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Box 17, Folder 11, Document 11
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Monday, Jan. 14,1963 THE WASHINGTON POST
| 2nANn -*
City’s
Progressive Reputation Hurt
White-Negro ‘Buffer Zone’ in Ailanta
Provokes Bitter Dispute, Deep Rifts
By Harold Gulliver
Special to The Washington Post
From the Los Angeles Times
ATLANTA — Street bar-
riers admittedly erected to
create a “buffer zone” be-
tween Negro and white resi-
dential areas have split At-
Janta and placed it under an
uncomfortable spotlight as
the Nation’s latest sore spot
of racial tension.
Although placed on only
two streets, the barricades al-
ready have fanned resent-
ments affecting the entire
city.
So bitter is the feeling that
Negroes are expected to vote
against, a 43-million-dollar
bond issue this spring, possi-
bly killing proposals for
schools and street improve-
ments and a city auditorium,
Divisions also have ap-
peared between white and
Negro groups — creating
schisms which could wreck
civic harmony for years to
come.
The barricades, which are
emotionally—and inaccurate-
ly—referred to as Atlanta’s
“Berlin Wall,’ were ordered
erected last Dec. 17 by the
board of aldermen to close
off two streets in southwest
Atlanta—Peyton and Harlan
rds. The racial “buffer
zone” had been requested by
white residents.
The low, fence-like har-
rieades of steel and wood
were placed across both
Streets the next day.
Virgil Copeland, president
of the Southwest Citizens As-
sociation, defended the bar-
ricades as a “last resort” to
lessen racial tension. It was
the only way left, Copeland
Naiecdnaivns Analysis
asserted, for white residents
to thwart “vicious, block-
busting tactics being used by
Negro realtors.” ¢
Blocking the streets did not
actually ‘‘wall in” anybody.
But it forced motorists to~-
drive about one mile farther
before reaching a through
street to the southwest, thus
making it more difficult to
travel beween a Negro and
white residential section.
A petition was filed in
municipal court by both Ne-
gro and white groups, asking
removal of the barricades as
a public nuisance. It was dis-
missed by Judge Robert E.
Jones, who held that the
streets were closed and there-
fore the obstructions could
not be nuisances.
Observers now believe the
Peyton-Harlan barricades
will remain until the case is
carried through state or Fed-
eral courts.
Meanwhile, the contr oversy
continues, with charges and
countercharges exchanged
almost daily.
The barriers do not legal-
ly affect the sale of property
In any way. And it is con-
sidered likely they have only
increased Negro determina-
tion to buy,into certain white
neighborhoods in Southwest
Atlanta,
The barricades also have
the support of Mayor Ivan
Allen Jr. who said they
serve’ as a “warning to un-
scrupulous real estate deal-
ers, Negro and white.”
@. V. Williams, a co-chair-
man of the Negro Voters
League, has denounced the
barricades. The uproar
caused him to observe:
“These are the darkest days
I've seen in Atlanta as far
as race relations are con-
cerned.”
The Atlanta Constitution,
a strong supporter of Mayor
Allen on other issues, has
also condemned the road
barriers,
Even former Mayor Wil-
liam B. Hartsfield has been
privately critical of his suc-
cessor’s position on the bar-
Ticades.
“You should never make a
mistake that can be photo-
graphed,” Hartsfield said.
So far Mayor Allen has
failed to work out any so-
lution.
Ironically, his administra-;
tion was elected with the
solid support of Negro vot-
ers. Slightly more than one-
third of the city’s registered
voters are Negro.
In addition to the possible
loss of the bond issue, other
effects of the city’s action in-
clude:
e A shift in control of At-
lanta’s Negro leadership from
older conservative elements
to younger, more militant fig-
ures.
