If you ever get the opportunity to visit Atlanta, Georgia then one inspirational day in The Sweet Auburn Historic District should be on your list….The top of your list! Recently while anxiously waiting for our May flight to Mexico, we made an extended trip to North Georgia to pass some time. While there, we visited state & national parks as well as many local park trails. We even made it to The National Center for Human & Civil Rights but that is another post. Having said that, the one day we spent on Auburn Street in Atlanta walking the historic district it was clear to me that Auburn Street deserved its own post!
A Little History of Sweet Auburn Historic District
Originally called Wheat Street, it was renamed to Auburn Street in 1893 & quickly became the place to be for Black Americans. At one point Forbes magazine called it the ‘richest black street in the world’! The Sweet Auburn Historic District history was made all the more powerful with the Black American culture & the many small businesses with several strong churches to act as religious base for the community. It really was in my view its own little ‘town’. Banks created by Black Americans served the needs of the blacks not serviced by the white banks. Businesses were created to fill their everyday needs – beauty salons, barbers, markets, insurance needs. etc as well as social clubs,etc.
Though Sweet Auburn Historic District was designated a historical site in 1976, sadly in 1992 it was recognized by The National Trust of Historic Preservation as one of “America’s Top 11 Most Endangered Historic Places due to ‘lack of investment, crime & abandonment…’! To add to that, the city basically overnight eliminated an entire section of the area to make way for the new highway. The saying was that one day homes were there & the next day the area had been wiped clear!
Beginning with Martin Luther King Jr’s birth home & working its way outward, the city has seen some renovation by The Historic District Development Corporation [HDDC]. They are one of the oldest non profits in Atlanta & they cater mainly to rehabilitating homes in what is known as The Old Fourth Ward.
Here are a few highlights of our awesome trip down Sweet Auburn!
Sweet Auburn Street Highlights
In no particular order, here are just a few of the sights that inspired us.
Churches
Ebenezer Baptist Church located at 407 Auburn was founded twenty years after the Civil War. It was the church Martin L King Sr ministered & where Rev. Martin L King Jr. delivered his first sermon in 1947. The church is still active in that you can sit in the church & listen to sermons of Rev. King Jr & it still plays a huge part in the fight against racism & civil rights movement.
The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Temple is located at 220 Auburn, with roots back to 1847 when enslaved men & women – with permission – were allowed to go to church. To this day The Bethel Temple works to keep the integrity of the Sweet Auburn Historic District in place.
Martin Luther King Childhood Home
Martin Luther King’s homestead is located at 501 Auburn St where he was born January 15, 1929. Read here how the Rev King [both Jr & Sr] came upon their names.
For more information about Martin Luther King Jr. please go here for some interesting facts!
Shotgun Houses
I personally loved these little houses! These houses are one of the historic neighborhoods of Atlanta built in early 1900’s originally for blue collar workers. After the Atlanta Race Riots of 1906 the workers deserted the homes. The homes then became rentals for blacks to move in. The name “shotgun” comes from the way the houses are built with front & back doors perfectly aligned. In other words a gun shot thru the front door would go straight thru the back door. On our visit there, some of these were tagged as private residences. More info check this out!
The Royal Peacock Club Atlanta
The Peacock Club located at 186 Auburn had been a hot spot for contributions to the black entertainment world for decades. Originally The Top Hat in 1930, it was renamed under new ownership as the Royal Peacock in 1949. Entertainers such as Aretha Franklin, Glad Knight, BB King & Ray Charles to name a few cut their so called ‘teeth’ at The Royal Peacock.
During our visit it did not look like it was open though I saw that it still host parties but I also read that it was undergoing renovations so maybe we can look forward to a major part of black entertainment to spread her peacock feathers again!?!
Some miscellaneous Black Businesses that left their mark on Auburn Street!
Banks – Citizens Trust Bank was an early bank to provide services to Black Americans who were not being served by white banks.
Insurance Companies – Atlanta Life Insurance was founded in 1905 by former slave Alonzo Herndon. He started the company with a $140 investment. For more info check this out. The company is still in operation!
Newspaper – The Atlanta Daily World was the first Black American owned newspaper [and the oldest] located at 145 Auburn St. opening its doors in 1928. Although urging blacks to shop black owned businesses was an important issue for the paper, they also covered lynchings, police brutality & school segregation to name a few. The paper is under different ownership since 2008 but still maintains an online paper presence.
The Refugee Coffee Co. – The Company itself is only six years old. It is housed next to the Atlanta Daily on Auburn Street. Our barista, Fray, an Ethiopian immigrant, chatted with us about how Refugee Coffee Co. works & trains refugees & immigrants new to this country. Fray was trained as a barista five years ago & works at this location. And the coffee was fabulous!
Prince Hall / Revival Masonic Lodge & the Odd Fellows Building – both located on Auburn, were two of several fraternal or social clubs supporting the black business community.
By 1960 the Masonic Lodge, after having gone thru several businesses onsite, became the base for Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference [‘SCLC’] & National Association Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] in 1957. The SCLC has published The SCLC magazine since 1971.
Movers & Shakers in Civil Rights Movement on Auburn
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. – We will go more into Rev Martin Luther King Jr in a separate post but for now go here for some interesting facts about the awe inspiring Martin Luther King Jr.
John Lewis – This Hero Mural was dedicated to John Lewis upon his death in 2020 I feel so honored that we were able to visit it on our visit to Atlanta. John Lewis led the walk to Selma, Alabama, in 1965, a landmark event in the history of the civil rights movement that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” For a CNN timeline of highlights of John Lewis, check this out.
John Wesley Dobbs – co-founded the Atlanta Negro Voters League with A.T. Walden which lead to registering over 20,000+ blacks to be able to vote mid 1930s-mid 1940s! He was instrumental in changing political power on Auburn Street district enabling the hiring of the first eight Black American Police Officers in 1948. Another kudos to Mr. Dobbs was the city’s installation of street lights along Auburn Street! I think it is very easy to figure out why he was the “Mayor” of Sweet Auburn.
The Peace Rose Garden/Martin Luther King National Historical Park –
The ‘I have a dream’ Peace Rose Garden sits directly in front of the Martin Luther King Library – its beautiful rose bushes were just starting to bloom on our visit. Surrounding the garden are poems written by students from kindergarten to seniors of how they were inspired by Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Here are some of photos from the Peace Rose Garden.
Here are a few other photos of the Sweet Auburn District. Enjoy. If you ever get the chance to be in Atlanta this is a must see.
