Historic Preservation and Black Atlanta Series

HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND BLACK ATLANTA SERIES

This five-part program seeks to broaden conversations about preservation in Atlanta, with particular attention paid to the city’s Black history, culture, and communities. The series will explore the meaning and relevance of preservation, in general, as well as its meaning within the context of the Black experience.

Over the course of five months, we will explore the following topics: Historic Preservation and Civil Rights in Atlanta’s Black Communities; Black Women and Historic Preservation in Atlanta; Preserving African American Cultural Patrimony; Preserving Atlanta’s Black Churches and Cemeteries; and Rethinking the Historical Importance of the Former Chattahoochee Brick Company Site.

Guess speakers will include, Mary Joseph, African American Programs Coordinator, Georgia Department of Community Affairs; Mtamanika Youngblood, Founding Director, Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC); Leslie Caanan, Senior Manager, Preserving Black Churches | African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund; and Ereshnee Naidu-Silverman, PhD, Senior Program Director: Transitional Justice, International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

  • Date: February 15, 2025

    Time: 1p.m. – 3p.m.

    Site: Atlanta City Studio, 235 Mitchell Street, Atlanta, GA, 30303

    Description: This event will trace the history of preservation work vis-à-vis Black places and spaces in Atlanta, including at the state level. Speakers also will share information about and reflect on the preservation efforts in three historic Black communities—Auburn Avenue, Vine City/English Avenue, and Collier Heights. The program will end by considering how these communities helped to craft Atlanta’s civil rights narrative and how that narrative has evolved and /or been preserved.

    Guest Speaker(s):

    • Mary Wilson Joseph, African American Programs Coordinator, Department of Community Affairs, Historic Preservation Division

    Panelists:

    • LeJuano Vardell, Executive Director, Sweet Auburn Works

    • Juanita and Harold Morton, Historic Collier Heights

    • Karl Barnes, Historic Preservation Consultant

  • Date:​ March 22, 2025

    Time:​ 1p.m. – 3p.m.

    Site:​ Haugabrooks Art Gallery, 364 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

    Description: Founded in 1980 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the original goal of the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) was to restore the MLK, Jr. Historic District to what it had been during Dr. King’s childhood—a viable, proud, and economically diverse neighborhood. Since its founding forty-five years ago, HDDC and the example of Mrs. King’s historic preservation efforts continue to provide meaning for and inspiration to Black women preservationists. This session will give voice to the local pioneers in the field and those currently working to save the spaces and places important to Black Atlanta.

    Guest Speaker:

    • Mtamanika Youngblood, Former President/CEO, HDDC

    Panelists:

    • Chenee Joseph, President/CEO, HDDC

    • M. Alexis Scott, Journalist and Publisher, Atlanta Daily World

    • Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Ph.D., Preserve Black Atlanta

    • Candy Tate, Ph.D., Museum Curator, Tuskegee University

  • Date:​ April 26, 2025

    Time:​ 1p.m. – 4p.m. (with reception)

    Site: ​Woodruff Library, 111 James P. Brawley Dr., SW, Atlanta, GA 30314

    Description: Of the comparatively few African American libraries and archival repositories in the country, Atlanta is home to five—Atlanta University Center’s Robert W. Woodruff Library, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Spelman College Archives, Emory University’s Rose Library; and Georgia State University’s Music and Popular Culture Archives. This event will focus on the important roles these institutions play in collecting, preserving, and interpreting Atlanta’s African American cultural history and ephemera.

    Guest SpeakerLa’Neice Littleton, Ph.D.

    Panelists: 

    • Kayla Siddell, Ph.D., Associate Library Director, Robert W. Woodruff Library

    • Victor Simmons, Administrator, Auburn Avenue Research Library

    • Holly A. Smith, College Archivist, Spelman College

    • N’Kosi Oates, Ph.D., Curator of African American Collections, Rose Library, Emory University

    • Brittany Newberry, Music and Popular Culture Archivist, Georgia State University

  • Date: May 10, 2025

    Time: 1p.m. – 3:00p.m.

    Site: Old Stone Church, 470 Candler Park Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30307

    Description: Considered by many to be the institution at the center of the African American experience, the Black Church created opportunities for leadership, gave rise to educational institutions, was at the forefront of the fight for Black civil and human rights in the United States, and served as a refuge from the scourge of anti-Black violence, oppression, and local and national injustices. This event will focus on the importance of preserving Atlanta’s historic Black churches and sacred burial grounds—today, often located within upper-middle-class and/or wealthy White communities. Speakers will also talk about the benefits and challenges of saving these iconic spaces. 

    Guest Speaker(s):

    • Leslie Canaan, Senior Manager, Preserving Black Churches | African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

    • Elizabeth Clappin, Urban Planner III, Office of Design, City of Atlanta 

    Panelists:

    • Elon Butts Osby, Mount Olive Cemetery (Bagley Park)

    • Reverend Jamese Beauford, Antioch East Baptist Church

    • Mary Howard, First Existentialist Congregation and BiRacial History Project

    • Leroy Durden, Jr, Mayson Chapel Baptist Church

    • Natasha Washington, Historic Black Cemeteries of Georgia

    • Kim Oliver, Cobb-Bethel AME Church