¢ Damage to Atlanta’s “im-
age” as a progressive city
with a long history of biracial
negotiations and compro-
mises,
The controversy may pro-
duce one long-range benefit—
a much needed focus on the
need for better Negro hous-
ing.
| 2nANn -*
City’s
Progressive Reputation Hurt
White-Negro ‘Buffer Zone’ in Ailanta
Provokes Bitter Dispute, Deep Rifts
By Harold Gulliver
Special to The Washington Post
From the Los Angeles Times
ATLANTA — Street bar-
riers admittedly erected to
create a “buffer zone” be-
tween Negro and white resi-
dential areas have split At-
Janta and placed it under an
uncomfortable spotlight as
the Nation’s latest sore spot
of racial tension.
Although placed on only
two streets, the barricades al-
ready have fanned resent-
ments affecting the entire
city.
So bitter is the feeling that
Negroes are expected to vote
against, a 43-million-dollar
bond issue this spring, possi-
bly killing proposals for
schools and street improve-
ments and a city auditorium,
Divisions also have ap-
peared between white and
Negro groups — creating
schisms which could wreck
civic harmony for years to
come.
The barricades, which are
emotionally—and inaccurate-
ly—referred to as Atlanta’s
“Berlin Wall,’ were ordered
erected last Dec. 17 by the
board of aldermen to close
off two streets in southwest
Atlanta—Peyton and Harlan
rds. The racial “buffer
zone” had been requested by
white residents.
The low, fence-like har-
rieades of steel and wood
were placed across both
Streets the next day.
Virgil Copeland, president
of the Southwest Citizens As-
sociation, defended the bar-
ricades as a “last resort” to
lessen racial tension. It was
the only way left, Copeland
Naiecdnaivns Analysis
asserted, for white residents
to thwart “vicious, block-
busting tactics being used by
Negro realtors.” ¢
Blocking the streets did not
actually ‘‘wall in” anybody.
But it forced motorists to~-
drive about one mile farther
before reaching a through
street to the southwest, thus
making it more difficult to
travel beween a Negro and
white residential section.
A petition was filed in
municipal court by both Ne-
gro and white groups, asking
removal of the barricades as
a public nuisance. It was dis-
missed by Judge Robert E.
Jones, who held that the
streets were closed and there-
fore the obstructions could
not be nuisances.
Observers now believe the
Peyton-Harlan barricades
will remain until the case is
carried through state or Fed-
eral courts.
Meanwhile, the contr oversy
continues, with charges and
countercharges exchanged
almost daily.
The barriers do not legal-
ly affect the sale of property
In any way. And it is con-
sidered likely they have only
increased Negro determina-
tion to buy,into certain white
neighborhoods in Southwest
Atlanta,
The barricades also have
the support of Mayor Ivan
Allen Jr. who said they
serve’ as a “warning to un-
scrupulous real estate deal-
ers, Negro and white.”
@. V. Williams, a co-chair-
man of the Negro Voters
League, has denounced the
barricades. The uproar
caused him to observe:
“These are the darkest days
I've seen in Atlanta as far
as race relations are con-
cerned.”
The Atlanta Constitution,
a strong supporter of Mayor
Allen on other issues, has
also condemned the road
barriers,
Even former Mayor Wil-
liam B. Hartsfield has been
privately critical of his suc-
cessor’s position on the bar-
Ticades.
“You should never make a
mistake that can be photo-
graphed,” Hartsfield said.
So far Mayor Allen has
failed to work out any so-
lution.
Ironically, his administra-;
tion was elected with the
solid support of Negro vot-
ers. Slightly more than one-
third of the city’s registered
voters are Negro.
In addition to the possible
loss of the bond issue, other
effects of the city’s action in-
clude:
e A shift in control of At-
lanta’s Negro leadership from
older conservative elements
to younger, more militant fig-
ures.
¢ Damage to Atlanta’s “im-
age” as a progressive city
with a long history of biracial
negotiations and compro-
mises,
The controversy may pro-
duce one long-range benefit—
a much needed focus on the
need for better Negro hous-
ing.
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