Many of these communities survive today, while others have fallen into decay and serve as the starting point for blacks in business, education, and politics.
Historic Auburn Avenue in Atlanta is a notable example of African American ingenuity. Black-owned hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores, like the Auburn Curb Market, a fire station and high-rise office building, welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights workers on their journey for social justice in the 1960s. It was also a haven for college students and others in the community.
Near "Sweet Auburn" existed Southwest Hospital, where scores of black doctors practiced their craft there before its final days, saving the lives of many of the poor in the community.
The Atlanta University Center, which comprises historically black Spelman College, Morehouse College/ School of Medicine, and Atlanta University, is another black Atlanta landmark. The Center has educated thousands of black men and women, including students from nearby African neighborhoods like Mechanicsville, Pittsburgh, and Adair Park, where African Americans have worked hard to raise families for generations.
Similar communities have flourished in South Georgia since slavery. In a section of downtown Albany called Harlem, black-owned businesses enticed visitors for a day of shopping or a night out at a time when other establishments wouldn't. African American neighborhoods developed nearby with schools and churches like Coachman Park, named in honor of a 1940s African American female track star.
The Albany Movement, which was a fight for civil rights in the city from 1961-62 that garnered the support of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also took place in the area with the help of SNCC organizers from historically black Albany State College.
Harlem received a much-needed facelift following the epic flood of 1994, which devastated black areas of the city. Structures deemed unsafe were demolished or rebuilt on higher ground. Swanky new apartments for moderate—to low-income families were constructed, and a new Civil Rights museum is within walking distance.
African Americans have also built proud communities surrounding Southwest Georgia's largest city. In neighboring Dawson, where African Americans make up more than half the population, black entrepreneurs settled in an area of downtown called the Push, which today consists of barbershops, taxi stands, a funeral home, and nightclubs. African Americans have also been a heavy presence downtown, working, shopping, and paying bills.
Prominent black neighborhoods sprung up elsewhere in the city. In the community of Sardis, an African American hospital served a booming population of African Americans. Also, the segregated high school for blacks was located in the neighborhood of Carver. Various shops, churches, and lodges have also been a fixture in other areas of town.
Similarly, in nearby Cuthbert, blacks congregated in a separate part of town for business and pleasure during segregation. On weekends, young black men shot pool in their best threads at black bars after a long week of picking cotton or punching the clock at the local mill. Other well-dressed men and women purchased goods or paid debts in businesses owned by blacks and others.
The scene was depicted by well-known artist and Cuthbert native Winfred Lambert in one of his works entitled Colored Folks Corner. It shows Western Auto and other businesses frequented by African Americans on the town square. Like in most small towns in the South, Cuthbert's downtown served as a meeting place for people of color.
African Americans in Georgia would also carve out neighborhoods and businesses in other parts of the State to meet the needs of family and friends.
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