Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: A Saga of Race and Family

by Gary M. Pomerantz

"A fascinating tale of two cities told through the rise of two of Atlanta's most illustrious political families...highly significant in what it reveals about ambition, hard work, success, and race relations."—David Levering Lewis.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Southern, Race, Audiobook

688 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Nick Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

my response to this was/is pretty complicated, and i'll need let it marinate a minute before i really review this. well-written and a pleasure to plow through, though by no means fantastically well-written; i was pretty disappointed, given the book's reputation. there's a much better history of twentieth century Atlanta waiting for someone to put it down. four stars for ATLiens, as we are distressingly short on a collective history and understanding of ourselves, and this helps. two to three stars for everyone else.

gotta admit i cheered regarding the moment we got the olympics (the story of which is one of the highlights of the book). one of my last memories of woodstock, georgia is sitting in my sixth grade classroom, watching the surprise as we beat loser athens, and chanting "atlanta, atlanta, 1996" on the bus home. we look proudly back on them now, the only olympics ever to really give pipebombing its proper due as the thinking man's sport, and cackle maniacally as by the ones and twos you all decide, several months into a layover at hartfield-jackson-outkast international, that fuck it you'll just move here.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn is a 624-page history of a section of Atlanta and four generations of 2 politically prominent Atlanta families, one (the Allens) white and one (the Dobbs) black. At one point a businessman describes a meeting with Mayor Maynard Jr. as follows: "consisted of somebody asking a question and fifty-nine minutes later Maynard's monologue ended. His monologue would become, in about the tenth or fifteenth minute, a lecture and, by the end, was a total harangue... It was just a complete turnoff. He by us, and us by him." And that pretty much sums up my impression of this Atlanta history. My notes say, "oh the minutiae!!" and "did this book take forever to write??"

That's not to say that I didn't learn interesting things, for example:
within the span of six years, the minister Martin Luther King Sr's namesake was famously assassinated, and then his wife, 70 yr old Alberta Williams King was murdered in church while playing the organ, AND a second son, the Rev. A.D. King drowned in a swimming pool accident.

I most appreciate the bits where Pomerantz explains how these African-American families in the south raised such successful children, with loving attention and unconditional support; on page 157, "most whites have no idea the lengths blacks went to train their children in the... necessity of avoiding hate. They had to reassure you (after some incident) that you were as good as anybody."

Having grown up in the suburbs of Detroit, most of my relatives from Savannah, GA like telling me that racism up north is worse because it's hidden, insidious. But reading this account made it pretty clear to me that that's the way racism has always been in the south too. This book must represent an amazing amount of research, but it was work to get through all of it.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about Atlanta and its history as told through the families of the last two-term white mayor of Atlanta (his successor lost) and the first black mayor of the city. Pomerantz does a good job of showing the complicated racial dynamics of "the city too busy to hate," and how both white and black leaders worked hard to preserve Atlanta's reputation even as black leaders prodded the white establishment to move forward. What stands out in the book is the courage of Ivan Allen, who went from a segregationist during his bid from governor to a racial progressive, and the trailblazing spirit of John Wesley Dobbs, the grandfather of Maynard Jackson. In fact, Dobbs is basically the star of the book and one of the more underrated figures in Atlanta's history. His story, as well as that of Allen and Jackson, is told here.

[Austin May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historians aren't good at writing books that are compelling reads. I didn't pick this book up to be entertained but rather because I felt it was important to my identity. I didn't learn that much more about Atlanta that I didn't already get from Atlanta Rising. What I took from it was unexpected, the impact of a family legacy. This book crisscrossed between five generations of two families – the Allens descended from slave owners and the Dobbses, from slaves. These families produced the two most influential mayors of Atlanta, Ivan Allen, Jr., and Maynard Jackson, Jr. (the "Jackson" in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport!)

