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DR . A L BERT M . D A VI S PRESIDENT MRS. EU N ICE COO PER SECRETARY DR . C . MILES SM ITH TREASURER A TLANTA BRANCH NATIONA L ASSOCIATION F O R THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 859 - 1/2 HUNTER STREET, N . W . S UITE 105 ATLANTA, GEO RGIA 3031 4 524-80 54 March 21, 1967 Mayor Ivan Allen City Hall Atlan t a, Georgi a 30303 Dear Mayor Allen: The NAACP, again, congratulates you on the vast housing prog r a m and tremendous urban pla nning you have proposed for the city of Atlan t a. These projects will enhance the sta tus of our g reat me tropolis . On the other hand, we cri t ici ze you on your fa i lure to, effectively, permit the citizens to participat e in the planning of these programs . As a result, some se ri ous mistakes have t r ansp ired which can create some un necess a r y t u r bule nce; one of whic h i s poten t ial ove r -crowdine s s. I t h as come t o ou r a tte n t ion tha t one of . t he sites now under c on sideration f or pr op osed con s t ruc t ion o f p ub l i c houses is i n t he Harwel l Road-Skippe r Dr i ve-Bank head ar e a. Mr . Alle n , we st r ongly oppose t his due t o t h e fac t t hat t he No r thwest-Sou thwe st area is al r eady saturated wi th p ublic h ousing a n d addit ional h ousing p r o jec ts will o nl y increase the den s ity and decrease t he mo rale a nd c o mf o r t of o ur people. Th e Atlan t a Hous ing Authori t y seems t o h a v e over looked pub lic hous i ng l oca t ion statistics and igno r ed the feelings and a ttit udes of Negroes who now l i ve and will live in a crowded e nvironment. Sta t is t ics reveal that of t he 940 4 p ub lic housing un i ts exi sting 82. 76% are in t h e NorthwestS outhwe s t area while none a re e x i s t e nt i n the No rth east area. Thi s imbalance i n i t s mo st obvi ous a n d d eplorab le f o r m. I t seems l ogi cal that s ome l o ca l remedies t o this prob lem s h o u ld be exercised rath er than augment this segregated con centra t i on. Mr. Al len, we recommend and insi st that the At l a nta Housing Au thority consider a more balanced d i spersi on of additional h ousing projects. Atlanta cannot and must not jeopardize its g ood reputa t i o n by establishing additional ghettos or perpetuating segregation in its housing patterns. In order to assure comfor t of our citizens and tran q uility o f our city and in the best in te re s t of y o u, t he Atlanta Housing Authority and our citizens, we urgently request an immediate audience with you in o r der �to Mayor Allen page 2 ••••••••• to share some ideas and opinions. We would, also , hope that you can encourage the presence of Mr. Alexander of the Housing Resources Committee as well as Mr. Stearne and Mr. Satterfie l d from the Housing Authority. There are some potential problems that can be alleviated before con struction takes place on the above mentioned site as well as other p r oposed sites of which we are aware, if you can arrange to see us withi n t h e next day or so . We are prepared to meet you at you r convenience. We realize you are busy bu t because this is so important we hope you share our urgency of the need to liste n and l earn wh at ou r people are thi nk ing so t his conf lic t can be promptly set t l ed • . (Dr.) A. M. Davis D:c cc: Alexander Stearne Satterfield Edward Baxter A. R. Hanson �