Historic Westside News May2016 Issue1

By Brent Brewer

“Where We Want To Live”, Ryan

Gravel’s story of the Atlanta BeltLine, is

not the blueprint for a successful

BeltLine neighborhood that you might

have hoped for. Rather, it is a detailed

tale of how Gravel’s vision became the

Atlanta Beltline.

To summarize the book, his vision

suggests that “transportation

infrastructure does more than move

people. It builds communities, and it

constructs our way of life.”

He calls his vision catalystic infrastructure.

To Gravel, spontaneous interactions

along infrastructure is just the kind of

Atlanta he wants to live in.

As West End neighbors forgo the car

and bike/walk the West End trail to the

park or grocery stores, and meet

neighbors in passing, these neighbors

create Gravel’s vision on the Westside.

Their experiences breath life into his

vision, making it our Atlanta BeltLine.

Our infrastructure has always linked our

neighborhoods. Shared vehicular

boulevards, bus routes traversing from

West End to Ashby MARTA stations,

and newly repaired sidewalks provide

safe passage to our common parks and

green spaces, Washington School cluster

public schools, and shared

supermarkets.

With the completion of the Westside

BeltLine Trail, historic barriers will

transform into a new public common

ground. Westside neighborhoods with

their own history, culture and politics

will be connected.

We don’t have to wait for the Trail’s

completion to celebrate the diversity of

the Westside neighborhoods while

showing our common ground.

We can do this by sharing our stories

with each other.!

May 2016 “Linking Neighbors and Celebrating Diversity” Issue One

Where We Want to Live: Westside

Historic Westside News

Calling Local Reporters,

Photographers and Artists.

The Historic Westside News is back!

Bigger and better than ever, this

newspaper covers Atlanta University

Center (AUC), Ashview Heights,

Castleberry Hill, English Avenue, Vine

City, Washington Park and West End.

Our mission– Linking Neighbors and

Celebrating Diversity– says it all. New

school, old school or your school we are

looking for stories about your/our

communities. Submit stories and graphics

to [email protected]. See

your story ideas in print and distributed

throughout the community. Deadline is

Third Monday of each month.

Inside This Issue….

Brent Brewer , a West

End resident, is the

publisher of the Our

West End Newsletter.

Westside Future

Fund Needs Community

Input

PAGE 2,3

Urban Ag

From Public Spaces to Homes

PAGE 4, 5

Historic Washington Park

Conservancy

Legacy of Mr. Perry and Mrs. Dove

PAGE 6

2 Historic Westside News May 2016

Community Input Needed on Land Use Plan

Input Schedule

A calendar with times and locations is at http://planwestside.com/events.

Mondays and Tuesdays: Face-to-face fact-finding sessions at the Westside Future Fund office. The Land-Use Action Team is holding a series of Stakeholder Meetings specific to each target area to get input on what’s happening in the community, what stakeholders would like to see happen and what are their concerns. These sessions are with stakeholders grouped into similar categories such as Community Leadership, Residents, Faith-Based Organizations, Developers & Property Owners, Public Safety, Environmental Organizations, and Infrastructure Implementation. If you would like to be included in one of these groups, or have a suggestion for a Stakeholder category that should be included – please contact the Westside Future Fund Director of Programs Nasim Fluker – Email: [email protected] or Phone: 404-793-2676.

Tuesday evenings: Presentations for public input in each neighborhood. This is a series of neighborhood fact-finding sessions in the six target areas. Residents, businesses, churches, landowners and those organizations providing services in the target community are invited to take part in a series of breakout sessions following an informational presentation on the Westside’s Land-Use Action Plan.

Wednesdays and Thursdays: The Land-Use Action Team will spend two days at the Westside Future Fund’s offices intensively taking all the input from the previous two days to create a draft design and implementation strategy.

Fridays: A draft of recommendations for each target area will be presented at the first Friday of the month at Transform Westside Summit with Q&A after. The draft will be posted online at planwestside.com later that day for review and additional feedback.

Saturdays: For English Avenue and Vine City, the Land-Use Action Plan team is presenting to the local neighborhood associations for feedback on the draft plan. These meetings are open to homeowners, landowners and renters in the specific target area.