Atlanta has always been the model city to follow in dealing with racism, prejudice, and discrimination between black and white people. These families were the premiere families from each of those demographics. And though co-located in the same geographic site we call "Atlanta" their stories are wildly different. Let's hit on prejudice and discrimination for a second. The book does not cover this but I think it's key to understand as an American, especially one that lives in the American South. When America was first settled, tobacco was a cash crop. But due to labor shortages they brought in indentured servants from England and also began to rely on African labor. Back then Africans were able to work off their debts and gain freedom from slavery. Some of these men even became prosperous. Yes you read that right. African-American slaves in the early 1600s were treated more humanely than in the centuries to follow. It wasn't until the British began to rely more heavily on enslaved Africans to meet their labor needs that they began to impose restrictions on them. At the same time, Virginia was increasingly owned by powerful men who had taken most of the fertile land, and poor freedmen had difficulty finding any for themselves. Unhappy, they began to rebel. And to prevent future unrest, laws were passed to gain more control over laborers. These laws took away basic rights that free African settlers had previously held and within a few years the colony's labor system was based completely on enslaved African labor, upheld by tight regulation. To perpetuate this, colonial leaders promoted a shift in thinking. They began portraying Africans as uncivilized heathens, intellectually incapable of civilization. This justified their enslavement. Of course, this is nonsense. People adapt to the environments they live in and pass on those adaptations through inheritance. People who have lived in lower latitudes of the globe for many generations tend to have darker skin than do people dwelling at higher latitudes. They produce more melanin to reflect the ultraviolet rays of the sun, which are stronger near the equator. Instead of being seen as an indication of inferiority, this adaptation indicates fitness and adaptability. And this is probably why we see African-American quarterbacks growing in number in the NFL today!

Ok let's get back on track to the colonialism. Poor whites received land as a way to encourage their identification with the colony's elites, preventing them from siding with Africans. All of this evil over a cash crop? I guess it's true what the Bible says, "the love of money is the root of all evil." Most of us recognize that that people are born into a particular social position due to the economic situations of their families. Indeed, this fact of birth has profound lifelong consequences, since one's class position typically shapes access to educational and occupational opportunities, possibilities for gaining wealth, even the towns and neighborhoods in which one lives. This is the cost of capitalism. Where "class" is the central organizing principle as the distinction between those who control the means of production (factory owners) and those whose labor produces the goods (workers).

This is why Youtube influencers encourage you to buy real estate to unlock true wealth and why the Western world does not favor those who sweat but to those who own things!!! The frycook at Burger King works a more demanding day than a real-estate magnate. But their economic viability is wildly different. Because of the "classes."

All of this begs the question. Is discrimination inevitable? Are people naturally disposed to treat humans that are different from them with prejudice? The answer is no. There is nothing in human nature or biology that makes us treat people who are different from us as superior or inferior. Prejudice and discrimination are cultural processes. They may feel natural and inevitable but they are artificial constructions. With that understood we can begin to understand why the American South looked the way it did in 1851, where this book begins. And why the families (the Allens and the Dobbses) had completely different objectives despite growing up where Peachtree (the white area of town) meets Sweet Auburn (the black area of town).

Reading historical books helps me realize how short life is. When you read a book that spans multiple generations like this one it condenses down the life of a single person into a few notable achievements. It's a good reminder that life is like the morning fog – it's here a little while, then it's gone.

This book also taught me the importance of family and how it's the spinal cord of civilization. How you raise your kids has profound impacts on how society. They eventually grow up to become somebody. And who you are, as the parent, can drastically affect the neat box they are fit into in the social hierarchy. Some of that is within your control, and some is outside of your control. John Wesley Dobbs taught each of his six daughters about life, love and literature.

He sought to nullify any self-doubts that segregation in Atlanta might create. He fed them self-respect on a continuous basis as if it were one of the basic food groups. You are equal to anyone, he told them. You will succeed. He prohibited them from attending segregated events in Atlanta; never were his daughters to sit in the balcony seats reserved for blacks at the Fox Theatre.

As a result, all of his daughters grew up to some level of prominence despite the challenges black people faced during that time.

For the Allens, the privilege was already set. But if you want to run for mayor in Atlanta like Ivan Allen, Jr. did you couldn't ignore the black vote. Your thinking had to shift to a more progressive one. To be elected, Ivan Allen Jr. had to abandon the old prejudices his ancestors possessed.

