This CNN article features Jackson Smith Jr., who grew up in the Civil Rights era in Atlanta, Georgia with Martin Luther King Jr. Back then, streetcars rolled all up and down the streets of Atlanta and the South was completely run by Jim Crow. Besides this, Smith said everything he needed was on Auburn Avenue, the center of black life in Atlanta, and Fortune Magazine's "Richest Negro Street in the World" in 1956. Today, an electric streetcar shuttles tourists from downtown Atlanta to Smith's old stomping grounds, now a separate neighborhood from Old Fourth Ward called Sweet Auburn, and the nearby King Center which pays homage to the neighborhood's most famous resident, Martin Luther King Jr. This town has gone through some major developments: gas stations now replaced by shopping plazas and derelict buildings now hipster bars and upscale restaurants. But, there has been a significant decline in the desegregation of Auburn Avenue. "I think Dr. King would be very disappointed in the poverty that's still showing up on Auburn Avenue," Smith says. "He would be disappointed in all the violence that still goes on and the crime. He would've thought that we would've advanced more towards peace and liberty and respecting everybody's rights. I know we're not there yet."
This article is perfect for MLKJ day. Smith describes the old, rundown city of Atlanta he grew up in and how it's modernized and developed into the beautiful city it is today. Atlanta has changed for the better, as has most of the United States. Civil Rights Acts were established, Jim Crow laws were dismissed, and this was all thanks to the little boy who grew up in Atlanta wanting a better life for his family and the rest of African Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is still some improvements regarding desegregation not only in Georgia, but the rest of the world. It is up to our generation to continue to legacy and dreams MLKJ established for us today.
Click here for the article.
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