Since 2002, over 18 land-use plans have been conceived for the Westside. Understandably some community members say they have “planning fatigue” and have been through this before. The biggest weakness of these previous plans was the lack of a robust implementation strategy – an Action Plan! The Westside Future Fund is therefore building on the good work and extensive community feedback put into previous plans by city agencies, city council members, partners and residents to create a comprehensive, up to date Land-Use Action Plan. You can find links to the previous plans as well as an analysis of each one at http://planwestside.com/previous_westside_studies

Community input is critical to creating a Land-Use Action Plan for the Westside. As Atlanta’s Commissioner of Planning and Community Development, Tim Keane said at the April 1 Transform Westside Summit, “To be successful,

this has to be something that the people who live here - and are invested in here - support and are a part of.” The Westside Future Fund has partnered with the city’s Planning and Community Development to create the Land-Use Action Plan that’s headed up by Dhiru Thadani, an internationally recognized architect/urbanist and author of The Language of Towns and Cities: A Visual Dictionary and co-editor of Leon Krier: The Architecture of Community.

Thadani and his team of local and national experts are holding multiple stakeholder meetings that are followed by a Tuesday night neighborhood informational and input meeting . Other opportunities for public input include the first Friday of each month, when the Land-Use Action Plan team presents its draft recommendations to the Transform Westside Summit and a Saturday morning neighborhood presentation for additional public critique and comment . Throughout the process, all the information collected and the draft plans will be posted at

planwestside.com for review and additional feedback.

Preserving The Identity

A consistent concern in the stakeholder and public meetings on Boone Corridor was losing the area’s culture and history. The Land-Use Action Team took these concerns into account for its first round of recommendations with special mention of Sunset Avenue and its historical significance, as well as identifying existing viable homes and buildings. It is precisely this history and sense of place that researcher Lauri Volk of Zimmerman/Volk Associates said will make the area attractive to the biggest demographic in the country right now - the millennials. What many of them want is to live in a walkable neighborhood that’s mixed use and authentic. “Authenticity is one of the most important aspects that young people are looking for today,” said Volk. “And I must say that authenticity can certainly be found throughout the Westside.”

Focusing on market potential instead of demand, Volk said a housing program can better respond to housing preferences for the people in different life stages who are moving from one place to another - and be very successful without displacing existing residents. “There’s a fear that people who live there will be driven out by the new housing,” she said. “That's why our methodology has been developed to encompass everyone, not just people who can afford market rate - but the people who require public housing and affordable housing because it's really important that neighborhoods be mixed income and diverse. Those are the strongest neighborhoods that will last over time.” Her analysis will look at markets by income and housing preferences - which she said is a long process. “We break them out by income so we can understand how much housing needs to be set aside for affordable housing, and how much housing needs to be set aside for households who don't need assistance.”

http://planwestside.com/events

http://planwestside.com/previous_westside_studies/



…continued from Page 2

Preventing Displacement

Volk said once the study is finished, she will create a housing program that goes beyond the status quo to strategically expand the housing types in each neighborhood. This increases housing choices for people already living there and for people who want to live there. “It attracts new households,” she said. “And that's what you need to restore the vitality of the neighborhood - support existing residents, retain existing residents and attract new people.” Support for the existing community is a top priority for the Westside Future Fund’s Executive Director John Ahmann. “I want to be very clear that we're first going to focus on existing homeowners, businesses and institutions,” he said. “Our first focus is on what is already here, and how to support it and lift it up.”

End Results

The community has multiple ways to provide its input through the series of stakeholder and public meetings - as well as online. Your input matters and is being heard (and incorporated into the plans). With the public’s participation, the Westside Future Fund will be able to deliver an actionable Land-Use Map with development strategies that impact its target neighborhoods. The primary focus of the Action Plan is to identify better ways to support current residents (renters and owners) by developing measures to protect against displacement, identifying prime areas for affordable housing, and attracting commerce. A development phasing strategy and a toolkit for developers and neighborhood entrepreneurs will be included. The Action Plan will also identify responsible parties, set timelines and create budgets. Please join the conversation and stay up on ways you can participate at planwestside.com.