Overall, this book was pretty boring. But I slugged through it knowing that it was important. It made me, for the first time, think about what I'll leave behind for my children and how figuring out economic security for my family is fundamental for bettering future generations of my offspring. This is the game. Each book I read is like a fresh download of the world I did not know before picking it up. And this book taught me about family, life, and the intersection of people that differ in social class and ethnic background. I am much better off because I read it.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you live in Atlanta and want to understand the city, this is a MUST READ. I am a 95% fiction reader but I must say this book was fascinating and kept me reading through all 600+ pages. I must say that I don't feel that my role here is to critique an author but to state why this book was meaningful for me. Having lived in the suburbs surrounding Atlanta for 30 years, when we moved to the urban center 3 years ago I wondered about the rich history, streets named after familiar but unknown names, the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement (Auburn Avenue) , the district where Martin Luther King walked, preached and is buried, why Hartsfield Jackson Airport is so named. Tracing the families of two pillars of Atlanta from the days of slavery until the 1990's, one white and one black, all the names begin to make sense. The views of the people who have lived in the city for generations took on new significance and import. My eyes were opened to things I didn't know existed and I gained appreciation for people and their work whom I had once been skeptic of. This is not just a book for Atlantan's. It is a book for those trying to understand skeptic attitudes towards racial justice. It is a book for those living in cities who have seen their urban centers dying and how to fight it. It is a book for us who, in the new wave of development in the City of Atlanta,need to be aware that people are more important than capital gains by developers and corporations. It is a study in how some corporate giants chose to serve the city rather than just use the city to serve them. There needs to be more of this as Atlanta moves into this next cycle of urban growth. This is a book both educational and inspirational. I am better for having read it.... all 600+ pages.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical narrative. I highly recommend for anyone interested in the history of Atlanta, moderately recommend for anyone interested in race relations histories, and do not recommend for any other groupn of readers. I enjoyed learning more about my adopted home town. It could have been shorter. Also, it ends in 1995 (right before the Olympics.) I'd love a pocket part to bring me up to date on the happenings between 1995-1999 (the year I moved to Atlanta.)

[Dave Kiefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sought out this book because I know the author, and enjoyed his books on Wilt Chamberlain and the old Boston Celtics, and because my daughter moved to Atlanta. I didn’t know what to expect and at first was a bit intimidated by its length (554 pages) and how dense the pages were. The book is about the history of Atlanta through the perspective of two Old Atlanta families — one white and one Black. My first reaction upon finishing was an awe for the research that author Gary Pomerantz put into what was a five-year project. Such detail! The most riveting area to me was how Ivan Allen, Jr., was alone among Southern politicians in welcoming integration. The Mayor had incredible courage — in dealing with racial strife and even in informing Coretta King of her husband’s death. He and John Wesley Dobbs were the most fascinating figures in this book. I learned much and gained great insight into this amazing city.

[Evan Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked this one up upon realizing that i know basically nothing about Atlanta’s history despite living here for over 6 years now

its a fascinating and thorough history of the development of the city and its race relations from the days of the confederacy up to the 1996 olympics following the Ivan Allen and Dobbs families.

as a whole i really enjoyed it and feel like i learned a lot about the city and the families that helped build it, as well as how the members of these family dynasties rose and failed to meet the expectations that come from the weight of their names.

while it was a unique framing, i cant help thinking that strictly following these two families left out some amount of detail on other meaningful events that didnt necessarily directly cross paths with them but were still impactful.

anyways cool book, i may try and find another one someday that will give a more general history of the city too, but this was a good start imo

[Anna Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a very historical account of the city of Atlanta from the civil war to the civil rights movement and up until the ‘96 centennial Olympics- this is the book for you! The amount of detail this book offers is impressive. Sometimes hard to get through, but grateful for the perspective it gave me on such a historical city. Atlanta has accomplished much in what some may say is a short amount of time. It’s also visible that some of the issues our city still struggles with are sadly the same issues from long ago.

[Ron Seckinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 1996 book traces the history of Atlanta since its burning in 1864. It focuses on two prominent families—the White Allens and the Black Cobbs-Jacksons—and on business leaders’ efforts to avoid the violence experienced in other cities.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not always the most compellingly written, but rich with detail and research which greatly increased my understanding of the history and context of Atlanta. For that I’m giving it 5 stars.

