{"product_id":"atlantas-collier-heights-bending-with-the-wind-stories-of-unlikely-alliances-and-compromises-in-the-capture-of-land-on-the-westside-of-atlanta-for-black-middle-class-homes-1881-1963","title":"Atlanta's Collier Heights: Bending With the Wind: Stories of Unlikely Alliances and Compromises in the Capture of Land on the Westside of Atlanta for Black Middle Class Homes 1881 – 1963","description":"Capturing land on the west side of Atlanta for homes for the black middle class, beginning in the early 1920s was a project launched in uncharted territory. There were no road maps detailing what to do or how to do it. There was no record in history books of others who had tried land expansion for the black middle class. Thus, for any group this project would have been daunting and perilous. For black Atlantans, living in the Jim Crow, white supremacy south, they had to factor in the added obstacles of hate, discrimination, prejudice and violence. They had to overcome the obstacles of a nation-wide negative political and social climate. They had to counter the negative stereotypes, perpetuated by American society that were intended to demean the collective psyche of black citizens, and in the process, render black people impotent and demoralized. Therefore, these black men and women had to muster the best leadership skills available and develop the best tactical strategies known. Fortunately, in the 1900s, Atlanta was home to four Historically Black Colleges: Clark, now Clark Atlanta University; Morehouse; Spelman; and Morris Brown College. Atlanta possessed a large, well-educated black middle-class whose educational backgrounds prepared them to tackle difficult and complex societal problems with moral fortitude, tenacity, and awareness that usually resulted in success in Atlanta’s economic, social, political, and cultural history.\nThe procurement of land on the west side of Atlanta for the black middle class is a fascinating story of the compromises and unlikely black and white alliances that extend as far back as the 1800s, during the economic development of Atlanta. These stories also detail many examples of intimidation and violence against black home buyers in the neighborhoods in the West End, Center Hill, Grove Park, Adamsville and Mozley Park. They give the historical background of the housing needs in post-World War II Atlanta. They describe the critical decisions made by Mayor Hartsfield during his administration from 1937 to 1962 that responded to the changing influence of black voting power in the 1940s. It is the story of Atlanta’s white downtown power elite, whose influence in Atlanta’s economic growth was based on a desire to make Atlanta the Jewel of the South. Finally, it tells the story of twenty-five black leaders who met in the Rucker Building on Auburn Avenue in 1947 and launched Project X, a strategic plan to capture land on the west side for black middle-class homes. Bending with the Wind is the biography of an idea.\nThat idea is that Atlanta’s rise to become the “Jewel of the South” came as a result of the unlikely alliances and compromises between black and white political, civic, and educational leaders who understood the importance of their decisions at several critical periods in Atlanta’s history. These are the unraveling of the twists and turns in white supremacy Atlanta, a full appreciation of how the Collier Heights neighborhood came to be might never be achieved.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: B0FBGXQKMH\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: PKV.B0FBGXQKMH.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Lawhorn, Phyllis Foreman\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: A well-loved companion. Corners and cover might show a little wear, and you could find some notes or highlights. The dust jacket might be MIA, it might have been a library book and extras aren't guaranteed—but the story's all there!  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Aspen Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51601037132063,"sku":"PKV.B0FBGXQKMH.G","price":11.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0894\/0470\/3007\/files\/B0FBGXQKMH-0.jpg?v=1770401998","url":"https:\/\/www.aspenbookco.com\/products\/atlantas-collier-heights-bending-with-the-wind-stories-of-unlikely-alliances-and-compromises-in-the-capture-of-land-on-the-westside-of-atlanta-for-black-middle-class-homes-1881-1963","provider":"Aspen Book Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}