By Kevin Williams, museum co-curator There are many ways to be a voice of the people. In our community in 2016 lifting your voice is of the utmost importance. I am proud to say Omenala Griot is part of a rich chorus that speaks the narrative of Ashview Heights community. See my amazing mother, the late great Dr. Narvie Puls, taught her boy some very valuable lessons. History is important. Just as important is who is expressing that history. Thus, when she retired from her position as an Atlanta Public School System Principal, Moms’ new mission was to present an accurate and documented account of the activities, thoughts, and achievements of African American Diaspora from Kimet to the present day. So in 1992, with my father, Dr. Richard Puls and myself, she purchased and renovated a house in the Ashview Heights neighborhood. It was challenging. We even had to obtain a special use permit

to operate a museum in the area. Still, besides Moms being iron willed, she had another advantage -- being a educator for over 36 years gave Dr. Puls an insight into developing interesting and, informative educational materials that intrigued children of all ages. Currently, The Omenala Griot Museum and Event Center houses a multiplicity of social, spiritual and cultural events ranging from lectures, H.I.V. testing and counseling, African language classes, and recovery meetings to youth dances and community centered fundraisers. Feel free to utilize our consulting and/or event facilities for rental. Like the community we call home, we have challenges. Right now we have a roof in urgent need of repair, so stay tuned for several fundraising campaigns. I have come to believe that although we have a voice to share that is only part of our mission. In total we collect, house and showcase the communities’ voices. Moms is proud. You should be too.

May 2016 Historic Westside News 3

Museum Houses Community Voices

Help Raise the Roof ...

To advertise, submit story ideas and graphics, or volunteer, contact us at [email protected].

The Center for Civic Innovation is

launching the Westside Innovation Lab, a

process to identify and support community

-driven and community-built ideas and

interventions within neighborhoods on the

westside of Atlanta.

Our Westside Innovation Lab is a program

where we will select 6-8 of the most innovate

and promising ideas to tackle neighborhood,

social challenges on the westside of Atlanta.

Then over the course of six months, we will

help take these solutions from idea to action.

Each selected idea will be supported with

business development trainings, mentorship,

testing capital, partnerships, and more. There

will also be plenty of opportunities for the

local community to provide help and feedback.

Community Forums

Saturday, May 21. 1 to 3 PM

English Avenue/ Grove Park

New Life Covenant Church

575 Travis St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

Tuesday, May 24. 1 to 3 PM

Vine City/ Washington Park

Brown Middle School- Kennedy Middle

225 Griffin St NW, Atlanta, GA 30314

By Gill Frank, HWG Board co-founder and chair

Thanks to the efforts of the City of Atlanta and philanthropic organizations, Westside communities are going through a revitalization process with appealing opportunities. Yet municipal plans for sustainability and private investment decisions to “green” formerly depressed urban neighborhoods often carry risks of environmental and food gentrification.

Working in such a context, HWG reviewed its strategy and redefined its direction to seize these opportunities and meet these threats by intensifying community ownership through collaboration seeking to massively broaden the number of residents directly involved in growing food. In order to increase community based control of the process, we have moved from focusing on just Urban Agriculture to Urban Civic Agriculture and seeing Food Sustainability as dependent on a broad community embrace of such a component for just and fair development with self-determination.

For 7 years Historic Westside Gardens ATL, Inc. (HWG) has worked in Vine

City and English Avenue to emPLOWer residents through Urban Ag projects. From inception, HWG decided to be an education and training organization, not a farm. To date ten residents of the two neighborhoods, 5 from each and an equal number of males and females, have successfully completed training. As one of the trainees coined it, “transFARMING lives” one farmer and one garden at a time.

Isabelle Anguelovski, author of Neighborhood as Refuge has validated this approach by demonstrating that projects such as community-based urban farms, green streets, parks, playgrounds, or green housing serve as tools to help create safe havens, foster a renewed sense of place for residents, positively affect their individual and collective identity, and contribute to long-term engagement in community revitalization and political activism. As a result, we

intensified our commitment to Asset-Based Community Development: “Building Community from the Inside Out”. In the Westside, we have two main assets for urban agriculture: land and people. As we know, most urban farmers do not own their land. However, in the Westside, with its strong single-family housing stock, people do own the land. There is an abundance of backyards, front yards, and also, unfortunately, vacant lots. Still, residents’ relationship to urban farming in Westside is more complex. While there is long African American heritage of home cooking and gardening there are also historic barriers to regarding agriculture as a highly desirable career. HWG conducted two surveys that exposed this complexity. The results were clear: People want to eat better, fresh and culturally appropriate food, but they want to get assistance to grow it at home rather than in public spaces.

Based on these results we modified several projects to adapt them to our reality. We believe that networking hundreds of home gardeners with community gardens are a solution to

Continued on next page.

meeting the challenges exposed by food


A Community of Food and Gardens:

Historic Westside Gardens ATL, Inc. vision for the Westside communities: A bottom-to bottom strategy ...

gentrification: Build a broad based coalition of gardens and green spaces to promote equitable development through urban agriculture. That is why we see GLEN, an acronym for “Gardens’ Link to Empower Neighborhood,” as our HWG 2.0 version.

This year GLEN is creating two clusters of at least eight (8) family gardens in each neighborhood. Each cluster centers on a community garden where the clusters’ families and other members of the community can grow food and learn as well as initiate social activities. One hub is in Vine City and a second one is in planning for English Avenue.

HWG envisions our neighborhoods as a vibrant community, a “Community of Food and Gardens”: home gardens, community gardens, edible trails and streets, green spaces, playgrounds, green infrastructure, small food production businesses, and housing developments that respect the environment and the character of the community.

We can achieve this vision through a bottom-to-bottom network strategy. “Bottom-to- bottom,” as defined in Anguelovski’s book, refers to tactical installations, flexible coalitions, and resident-initiated collaborative projects. Armed with this concept we applied to one of the Westside revitalization efforts -- the Momentum program. HWG received a grant to bring a

resident, HWG trainee to become our CFO (Community Farming Organizer) thereby practicing an ABCD strategy.

Residents in Vine City have already surpassed our expectations. HWG CFO and board member visits to 100 homes yielded 13 home gardeners. The hub is in construction; a shared meal will offer

a first opportunity to link the gardeners around social goals.

It is one thing to claim the quest for equitable development. It is another one to walk the talk give voice and power to residents to lead the revitalization planning including urban agriculture. Success is succession. Therefore, HWG made three decisions:

Significantly broaden the Board

from five (5) to eleven (11)

members.

Guarantee that the Board

membership will comprise a majority

of community residents at all times.

Secure gender equity and racial/

ethnic representation congruent

demographic make-up of the

community.

Stay tuned.



: From Urban Agriculture to Civic Agriculture

Continued from Page 4 ...


By CJ Jackson, Executive Director of

Historic Washington Park Conservancy

The development of the Historic

Washington Park District is “a critical

chapter in the story of Atlanta.”

Washington Park, Booker T.

Washington High School, and the

neighborhood itself are the product of

the unparalleled influence of Heman

Edward Perry. Mr. Perry arrived in

Atlanta in 1908 and with little more

than a seventh grade education and a

relentless drive, he created an empire of

ten successful businesses. Beginning

with Standard Life Insurance Company,

Citizens Trust Bank, Service Realty,

Service Printing and expanding to many

others, Perry sought to build businesses

that fulfilled the needs of Atlanta’s

Black community.

The Service Company’s purchase of 300

acres of land on the Westside in 1918

was the foundation of Atlanta’s first

Planned Black subdivision. It was

Perry’s intention to provide Black

families with an opportunity to own

quality, affordable homes in a safe area.

And in doing so he broke the housing

development color line for the very first

time. Next, Perry donated land to the

City of Atlanta for the construction of

Booker T. Washington High School.

Opening in 1924, this was the first

public high school for Blacks in the

state of Georgia.

