coined “Sweet
Auburn” by businessman and Civil Rights activist John Wesley Dobbs, the maternal
grandfather of Atlanta’s first African American mayor, Maynard Jackson, Auburn
Avenue saw the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
who preached on the avenue alongside his father.
In the 1950s and
the 1960s, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by King, and
Ebenezer Baptist, Wheat Street Baptist, Big Bethel AME and Butler CME churches
kept Auburn Avenue as a nexus of social activity and the Civil Rights Movement,
according to SoulofAmerica.com.
But by the
time Moore arrived in Atlanta in the 1980s, the success of Auburn Avenue was
already on the decline and he said integration was one of the main reasons for
the change.
“Integration
came in and Blacks were allowed to move into other parts of the city, and they
abandoned Auburn Avenue,” Moore said. As for the owners, he said, “Most of the
businesses, when they realized they were able to move to white neighborhoods,
they fled.”
By the 1960s
and 1970, many began moving to the suburbs. With the
construction of the I-85/75 Freeway, which bisected Sweet Auburn, and the
passing of the national Fair Housing Act, many of the black middle class
surrounding Sweet Auburn began moving to larger spaces, according to
soulofamerica.com.
“Those who helped end segregation, unintentionally
helped end Sweet Auburn prosperity,” the online site noted.
The Power of Unity
But something else was lost, Moore said. It was the
realization of what Black people can accomplish when they come together.
“We don’t
realize the power and the strength we have collectively,” he said.
Still, there were some
like Mtamanika Youngblood, who joined the board
of the Historic District Development Corp. and worked to help improve
Auburn Avenue, which in the 1990s was designated a National Historic District.
And there were
some improvements. Atlanta Life Insurance Company rebuilt its headquarters on
Auburn Avenue. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Visitor Center was built across from
the Center for Non-violent Social Change and the Tomb of Dr. Martin Luther
King. Even Ebenezer Baptist Church built a new edifice directly across the street
from its old church, named a National Historic Landmark.
And there is also Moore’s APEX Museum, which provides a peep into the
history of Auburn Avenue. And the Auburn
Avenue Research Library, one of a few nationwide, offers a wealth of
information on Black history in America. There is also the Martin Luther King,
Jr. birth home, freedom center, grave site and Old Ebenezer Baptist Church that
attract more than a million tourists each year.
But the epicenter of Black empowerment and success was gone.
“I’d like to think that we would want the generations of young African Americans
who come after us to know their history and the story of incredible
accomplishment Sweet Auburn represented at a very difficult time for
African-Americans,” Mtamanika Youngblood told
the AJC. “The lesson they need to take away is — if we could do that then, what
can’t we do now?”
President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life, advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.
Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in 1977.
Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not considered before.”
Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.
The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.
“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”
President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty, compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice
The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.
“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.
In Arkansas a formerly all-Black school, Ouachita County Training School, has launched a national fundraising effort to restore the campus following its designation as a site on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the first corporate donations to OCTS, located in Bearden, Arkansas, came from the Katherine Anthony Foundation.
Anthony’s nephew, Steve, and CEO of Anthony Timberlands, presented a $10,000 check to the historic committee.
“We are happy to support the work of the Greater Bradley District Association and the Ouachita County Training School committee in their efforts to maintain the infrastructure and grounds of the training school, which is such an important part of the Bearden community,” Anthony said.
The National Park Service listed OCTS on the prestigious register in 2023.
“Since we received the news, we have been excited and motivated to raise the funds necessary to preserve this part of our history!” Virginia Ashley, committee president said. “We recognize the pivotal role OCTS played in educating several generations of young people who started right here and went on to contribute greatly to the Black middle class and the world.”
The gift of education
For education advocates, December holds a special place in American history. During the Christmas Season in 1952, the Supreme Court first heard arguments to eliminate segregation in the nation’s public schools. But, it took two more years before the Court issued its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, declaring segregation unconstitutional.
During the 1950s, OCTS educated Black students in the small southern town south of Little Rock, which became known internationally for The Little Rock Nine and their efforts to integrate Central High School. In Bearden, several Rosenwald Schools had consolidated to create the larger OCTS campus that educated students from the first through the 12th grades.
“I have such wonderful memories of my days as a student at OCTS,” recalled Pearlie Newton, a retired educator and executive director of the OCTS historic committee. “My dad helped pour concrete at the campus, my husband and I met there and it was in one of the classrooms that my goal to become an educator took shape.”
Despite the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision eliminating “separate but equal” schools, OCTS remained segregated until 1971 when it merged with the white school district in the area. An association of Black Baptist churches known as the Greater Bradley District Association purchased the campus for use as its headquarters.
Pastor and Association Moderator, Verna Thompson, said, “We are excited about the renovation and look forward to holding our church services and meetings in a modernized facility that holds so much historic significance.”