Figure B-14: Thomasville Heights, 1961-1967 Courtesy of Atlanta Housing Archives
More established organizations joined in the effort of organizing for human rights– Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Atlanta Urban League. SNCC issued a report detailing the harsh conditions faced by residents in Buttermilk Bottom. The area, which had seen no improvements in its 50 years of its existence, housed 16,000 residents who lived on less than $2,500 a year. They were charged disproportional rents, and lacked essential municipal services such as sanitation, water and sewage, streetlights, and paved streets. 207 "In a city of housing codes and pride in progress, its streets are unlit, and 40% of the areas is classified as deteriorating or dilapidated." 208 The Atlanta Urban League negotiated with the city in an effort to protect the Buttermilk Bottom residents during policy discussions aimed at increasing housing options. Consistently they implored to the Auditorium Committee to build more public housing before razing more houses as an additional 1,000 were needed to build the Civic Center. 209 In the Buttermilk Bottom Redevelopment Area, 1409 dwellings were extant, 276 were standard units and 1133 were substandard units. 210 Their efforts focused on two primary goals; improving substandard housing in the area and including Buttermilk Bottom residents in the renewal plans. Additionally, the Atlanta Urban League surveyed Buttermilk Bottom to assess house value, if residents were tenants or owners, earnings, and a list of reputable real estate
207 Heart of the City, 1. 208 Heart of the City, 1. 209 Letter to Mr. Milton, Auditorium Committee from the Urban League, The Atlanta Urban League Collection, Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library and Archives Research Center. 210 Letter to Mr. Milton, Auditorium Committee from the Urban League, The Atlanta Urban League Collection, Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library and Archives Research Center.
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