11th Annual Atlanta Studies Symposium
Friday, April 12, 2024
Woodruff Library
Emory University
540 Asbury Circle
Atlanta, GA 30322
SCHEDULE
8:15 a.m. — 8:30 a.m.
Registration: Booth in front of Jones Room
8:30 a.m. — 8:35 a.m.
Opening Remarks: Jones Room
8:40 a.m. — 9:55 a.m.
Session 1
Housing and Development
Location: Jones Room
| Housing and Development | ||
| Moderator, Michael Leo Owens, Emory University | ||
| Elora Lee Raymond* Lauren Sudeall** Phil Garboden*** Grant Sublette-Urry* Marcellus Johnson* | *Georgia Tech **Vanderbilt Uni. ***University of Chicago | From Sharecropping to Eviction: The limits of federal tenant protections in GA during the COVID19 pandemic |
| Joy Appel* Dr. Alexus Moore** | *University of Virginia School of Data Science ** Georgia State University Department of Sociology | Symbolic Gentrification in Atlantic Station: Narratives in Context |
| Madelief Tilder | Georgia State University Department of Sociology | Single Room Occupancy Housing in Off-Campus Student Living in Atlanta |
| Karen Beck Pooley | Lehigh University Political Science | Who has Access to Greater Atlanta’s “Geography of Opportunity”? |
Visions of a more environmentally just Atlanta through community and university partnerships
Location: Woodruff Library 312
Moderators: Allen Hyde, Joe Bozeman, Georgia Institute of Technology
For universities to have deep and meaningful impacts with the communities that they are rooted into, we must develop stronger relationships with community organizations and partners. In this session, we seek to build upon Georgia Tech’s Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education (SCoRE) Energy Equity, Environmental Justice, and Community Engagement Faculty Fellows Program. Emily Weigel, Danielle Willkens, and representatives from two community partner organizations will join for a discussion on the joys and challenges to community and university partnerships around environmental justice with perspectives from different academic disciplines and community groups. As larger federal initiatives and grants from organizations like the National Science Foundation and the Justice 40 Initiative have encouraged community-engaged research for environmental justice, it is important to discuss the best (and not the best) practices for doing this type of work successfully. Moderators will include Allen Hyde and Joe Bozeman.
Understanding the Print Culture of Atlanta: Collecting, Researching, and Teaching with Periodicals
Location: Woodruff Library 314
Moderator: Erica Bruchko, Emory University
In the Practice of Diaspora, Brent Edwards argues that “The ‘spindles and joints’ of a print culture…are located above all at the stratum of periodical culture.” This panel will examine this important medium of exchange in one hub of periodical publication–Atlanta. It will focus upon three aspects of periodical research: how they are described and made available, how they are collected, and how they are used in the college classroom.
| Understanding the Print Culture of Atlanta: Collecting, Researching, and Teaching with Periodicals | ||
| Moderator: Erica Bruchko, Emory University | ||
| Gautham Reddy Chella Vaidyanathan | Emory University Libraries | Collecting South Asian American Magazines and Newsletters Published in the Southeastern United States |
| Sara Palmer | Emory Center for Digital Scholarship | The Wayfinder Project: Linked Open Data for Collections |
| Sarah Salter | Emory Writing Program & Department of English | Students in the Archive: Notes from Local History |
10:00 a.m. — 11:00 a.m.
Keynote: Professor Cynthia Neal Spence
Introduction by Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Spelman College
Location: Jones Room
Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence is an associate professor of sociology at Spelman College. Her teaching and research interests in the areas of sociology, criminology, law and violence against women. She has served as a consultant for the Ford Foundation Institutional Transformation Project, the University of Chicago Provost Initiative on Minority Affairs, the Agnes Scott College Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. In addition to her faculty position at Spelman, Dr. Spence serves as director of the UNCF Mellon Programs. She is the recipient of the Spelman College Alumnae Achievement Tiffany Award and the Fannie Lou Hammer Community Service Award. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington Internship Institute.
Professor Spence’s talk today is entitled, “Atlanta in the 21st Century : A story of Continuity and Change“
11:00 a.m. — 11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.
Session 2
The Home Team Film, Community Investment, Community Benefit?
