such as Operation Breadbasket. 292 Operation Breadbasket first began in 1962 to aid in integrating Black people into White-only businesses within Black communities. It has failed to economically invest in the community by hiring, maintaining, and adequately paying Black employees. By the end of its run in 1972, Operation Breadbasket was an economic driver by leading campaigns that required not only hiring Black workers but also working with Black-owned businesses. Its goal was to build up the economic base of the community. 293 Operation Breadbasket was modeled after a program started by Rev. Leon Sullivan, a Baptist minister in Philadelphia in the late 1950s, to boycott businesses that did not hire from the Black community. 294
Some of the businesses Operation Breadbasket campaigned against included: Gordan Foods, Scripto Factory, Western Electric, Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light, Dobbs House
DEWEY MERRITT Dewey Merritt grew up in Buttermilk Bottom and, in 1974, renovated his home in Grant Park. Merritt was a community organizer with the Urban Training Organization of Atlanta (Urban Training). This interfaith-based community transformation agency began in 1968 and comprised volunteers from various churches, theological schools, the Jewish community, and business leaders. Urban Training worked to create alternatives co-created and led by the residents themselves to provide positive solutions to deter crime, teen pregnancy, drug use, and other behaviors seen as harmful by the community. The implemented programs supported youth development and included tutoring, activities, and adult connections. 295
JUSTICE BOB ANDERSON MITCHAM Justice Bob Anderson Mitcham grew up in Buttermilk Bottom and held a career in the carceral system, 30 years as a criminal defense attorney and 11 years as an elected
292 "Former King Aid Regarded as "Beloved Friend of the Family," Find A Grave, The Atlanta Daily World, March 4, 1994. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198515616/fred_c-bennette#view-photo=185496088. 293 Enrico Beltramini, “SCLC Operation Breadbasket: From Economic Civil Rights to Black Economic Power,” Fire!!! 2, no. 2 (2013): 5–47. https://doi.org/10.5323/fire.2.2.0005.
294 Beltramini, “Operation Breadbasket”, 5–47.
295 Clay Moore, “Lessons from ‘Little Nam’,” The Atlanta Journal- and Constitution, September 18, 1994, p. 7. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution/24646750/ Last accessed March 20, 2024.
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