THE DECISION TO DEMOLISH “In the ghetto, the cry is, ‘Negro removal’. 139 ~Atlanta Daily World
“They wrapped a cable around it and pulled it down. It hurt. We had a lot of memories, a lot of good times.” 140 ~Sam Smith
“The people who were making a plan to move folk out were White males, and there were no people involved in the process at all who lived in the neighborhood.” ~Emory Searcy Jr., he grew up in Buttermilk Bottom, his father was Rev. Emory Searcy, Sr. Pastor at Mt. Zion Second Baptist Church. The church was displaced from Piedmont Avenue and Baker Street to 137 Boulevard. "The country urgently needs a modernized interstate highway system to relieve existing congestion, to provide for the expected growth of motor vehicle traffic, to strengthen the Nation's defenses, to reduce the toll of human life exacted each year in highway accidents, and to promote economic development." ~ President Dwight D. Eisenhower 141 URBAN RENEWAL TIMELINE 1933- Public Works Administration formed by the National industrial Recovery Act to assist the nation’s economic recovery during the Depression. 1937 Wagner Steagall Low Rent Housing Bill, formerly called the Housing Act of 1937. New Deal legislation that reflected the government’s recognition of adequate housing as an important societal need.” 142 1946 - The Lockner Report, a transportation plan developed by consultants hired by business leaders to improve connection to the Central Business District (CBD), removed Black neighborhoods near the CBD, to create a buffer between the CBD and White residents, and set aside land for future development. 143
139 Joan Hanauer, “In Some Sections They Call It ‘Negro Removal’, Atlanta Daily World, March 4, 1958. 140 Emerson, “Uncovering Buttermilk Bottom”. 141 Richard F Weingroff, “Original Intent: Purpose of the Interstate System 1954 - 1956”, US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, June 30, 2023. https://highways.dot.gov/highway- history/interstate-system/original-intent-purpose-interstate-system-1954-1956 142 https://www.fdrlibrary.org/housing 143 “Race, Class, and Urban Expansion”, Larry Keating
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