Location: Woodruff Library 312
Moderators: Wayne Kendall, Carmelle Kendall
“The Home Team” Documentary follows residents neighboring The Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We’ve heard a lot about the stadium. This is the residents’ story.
The Super Bowl came and went, but the stadium’s next door neighbors are still here. This film shines a light on a subject much more in need of attention than football:
The glaring inequity highlighted by a state-of-the-art venue across from a historic neighborhood whose demise we’ve allowed for decades.
We — Atlanta — have let these neighborhoods become an eyesore of the city, the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement. This film explores the culture that saw fit to invest hundreds of millions of public dollars in a sports venue while neglecting the community just across the street.
Environment and Wellbeing
Location: Jones Room
| Environment and Wellbeing | ||
| Moderator: J. Marshall Shepherd, University of Georgia | ||
| Eri Saikawa | Emory University Environmental Sciences | SCENICS: An Integrated Study of Urban Air Quality and Impacts on Human Wellbeing in Atlanta |
| Paula Buchanan | Rochester Institute of Technology College of Health Sciences and Technology | Communication Matters: How Communication between Emergency Managers and Water Systems Professionals Regarding Insufficient Drinking Water Access Impacts Atlanta and Other Urban Areas |
| Vanessa Velez | Stanford University History | No Promised Land: Environmental Governance and Inequality in Globalizing Atlanta, 1945-1990 |
Unearthing Atlanta’s Past: Learning Urban History with Collaborative Digital Projects
Location: Woodruff Library 314
| Unearthing Atlanta’s Past: Learning Urban History with Collaborative Digital Projects | ||
| Moderator: Alexander Cors, Emory University | ||
| What new opportunities does the digital era offer to engage broad audiences in exploring the history and development of a city? What insights can past urban structures and processes give us about the present and future of a city? OpenWorld Atlanta (OWA) offers avenues to answer these questions by creating a data-rich and engaging web application for community and educational exploration of the city of Atlanta and demonstrate scenarios for potential utilization. Atlanta, like many cities, has a complex history of racial and social inequality marked by segregationist Jim Crow laws and widespread discrimination against Black residents. This history is visible in the city’s infrastructure, transportation, and demographic patterns. OWA focuses on Atlanta’s urban core and early suburbs from 1870 to 1940, a period when segregation policies were at their peak, providing new insights into the city’s history of racial discrimination and its impact on geographical expansion and suburban development. OpenWorld Atlanta (OWA) is an interactive research project using digital tools to collect, analyze, and disseminate data about Atlanta’s history. In this roundtable, graduate students and staff from the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship will discuss the overall research projects and present ways to collaboratively collect, analyze, and disseminate data and history(ies) about Atlanta’s past. Graduate students will then present three examples of current, work-in-progress research projects that are part of OWA: religious life in Atlanta, higher education, press and media. | ||
AI and Other Innovations for the Built Environment
Location: Center for AI learning: Classroom 217
| AI and the Built Environment | ||
| Moderator: Ben Miller, Emory University | ||
| Ali Keyvanfar Arezou Shafaghat | Kennesaw State University College of Architecture and Construction Management | Introducing Inclusive Urban Planning and Design (IUPD) Playground Analyst: A GenAI Chatbot |
| Surabhi Maheshwari | Georgia Institute of Technology Architecture | Mid-rise Vernacular of Atlanta |
12:30 p.m. — 1:30 p.m.
Lunch and Poster Session
Location: Jones Room Patio and ECDS
| Poster Session | ||
| Aaron Pacheco | Georgia State University Geosciences | Are Latinx Communities Vulnerable to Toxic Releases in Atlanta, GA? |
| Noe Calderon Castro | Georgia State University Department of Geosciences | Global Seeds, Local Roots: International Investment in Georgia’s Agricultural Land |
| Mia Wood | Georgia State University Department of Geosciences | TOD Tradeoffs: Transit-Oriented Development and Neighborhood Change in Atlanta |
| Paula Buchanan | Rochester Institute of Technology College of Health Sciences and Technology | Unraveling the Complex Web: Intersections of Race, Poverty, and Systemic Health Inequities in Atlanta |
| Lyric Rosser | Kennesaw State University Anthropology | An Analysis of Queer Relations in Carceral Systems in Metro Atlanta Area (1950s to present) |
| Oli Turner | Emory University English and Creative Writing | DIY Art In Atlanta |
1:30 p.m. — 2:45 p.m.
