City of Decatur, GA history

In 1907 it became the first accredited college or university in Georgia.

1911 Sanborn Map Company fire insurance map showing early development in Decatur’s African American community.

Declared a slum by the city, the first streets were closed and buildings were demolished in 1941.

Public housing block where Elizabeth Wilson moved in 1949.

These included narratives that compressed historical events, especially during the Civil Rights era, that minimized impacts on the black community by desegregation efforts that began in 1954 with the Brown v.

Little progress was made on the project until 1964, when work resumed under Walker Kirkland Hancock.

In 1980, Decatur had 15,588 residents; 41 percent of them were African American.

Decatur’s policies since it first implemented a downtown development plan in 1982 have embraced gentrification and demographic inversion — replacing poor people with wealthier ones.

Roth’s 1987 recommendation for creating an Oakhurst historic district was never realized.

In 1990 the Decatur City Commission passed a local historic preservation ordinance.

The latest, which began around 2000, has resulted in the demolition of approximately 20% of Oakhurst’s building stock and the construction of larger, more expensive homes that are being bought by mostly young white families moving to the city for the schools.

Creative Loafing, an Atlanta alternative weekly, reported in August 2007, “Proponents argue that creating the district will protect homeowner investments by ensuring that developers can’t tear down an older house to build a larger home.”

Elizabeth Wilson had just turned 80 shortly before our February 2012 interview and tour.

Decatur's historic African American schools being demolished in May 2013.

LaShanda Denise Paul on March 13, 2014 at 5:35 pm said:

Charles Earl on August 16, 2017 at 9:37 pm said:

Joyce J Dorsey on June 12, 2019 at 4:59 pm said:

Jeri mills on February 26, 2020 at 7:32 pm said: