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An inspirationl walk down one of Atlanta's and America's most historically significant streets the book There are many famous streets in Atlanta—most bear the word peachtree somewhere in their name—but few have a history and significance as rich as that of Auburn Avenue. From a blossoming of African-American commerce, education, and arts in the early twentieth century, to witnessing an ever-changing struggle with the onset of Jim Crow and the race riots of 1906, to the destruction of the Great Fire of 1917, to celebrating the hope and success of Martin Luther King Jr., Auburn Avenue has seen it all and continues to be a center of culture and commerce in Atlanta, and indeed, the South. Sweet Auburn: An Illustrated Guide to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Park Site and the Auburn Avenue Historic District takes readers on a stroll down this magnificent street. Both an historical account and a contemporary portrait, Sweet Auburn is the opportunity to see clearly why the Main Street of the black south has endured for generations. Through the pages of Sweet Auburn and its more than eighty rare and never-before-published photos, author Carol Ash takes readers on a walking tour of the avenue. After an overview of the Native American pre-history of the area, Ash heads westward, commenting on the earliest Victorian residential sections of the district and highlighting the schools, homes, and churches that nurtured the prospering African-American community of Atlanta. With the onset of Jim Crow and the concomitant desire for diversity and change it fostered, the power of Auburn Avenue as a beacon for the black south flourished. Traveling down the avenue that is home to Ebenezer Baptist Church, the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the longtime headquarters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, it becomes clear why this vibrant street gave rise to the powerful civil rights movement. By 1920, Auburn Avenue, with over one hundred black-owned businesses ranging from the mom-and-pop restaurants of Soul Food Row such as Ma Sutton's and Hawk's Dinette to the giant Atlanta Life Insurance corporation, was the center of black affluence. In addition to the entrepreneurs, there was also a hub of entertainment that flourished on Auburn Avenue. There was an abundance of jazz and nightclubs, such as the Royal Peacock and Top Hat Club, that catered to the black neighborhood. Many famous musicians and entertainers, such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, made themselves known on Auburn Avenue to both black and white audiences. Sweet Auburn also gives insight into the lively personalities that helped build up Auburn Avenue and continue to keep Atlanta a mecca for enterprising blacks. Some of the key figures mentioned in the book are former slave Alonzo Herndon who became Atlanta’s wealthy black businessman after founding Atlanta Life Insurance; John Wesley Dobbs, grandfather of Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson and originator of the moniker “Sweet Auburn”; philanthropist Carrie Steel Logan; Geneva Haugabrooks of Auburn Avenue’s well-known funeral home; the founders of the Bronner Brothers hair-care empire; and W. A. Scott, founder of the Atlanta Daily World. Written in association with the National Park Service, Ash’s Sweet Auburn is an inspirational march down a culturally important street that was described in the Atlanta Independent of 1926 as “an institution with influence and power not only among Georgians but American Negroes everywhere”—and one which continues to shape and inspire today’s black achievers. the author Carol Ash is responsible for the archives and museum collections at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, in addition to helping to develop exhibits and publications for the site. She began her career with the National Park Service at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, N.Y. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ash lives in metro Atlanta with her husband and the youngest of her two sons. |
SWEET AUBURN