By 1926, Perry had given the land for

Washington Park as well. Prior to this

time access to greenspace was severely

restricted for Blacks in Atlanta. But

because of Mr. Perry’s efforts and

unbreakable belief in the bright future

of his race, the park—known as an

“extravagant facility”—provided an

outdoor swimming pool, tennis center,

dance hall and pavilions. It was Black

Atlanta’s only choice for outdoor

recreation.

The Washington Park community and

its place on the Westside is a story of

historic firsts. Its founding families

represent the best and brightest of the

American South: Lawyers, educators,

architects, bankers, labor officials and

everyday working people. The

contributions from these citizens are the

wide, strong shoulders we stand on

today.

As we look towards the future and the

opportunities for development around

our transit nodes, the focus of the

Conservancy at Historic Washington

Park as the keeper of the Washington

Park Neighborhood Visioning Plan, is to

provide a bridge that celebrates and

uplifts the achievements of the past

while advocating for positive

opportunities that address the issues of

affordable housing, historic preservation

and education.

Much of our work is dedicated to

supporting the work and legacy of Dr.

Pearlie Craft Dove. Known as the

Historian of Washington Park and the

"Teacher's Teacher," Miss Dove was the

driving force behind the Atlanta

Project's Washington Cluster. A lifelong

Washington Park resident, she readily

acknowledged that her community's

position on the Westside allowed her

physical proximity to a good education.

From grade school at E.R. Carter

Elementary, to Booker T. Washington

High School and on to Clark Atlanta

University, she found the "roots and

wings" that she used as a solid

foundation to become one of this

country's preeminent educators. She was

always proud to say that “her”

Washington Park is a primary example

of a livable, walkable, interconnected

community in Atlanta.

The Conservancy at Historic

Washington Park is committed to

building on the legacies of Heman

Perry and Pearlie Craft Dove. Recent

partnerships with the Atlanta

Preservation Center and the Atlanta

Regional Commission have supported

our historic preservation efforts. It is

our hope that the upcoming walking

tours, oral history interviews, and

lectures will continue to spark

meaningful conversations and actions

that make it clear that Washington

Park's value is worth more than its

proximity to a major league football

stadium. The stories of Washington

Park's architects, builders and

homeowners must never be forgotten.

The community's manifestation of

freedom, education and generational

wealth must have a protected place in

the future of the City of Atlanta.

Atlanta’s First Black Planned Suburb

Historic Washington Park ...

By Makeda Johnson

I will press on no matter the situation, P.R.E.S.S. on knowing that there is a Divine

Spirit that guides my path…. Even through the darkness knowing that this phase is

essential to appreciating the LIGHT

I will press on past the point of weary, knowing that within me flows the blood of

those who pressed on through slavery. I will let their victories be the wind beneath

my wings and the lashes they bore strengthen my back.

I will imagine how with each cry, there was a call for this day, when I would have the

power of voice and freedom of choice.

I will press on past the aloneness, when it is difficult to understand, when no one can

see the possibility that is the essence of we.

I will press on past the knowing, that there are no errors, no mistakes. Just lessons

that we must each learn as we press on…

I will press on past the Knowing that our path has been blessed and our freedom

earned with blood sweat and tears. We are the ones that our ancestors prayed for, we

are the fruit of their travails

It is our choice to be or not be FREE.

Makeda Johnson is a long time Vine City resident.

P.R.E.S.S. On

By Terry Ross, a West End resident

What a day for a walk in West End

Atlanta! Blue skies, sunshine and a

soothing calm breeze . . . I was still

psyched about the Atlanta Streets Alive

event, just the day before here in the

West End, where 80,000+ enthusiasts

had come out to play. Passing Tassili’s

Raw Reality Restaurant, I was stopped

by a young white (or so she appeared

white) woman who asked me for

directions to MARTA. Sharing that I

too, was heading to West End MARTA .

. . I invited her to join me on the walk.

Now get this! Her name was

Punta, here visiting Atlanta for a Yoga

Workshop at the Cobb Galleria, over

the weekend. With long brown hair

falling past her shoulders, Punta had a

youthfully appearance and couldn’t have

been more than 22-26 years old. Punta

had an athletic build, wore very little

makeup, and was dressed in a long

flowing skirt and a smock top that lay

across her shoulders. Yup, Punta was

definitely a hipster.

