Economy

The Quest for a New Black City in Georgia

A key state deadline this week determines whether predominantly African-American communities just outside Atlanta can vote to start their own city.
Kathryn Rice, who is leading the movement to form the city of Greenhaven, holds up a sign with a volunteer.Greenhaven Now/Facebook

DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA—Roughly 25 people are holding court in the Greenhaven headquarters, all of them bound together by an unclarity about the name of the place where they live. Standing before them is Kathryn Rice, an urban planner who heads the Concerned Citizens for Cityhood of South DeKalb Inc. (CCCSD).

“Where is South DeKalb? What are its boundaries,” she asked them, but none could give an answer.