The Beacon Hill Community and Civil Rights in Decatur
Tuesday, January 17, Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Old Courthouse on the Square, Second Floor, Superior Courtroom
Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson will speak about the Beacon Hill Community; an African-American neighborhood near downtown Decatur which was bordered by Atlanta Avenue, Herring Street and Robin Street. Elizabeth will discuss the churches, neighborhood and the schools. She has interviewed early residents and some of their children for additional history. The segregated schools included Herring Street School (later Herring -Trinity High School) and Beacon Elementary School. Beacon is now home to the city’s police and recreation departments.
This area was re-developed beginning in 1949 in an effort to “clear slums in Decatur” and provide low-cost housing in a specifically segregated area. The city followed the practices seen across the south in the 1950s where towns tore down homes and buildings in “blighted areas.”
Elizabeth Wilson moved to Beacon Hill in 1949 and has played a key role in helping to end segregation in Decatur’s public institutions. She was elected to the City Commission in 1984 and became Decatur’s first African-American mayor in 1993.
Free – bring your lunch!