The black suitcase on wheels

Punta trundled behind her, gave away

that she was a tourist. When asked

where she was traveling to, Punta’s

response was, “home, in Toronto

Ontario.” Today while sightseeing at

the Georgia Aquarium, she and her

boyfriend had decided that airport food

would not do. Punta googled vegan

meals, (knew she was a hipster!) and

chose Tassili’s.

Punta then walked from the

Georgia Aquarium to Tassili’s on RDA.

Now this impressed me because I too

enjoy a good walk, but 2.9 miles or 59

minutes (we googled the trip) to grab a

bite? No wonder the boyfriend was

not around, he probably took the train

to the airport, “You go honey; I’ll meet

you at the airport.”

Turns out Punta was Iranian.

Her family relocated to Toronto, when

she was 11. We discussed and agreed

on the challenges and barriers that

women faced in Iran, which also

happened to be one of the many

reasons for her parents’ decision to

relocate. Punta and I also discussed the

beauty and vibrancy of Atlanta. As I

described the Atlanta Streets Alive

event, I had to emphasize what a great

event her and boyfriend had missed the

day before.

Upon arriving at West End

MARTA, I walked Punta through the

whole bus card purchase and fare

loading process. OMG! Can you keep

it simple MARTA? Punta and I bid

adieus and I couldn’t help to think;

#westendbestendatl, interesting folks

everywhere.

Tehran to Toronto to Tassili’s

Pray

Regularly

Expecting

Something

Supernatural



Poetry Page

ATLANTA (March 30, 2016) — At a

recent reception, the Atlanta Housing

Authority (AHA) announced that

Ashley Thomas, an artist and resident

of Southwest Atlanta, was the winner

of the University Choice Neighborhood

(UCN) Art Mural Competition. Chosen

by the UCN Art Mural Selection

Committee – assembled by AHA/UCN

staff – Thomas was selected from eight

candidates to install her original work,

“The Block Builders,” on the unsightly

wooden structure concealing electrical

units at the current site of the UCN

offices, located at 227 Roach Street in

Southwest Atlanta. During the

celebration, the mural was officially

unveiled and Thomas received a stipend

of $1,000, plus funds for supplies.

The competition, a continuation of

AHA’s UCN community engagement

and outreach, is part of a larger UCN

effort to begin aesthetic improvements

within the UCN boundaries – Vine City,

Ashview Heights, and the Atlanta

University Center neighborhood. Open

to artists who live, work, or attend

school within UCN boundaries, the

competition included established local

artists and a nationally acclaimed artist.

According to Thomas, “The Block

Builders,” completed on March 9th with

the assistance of students from local

public High and Middle schools, is a

concept about sharing individual talents,

gifts and resources as a way to build

community. “Sharing is one of the first

lessons you learn as a child,” says

Thomas, a local school teacher. “So, I

envisioned these blocks [representing]

education, funding, innovation, housing,

opportunities, nutrition, love,

encouragement, etc. Each person in the

community holds at least one block, and

when we open the lines of

communication and put in the work, the

blocks begin to multiply.”

Gwen Weddington, AHA/UCN staff

member, says the mural is but one of

many initiatives of UCN to come, as the

goal of this project was to keep the

community engaged by garnering

positive attention for neighborhood

resources and development plans. “After

attending numerous public and

neighborhood meetings to let residents

know what we are doing in the

community, we wanted to start

beautifying the community and

encouraging them to learn more about

micro grants, case management, health

services, educational opportunities and

workforce development,” says

Weddington.

In September, 2015, the Atlanta

Housing Authority and the City of

Atlanta were awarded a $30M Choice

Neighborhoods Implementation Grant

to revitalize areas of west Atlanta,

including Vine City, Ashview Heights

and the Atlanta University Center

neighborhood – collectively known as

UCN.

AHA Honors UCN Art Mural Competition Winner


Historic Westside News May2016 Issue1

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