Figure B-19: Long-term residents of Bedford Pine talk about fear of displacement (1991) Source: Atlanta-Journal Constitution
CONCLUSION Urban renewal was a deliberate strategy to segregate spaces, designed to prioritize and protect Atlanta’s business interests. "The Connector," or Interstates 75 and 85, bisects the Fourth Ward from the downtown business district making navigation of the area difficult, destroyed once-thriving Black commercial on Auburn Avenue, and displaced thousands of people from Butler Street, Buttermilk Bottom, Irwin Street, Crescent Way, and other smaller residential neighborhoods. This report shed light on a critical chapter in Atlanta’s history that has not to this point had a remedy. The history of Buttermilk Bottom serves as a poignant reminder of the of pervasive systemic neglect Black Atlantans face because of the underlying practice of racial exclusion and racism embedded in practices associated with planning and Jim Crow ear laws. The paternalistic nature of displacement where residents were not consulted and did not have a say in the process is unjust and removes any sense of agency and self- determination. White civic, business, and government officials determined the fate of these communities and eventually opened opportunity for the Black leadership class to have input. The Black leaders who were part of the Citizens Advisory Committees argued for residents to have a say in what was happening to them and to preserve the business district of Auburn Avenue which was key to maintaining the wealth for some, presence of banking and insurance, was a cultural and social center, and the heart of
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