Students interviewed Vine City neighbors

Cover of the publication
the students from Booker T. Washington School
put together in 1989 (photograph by authors).

In the conext of the Oral History Project, 22 students from Booker T. Washington School interviewed 13 people from Vine City. They were curious about what people thought about the Georgia Dome project. These people had a variety of professions: a nurse, an elementary school principal, a comissioner and a reverend, for example. One of these interviewees was a 89-year-old from Tennessee, who was included in the project to compare how it was to grow up in Atlanta and Ripley.

The short biographies of these people include their connections to Vine City and their concerns about the impact the construction of the Dome would have on the neighborhood. Students were able to elicit different opinions about the project, which makes their work very interesting. Ella Mae Mitchell, who was 55 at the time of the interview, was concerned about the relocation of people the stadium would bring, especially the elderly. Samuel Wright, on the other hand, viewd the project as a positive influence that might bring employment and economic development for the area.

Source:
Vine City/Domed stadium Oral History Project, 1989.
The location in the Kenan Research Center (Atlanta History Center) can be found here.