Atlanta became the first major Southern city to elect an African-American mayor in 1974 and has elected one in every election since. Black residents of metro Atlanta achieve college degrees at nearly 50% higher rates than the national average for blacks.
When ebony magazine dubbed Atlanta, Georgia, the “Black Mecca of the South” in 1971, less than a decade after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In Atlanta, according to writer Phyllis “Phil” T. Garland, “black people have more, live better, achieve more, and cope more effectively with whites than anywhere else in the South or North.” Slowly but surely this trend is spreading beyond the city limits.
Farming communities outside the city that once relied on enslaved people for labor are now home to many African American professionals who commute into the city to work. One such community is Stockbridge, located 30 minutes south of Atlanta and the birthplace of Martin Luther King Sr. in 1899.
Martin Luther King Sr. Heritage Trail
Racial disparities in Stockbridge have decreased since 1899. Signs on the historic streets of the city center guide visitors along Martin Luther King Sr. Heritage Trail founded in 2015. The street of the same name connects the city center with this area. It leads to Floyd Chapel Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Sr. worshiped as a child and preached his first sermon in 1915, at age 15.
The elder King, also known as “Papa King,” was a civil rights activist in his own right. He became associate pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in 1927 and senior pastor in 1931. He led the church through the Great Depression and by 1934 had become a widely respected church leader.
Daddy King pastored Ebenezer Baptist Church for four decades, influencing the black community and earning respect from the enlightened portion of the white community. As a local leader of the Civil Rights Movement, he served on the executive committee of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP and was an officer of the Civic and Political League.
He also inspired his son to become active in the movement.
In his essay “Autobiography of Religious Development,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “I think my father’s influence also had a lot to do with my entering the ministry. This does not mean that he ever spoke to me as a minister, but my admiration for him was the greatest motivating factor; He set a noble example, which I was not averse to following.”
Comparison of old and new
Just 30 miles north is Stone Mountain, Georgia, just 16 miles from downtown Atlanta. The site of the world’s largest bas-relief depicting three Confederate leaders: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, was completed in 1972. Stone Mountain Park officially opened on April 14, 1965, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Fortunately, the situation is changing.
You can see the difference in Henry County as you walk along the central strip of Stockbridge. Among the downtown boutiques, you’ll notice BarnBeautiful woodworking shop, where artisans transform wood salvaged from old barns into handcrafted home decor. Store manager and head craftsman Chris Bradley is often behind the counter working on his latest project.
Bradley is always open to conversation and it doesn’t take long for him to tell you why he loves his job. “I’ve found that working with your hands can bring you a much deeper connection to the world than anything else,” Bradley says with a smile. “Working with forests that have experienced thousands of events over the course of, sometimes hundreds of years, feeling the history and helping shape the future is spiritually satisfying.”
He takes the board and explains that the imperfections of the wood are the most beautiful parts, and brings out that beauty through polishing and hard work.
The juxtaposition of old and new is evident as you exit BarnBeautiful and continue walking through downtown. Look beyond the bare foundations of Stockbridge station, demolished in the 1980s, to see the new town hall and amphitheatre. This construction was not Stockbridge’s first move.
More than 140 years ago, in 1882, modern Stockbridge was founded a mile south of Old Stockbridge to accommodate the Southern Railroad’s expansion and plans for a train station. Trains still pass through Stockbridge, although they no longer stop or even sound their horns. However, their legacy lives on, including defining the historic center of Stockbridge’s African-American community, which was once considered “the wrong side of the tracks.”
Traveling the Martin Luther King Sr. Legacy Trail
Cafe Green Front is located a little further down the street. A historical marker in front of the building reads: “The Green Front Cafe was a popular meeting place from the late 1940s until the early 2000s. The establishment was synonymous with Mrs. Carrie Mae Hambrick, who became owner in 1949. She was known for serving delicious hamburgers, hot dogs and soul foods, especially her famous cornbread.”
This little cafe is believed to have been the first restaurant in Henry County. Under Hambrick’s leadership, everyone was welcome. Both black and white residents dined together under the same roof, despite the widespread practice of segregation.
Mrs. Carrie May must have had some pretty good cornbread to defy the color barrier in 1940s Georgia.
The mere mention of its name brings back fond memories to many who frequented the place when it was owned and operated by Mrs. Carrie May. Diane D. Miller, the new owner and curator of the Green Front Cafe, told us why it was important to her to reopen the Green Lady and restore it with authentic Henry County elements where possible.
Miller acknowledged that the cafe was a symbol of a resilient community full of hope. When she began renovating the building, she turned to BarnBeautiful to help weave community into the cafe’s very fabric, incorporating reclaimed wood from nearby Brodeur Farm into the ceiling beams.
Visitors who cross the threshold of the Green Front cafe today are greeted as if they were family. It’s a throwback to a time when neighbors knew each other and the community cared about those who lived there. For Miller, it was important to create a place where “stories can be kept and new memories can be created.”
Following the cafe’s grand opening in May 2023, Miller commissioned BarnBeautiful to create a miniature replica of the Green Front Cafe as a symbol of the community that would help tell a story beyond the four walls of the location. The Green Front Cafe invites anyone visiting Stockbridge for a history lesson, delicious food and a little Southern hospitality.
King Legacy
It’s easy to feel welcome while eating a delicious plate of cornbread and fried catfish, but change isn’t always easy, and there’s still work to be done. If asked, Miller will tell you how she helps local charities with coat sales and participates in other community outreach programs as there are still pockets of poverty in the area.
During the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement, the King family gave everything they had to the movement.
On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final speech. His voice was strong and confident, and he began with the words: “If I were standing at the beginning of time, able to get some general and panoramic view of all human history up to now, and the Almighty would say to me: “Martin Luther King, in What century would you like to live in?
King’s speech moved through great moments of change and freedom. He focused on the Exodus from Egypt, the emergence of philosophy in ancient Greece, the rise of civic leadership in the Roman Empire, and the revival of education in the Renaissance. He touched on Lincoln’s leadership in the Emancipation Proclamation and in President Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural address.
Having respected the past, he began to live in the present: “Oddly enough, I turned to the Almighty and said: “If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy.” .'”
Later that night, a single shot fired outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis claimed King’s life. Martin Luther King Jr. was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. King Sr.’s wife, Alberta, was assassinated on June 30, 1974. The elder king lived to the age of 84 and died of natural causes in Atlanta.
Stockbridge makes the dream come true
Between Mrs. Carrie Mae’s cornbread, Daddy King’s sermons, and the hard work of the Civil Rights Movement, the color barrier is crumbling not only in Stockbridge, but throughout Henry County.
The 2000 census showed that of the nearly 122,000 people living in the county, 81.38% were white and 14.68% were black or African American. By 2020, the percentage was 35.85% white and 48.37% black or African American, for a county population of 239,000.
Residents welcome this transition from a farming community to a bedroom community for wealthy Atlanta families pursuing the American Dream. Stockbridge, Henry County’s largest city, has even been named one of the “Top 10 Cities in the Nation to Live for African Americans,” according to vitality.com.
History is a winding and complex road we take through conscious preservation, whether it be wood from barns, cornbread recipes, or historical trails. The Martin Luther King Sr. Legacy Trail and Stockbridge, Georgia tells the story of the great men who came before us—their challenges and triumphs, heartbreak and toil, but most of all, their unwavering commitment to the dream of freedom and equality. for all.
This article originally appeared on Media decision.
