Sounds of metal on metal echo out along the Avenue as workers lay down new tiles in place of old. Caution tape and working cones surround sections of the sidewalks as more extensive renovations are underway. The streets here, towards the upper end of Auburn Avenue, are under much more care than what you would see walking forward.

I stuck with Auburn Avenue (Sweet Auburn) once again as I found myself infatuated with both it’s cultural, as well as its political history. Located just a walk away from Down Town Atlanta, Sweet Auburn was and still is, the center for civil rights. The iconicity of the avenue goes unquestioned, as even to this day, movements such as “Black Lives Matter” take to the Avenue as their roots. Walking along the street you will see a variety of sights, ranging from modern buildings, to run down, abandoned, business. Sometimes, the two are situated right next to one another. The disparity between visuals bombards the entirety of the walk and will open the door to which a peek can be seen of the streets intricateness; albeit, one filled with ups and downs. The differing visuals and cues of the street hit you like a hurricane as you walk through what seems like the annals of time, experiencing both past and present. The sights and audio of the street all radiate black culture, which comes to no surprise as the street was once known as the most thriving black American business district in the U.S. By far a hollow husk of its former self, it continues to live on.

The street, despite its degradation, survives to this day mostly in part by the influences of politics. Auburn Avenue has a long history of political influence; it would not be false to say, that their present iconicity comes from extensive policies dealing with segregation way back when. Moving forward, civil rights leaders such as John Dobbs, the “unofficial mayor” of Auburn Avenue, worked closely with Mayor Hartsfield to provide to the street. His grandson, Maynard Jackson, who eventually became the mayor himself, also poured his efforts to the revitalization of the street. Auburn Avenue became what it was through politics. It is what it is today through the same politics. The Street is constantly changing, reshaping itself and redefining its presence, all due to the influence of politics. Changes show itself as you walk further along the road, it won’t take long before you chance upon areas where renovations are being done to what used to be old, run down buildings. These repairs represent the underlying politics that surrounds the Avenue as the city wishes to undergo an effort of revitalization. When walking around these areas, the sound, as well as the look, if only a minuscule amount, starts to change. Political decisions have shaped the built environment of the street for decades and will continue to do so in the coming times.