Vine City is one of the oldest historically African American neighborhoods in Atlanta, located in West Atlanta. Historically, the city gained traction around 1867-1880 when many HBCUs were constructed including Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Morris Brown College. The area was originally dominated by educated African Americans who were wealthy enough to attend these prestigious universities, while the rest of the area was considered slums and crime-infested. [1] Segregation and redlining caused the city to become predominantly African American, as many Blacks were forced out of their former homes in downtown Atlanta. The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 led to a housing shortage, which led to Vine City becoming a majority Black working-class area.[2] Today the neighborhood is best known for housing the Mercedes Benz Stadium and the Georgia World Congress Center, the area is extremely underdeveloped and faces crime and poverty as its main challenges.[3]