[Jean Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Atlanta native, having been born within the city limits and raised in its southern suburbs in the '60s and '70s, during the height of the civil rights era, this novel-like history of a city I've grown to both love and, at times, dislike, was an enlightening treatise of its evolution. As a young child, I was shielded from most of the circumstances, politics, names, events, and cultural divide exposed by the civil rights movement within the city. My parents seemed unwilling to discuss issues of race with me as I grew older, but my questions mounted during my teen and young adult years as I attempted to accept and assimilate into an increasingly diverse population. Still, I remained mostly ignorant of the pivotal moments and influential names that impacted the growth of Atlanta until reading this extraordinary and insightful history, which begins in the Reconstruction era of the mid-to-late 19th century. Through the perspective of two of Atlanta's most historically prominent families--one white, one black, both of which produced a mayor of profound impact--I developed a greater appreciation for, and greater pride in, Atlanta's dynamic history and the struggles she faced and, more often than not, overcame to ultimately become a city of international repute. I highly recommend this book to any reader interested in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and civil rights history.

[Kelcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a slog to get through but I'm happy to have read it. Very much recommend for folks living in Atlanta, probably do not recommend for anyone else.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a riveting book which traces the histories of the Dobbs and Allen families of Georgia. The two families ended up producing Atlanta's two most famous mayors, but they began much the same way: on a plantation in the antebellum South. Of course with the American custom of the one drop rule, the Dobbs were slaves and then second class citizens and the Allens were plantation owners and slave masters. From humble beginnings, the Dobbs managed to become one of the premier black families in Atlanta. Helmed by the imposing John Wesley Dobbs ("The Grand"), the Dobbs family produced a famous opera singer, Atlanta's first black mayor and a host of talented and effervescent children and grandchildren. This story, while focusing primarily on the two families, charts the course of black Americans in Georgia and their efforts to overcome year of slavery and Jim Crow. There are the horrible riots of 1906, death threats, efforts by segregationist businessmen and politicians to keep black Atlantans out of the public and private "white sphere", political shenanigans among white elites and bravery in the face of incredible mistreatment. By the 1970s, Maynard Jackson had risen to power and tried to desegregate Atlanta (officially, it was already supposed to be desegregated) against incredible odds.
Some highlights:

*The efforts of The Grand's white colleagues to get him fired because they thought a black man shouldn't be in such a high position in the USPS.
*The Grand standing on the front porch of his house with his USPS-issued gun to protect his family from marauding white people during the 1906 riots.
*Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr. going to the site of volatile riots and begging the rioters to please stop.
*Atlanta's first black police safety chief banning "drop guns" and police brutality against Atlanta's black residents and the black police officers refusing to allow him to resign when pressured.
*Former mayor Sam Massell and his wife crying with happiness that their negative predictions for Atlanta came true.
*Death threats and poison pen letters to the white mayor Ivan Allen because he attended Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral, testified before Congress and pretty much anything else he did that was not totally racist.

[James Ruley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a recent transplant to Atlanta, I thought it would be worth my time to read up on the city’s history. Following two main families, the Allens and the Dobbs, this book traces the development of Atlanta through the Civil War, slavery, the railroad, Coca-Cola, the Civil Rights movement, and the 1996 Olympics.

This book opened my eyes to Atlanta’s history in many ways. I first flew into Atlanta’s Hartfiels-Jackson airport, named after Bill Hartsfield, Atlanta’s longest serving mayor, and Maynard Jackson, the city’s first black mayor. I learned that Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for the first time by the county’s police department. On my way in to work I walk past Margaret Mitchell Park (the author of Gone With the Wind), past a street named after civil rights leader John Wesley Dobbs, and past the library where a woman became the first black to receive a library card in Atlanta. A quick stroll takes me through Centennial Olympic Park and past a statue honoring the Allen family. All these names were empty for me before reading this book, and now they are infused with meaning.

That being said, this book is not perfect. It is far too long, and goes into microscopic details about some facts that simply don’t matter. Better editing would have gone a long way to improving the final product. Overall, though, an informative read about the roots of Atlanta.

