Historic Collier Heights is a historically middle-class and predominately

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

populated area in western

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. It is bordered to the west by Fairburn Road, the east by Hamilton E. Holmes Drive, the north by Donald L. Hollowell Parkway, and to the south by the Interstate 20 bridge at Linkwood Road. Collier Heights is a 1,750-home enclave with mostly brick ranch houses built in the 1950s and 1960s. It is one of the first upscale communities in the nation built exclusively by African-American planners for the emerging Atlanta African-American middle-class. It has been featured in several publications like ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' and ''Jet'' magazines. It was featured in the "Homefinder" section of the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

''. Since 2009, the area has been listed on the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The community achieved local historic designation in June 2013.

History

Collier Heights was founded in 1948 and was sold to African Americans because the land was believed to be undesirable. It was Atlanta's largest and most desirable African American residential community in the mid 20th century. By the 1990s and 2000s, the neighborhood experienced a major decline due to blight, high crime, and low performing zoned public schools. Many middle-class Black families left for homes in southwest Atlanta or outside the city. However, since the 2010s, investments in the neighborhood have improved desirability and property values. Collier Heights has been the home of several notable African Americans including Cynthia McKinney, Emmanuel Lewis, Billy McKinney, Leroy Johnson,

Jasmine Guy Jasmine Chanel Guy (born March 10, 1962) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and director. She portrayed Dina in the 1988 film ''School Daze'' and Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off '' A Different World'', which or ...

, Asa G. Yancey, Sr., Herman J. Russell, Martin Luther King, Sr, Donald Hollowell, Ralph David and Juanita Abernathy, Christine King Farris, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and

Andre Dickens Andre Dickens (born June 17, 1974) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who is the 61st and current mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He was a member of the Atlanta City Council and defeated council president Felicia Moore in the second ...

Neighborhood organization

Historic Collier Heights has two officially recognized community Associations which represent the citizens of the Historic District. The inaugural Association is The Collier Heights Community Association (CHCA)–which formed in 1968. The second and more popular organization is The Historic Collier Heights Community Association (Historic Collier), which is the largest neighborhood organization in Historic Collier Heights and encompasses the entire community/neighborhood. Key committees within the CHCA and the "Historic Collier" Association are the Historic Committee, which focuses on master planning for preserving the history of the community and neighborhood improvement projects. Both associations are popular and organize festivities throughout the year like the National Night Out (a summer block party) a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

party, and the Historic Collier's "Salute To Legends" celebration, which pays homage to famous residents of the area. Executive committee members are voted into office for one-year terms. Elections are held in December at the Association's annual Christmas party. The CHCA meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month at Berean Seventh-Day Adventist Church (291 Hamilton E Holmes Dr NW) at 6:30 pm. The "Historic Collier" Association meets on the 1st Thursday of every month at St. Paul of the Cross Church (551 Harwell Rd NW) at 7:00 pm. Both organizations are on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. The more prominent association, "Historic Collier" Association has a website
historiccollier.com

Awards and recognitions

Atlanta declared September 8, 2009 as Collier Heights Day. Similarly,

Fulton County, Georgia Fulton County is a county in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most populous county. Its county seat and most ...

, declared September 16, 2009, as Collier Heights day in the county. In 2008 under community association president, attorney Antavius Weems, Collier Heights began a quest to become the first community in the nation to be registered as a historic site, listed on the United States

. It is the first community in the nation built by African Americans for their fellow African Americans. On June 23, 2009, the community achieved the goal and in June 2013 it received local historic designation. During the 2021 mayoral election cycle, it was notable that two of the top three mayoral candidates, Felicia Moore and

lived in Collier Heights.

Education

Public

* Bazoline E. Usher Collier Heights Elementary School *Harper-Archer Elementary School *John Lewis Invictus Academy (6th–7th Grades) * Douglass High School

Private

*Berean Academy; K–12; Yvonne Brown, Principal *St. Paul of the Cross Christian Academy; K–12

Public libraries

Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System The Fulton County Library System is a network of public library, public libraries serving the Atlanta, Georgia, City of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, both in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The system is adm ...

operates the Adamsville–Collier Heights Branch.Adamsville-Collier Heights Branch
"

. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.

Transportation

Besides the main

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

, Collier Drive, other roads include Waterford Road, Hamilton E. Holmes Rd, and it borders Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy. MARTA serves Collier Heights with the Hamilton E. Holmes transit station, which is the system's westernmost route.

External links

Collier Heights websiteBrick by Brick: Atlanta’s Collier Heights
photo essay showing several homes

References

{{Historic Districts in Metro Atlanta Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) African-American history of Georgia (U.S. state) Neighborhoods in Atlanta National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta