Figure B-5: View of Buttermilk Bottom, Atlanta, Georgia, August 10, 1960 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jerry Huff Photographer. Courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library
The portrayal of Buttermilk Bottom and the other Fourth Ward neighborhoods in The Atlanta Constitution today would be considered biased, neglecting to highlight that many of the deteriorating, unsafe, and unhygienic structures were rental properties. The landlords were not held accountable for the conditions of their properties, and property owners were allowed to recoup any investments made to improve their properties. Owners could regain money invested in improving their property through rent increases and if owners took their bills to the rent control director, Kale Alexander, they would be reimbursed. 57 The poor conditions of Buttermilk Bottom were not the fault of its residents, but rather a consequence of neglect and lack of accountability by property owners and local policies. Practices like these and urban renewal left neighborhoods like Buttermilk Bottom and Butler Street as unimproved neighborhoods, to be torn down, and sold to developers for redevelopment. 58 These development projects included razing Black communities to benefit the city. The goal of increased tax revenue derived from hotels, tourism and conventions, and large- scale corporations like Georgia Power. 59 Highways accommodated the White suburban commuter, providing easy access to Atlanta’s central business district without having to drive through impoverished districts. 60 From the 1940s to 1960s, Black population in Atlanta increased 2.4 percent each decade. 61 The Black population rose from 34.6 percent in 1940, to 38.3 percent by 1960 which meant that neighborhoods increased in density and put more pressure on the need for new housing. 62 At this point, Black people were relocated from living adjacent to the
57 “Councilman White Maps Slum Clearance Program: 27,000 Substandard Owners Were Warned.”, Atlanta Daily World. 58 Eddie Williams, “Butler St. Redevelopment Project Brings Questions”, The Atlanta Daily World. 59
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61 “Implications of Relocation Under Urban Renewal Outlined”, The Atlanta Daily World, March 25, 1962. 62 “Implications of Relocation”.
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