[Brent Forkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the depth and insights this book provided me into events which I read about or participated in while living and growing up in metro Atlanta. Of course I didn't read about the Dobbs family until after Maynard Jackson was elected Atlanta's first black mayor. I had heard about some of the black owned newspapers, the Daily World and the Inquirer, but not much more than that. Mr. Pomerantz provides an eye-opening catalog of Jim Crow laws and practices in my home city; this book told me many things I didn't know or only suspected. I had a personal connection to enjoy as well. My daddy introduced me to Mayor Hartsfield some time in 1966, I think. Daddy was a columnist with The Atlanta Journal for most of my life after 1963, when we returned to his hometown, Decatur. Today I wish I had read this book years ago, when it first came out and he was alive, because it would have been fascinating to discuss the events and people with him. I was privileged to work on Maynard Jackson's first mayoral campaign in 1973, and Daddy wrote a column in his support during the runoff with Mayor Massell.

[Jewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended as reading material for an organized Civil Rights tour. Because of the pandemic the tour was rescheduled to take place a year after its original date. Well.... the book was excellent. The stories of the two founding families of Atlanta Georgia, one white, the other black, was well written and easy to read. The author depicted both families fairly, putting neither on a pedestal. Each family had a member who became Mayor of the city. After reading this book, I now understand the how's and why's Atlanta became the Place for Black advancement during the 70's. Some Georgia politicians should read this book.

P.S. I stopped reading the book when the tour was cancelled and picked it up again after finding out the rescheduled date... hence the lengthy reading time.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably closer to 3.5 stars, this is an interesting history of the city of Atlanta. It focused on two prominent families, one white and one black. The Allens and the Dodds helped make Atlanta what it is today. The book kept my interest pretty well, but is very long. You will definitely enjoy it more if you have been to Georgia or have some connections to the city. My brother and his family live in one of the suburbs of Atlanta, so I could relate to it better since I have been there.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, well written and well researched. Fascinating look at race and the evolution of Atlanta. Couldn't give it five stars though, because it really peaks with Jackson's first term as mayor - coverage of the early 80s to present is giving comparatively short shrift to the rest of the book. I recognize it's tough to know where/how to wrap things up when some of your subjects are still living, but it does make the final 20% of the book noticeably weaker.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautifully-written biography of two of Atlanta’s most prominent mayors - Maynard Jackson Jr. & Ivan Allen Jr. - and their family histories for generations. I read this upon first moving to Atlanta back in 2001, and just re-read it. It’s one of those books you can read again and again. Excellent research and it reads like a novel because these families both have such stories to tell. Also a story of race in the south that is imperative to understand both the past and future of the U.S.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a native of the Atlanta area who grew up in the ‘50s and’60s, I found this book fascinating. It shows some of the racial evolution that made Atlanta the city it is. I remember a lot of this, but this book filled in a lot of blanks for me.

Recommended for anyone who loves Atlanta and wants a better understanding of her racial past. So many admirable figures in our story!

[Keiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for the detail and really interesting to weave history like this, between two families. Bit slow to start though I’m not usually into historical works like this. Read the first fourth and then due personal time restrictions, I moved to audiobook. Anyone interested in Atlanta should give it a read/listen. Highly recommend.

[Nanci · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there is a great amount of detail and the beginning of the book may seem slow, it is a very interesting book if you take the time to push through until the end. Lots of things I didn't know about Atlanta history, so it was a fascinating read for me.

[MARY L · Rating 5 out of 5]

History of Atlanta from before the Civil War as seen through the Dobbs and Allen families, one white and one Black. It ends in 1995 just before the Olympics come to Atlanta. A long and interesting read.

[Jerry Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting history of Ivan Allen Jr and Maynard Jackson. Very thorough maybe too thorough. Tends to get verbose to cover many topics.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly compelling read and dense in the best way, especially for anyone who lives and works in Atlanta.

[Elizabeth Dias · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much information about the early founders of Atlanta. It made me happy to say "I'm from Atlanta."

[Kim Hollon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an interesting view of race and the development of Atlanta. Often I thought there was too much detail.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information about the history of Atlanta and the parallel and connected lives of two families.

[Quiyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. I may have taken things to far by driving to each place mentioned lol. Loved it!