Session 3
Bridging Community Storytelling and Institutional Support
Location: Woodruff Library 314
| Bridging Community Storytelling and Institutional Support | ||
| Moderator: Brennan Collins, Georgia State University | ||
| Any vision of Atlanta’s past, present, or future depends on the community that is telling the story, the resources they have to tell it, and who is listening. Many Atlanta institutions and organizations have the expertise, technology, and innovative approaches to assist neighborhoods in sharing their stories, and eagerly seek collaboration with communities. But who knows these resources exist and how or why to access them? This interactive roundtable will explore these issues by showcasing examples of neighborhood groups exploring their communities’ stories. Additionally, it will highlight the offerings of several institutions, encouraging participants to share their experiences. The session will then transition into an exchange between roundtable participants and the audience. Participants include: Brennan Collins, Georgia State University Nedra Deadwyler, Civil Bikes Floyd Hall, Canopy Atlanta and Atlanta Contemporary Edith Kelman, BiRacial History Project, Candler Park Anthony Knight, Atlanta Office of Design’s Historic Preservation Studio Yanni Loukissas and Shubhangi Gupta, Map Spot John Gibson, Reynoldstown Rangers Spencer Roberts, Pitts Theology Library, Emory University | ||
Community visions of Atlanta: a view from the Community-soil-air-water (CSAW) partnership
Location: Woodruff Library 312
| Community visions of Atlanta: a view from the Community-soil-air-water (CSAW) partnership | ||
| Moderator: Katherine Hankins, Georgia State University | ||
| The Community-Soil-Air-Water (CSAW) partnership is co-led by the Georgia State University Department of Geosciences and two community-based environmental advocacy organization that focus on environmental justice—ECO-Action and the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA). In collaboration with other community-based organizations and higher education institutions in metro Atlanta, the partnership has grown and evolved over the past 10 years, with a focus on identifying and answering critical community-driven questions around soil, air, and water. CSAW partnerships are rooted in shared values and co-developed practices for equity, transparency, and accountability. Its current iteration involves establishing a learning ecosystem of post baccalaureate researchers, Master’s students, and community fellows who work together to identify socio-environmental questions and develop an asset-based model of collaboration with community-driven research. This roundtable features CSAW fellows who articulate a vision for environmental justice in the city. | ||
Histories and Archives
Location: Center for AI Learning: Classroom 217
| Histories and Archives | ||
| Moderator: LeeAnn Lands, Kennesaw State University | ||
| Carla Gerona | Georgia Tech History and Sociology | Beyond the Red Brick Roads and Walls: Student-Curated Exhibits and Community Collaboration to Create Inclusive Histories |
| Keith Hollingsworth | Morehouse College Business Administration | Exploring Black businesses Around Atlanta’s Massacre: Building a Complete Dataset |
| shady Radical | Spelman College | The Radical Archive of Preservation (t.r.a.p.), Atlien Archives: Preserving Black Memory & Performance Practices in Atlanta |
The Relevant Data that Impacts Education Policies & Economic Mobility
Location: Jones Room
| The Relevant Data that Impacts Education Policies & Economic Mobility | ||
| Moderator: Errika Moore, Georgia Tech & STEM Funders Network | ||
| Data is the foundation and undergirding for any sustainable initiatives As Neighborhood Nexus shares in their mission, “Rapid change in the Atlanta area drives the need for more and better information. Having a community intelligence system, that provides data, tools, and expertise is a catalyst for creating more equitable opportunities and liveable communities for all of the metro area’s citizens (Neighborhood Nexus website, 1/22/2024). This panel will discuss the importance of data from social determinants that non-profit community organizations like United Way use to influence education policies that ultimately influence generational economic mobility within metro Atlanta. Data, that when leveraged, can help shape Atlanta’s overall economic development as Atlanta continues to mitigate the stigma of having the worst economic disparities in the country. Data, that non-profit organizations, funders, and community leaders can use to influence activism, policy, advocacy, and collective impact. The leaders of this panel will share the creation of tools like the Metro Atlanta Racial Equity Atlas – co-designed with the Partnership for Southern Equity and fueled by the support of leading community organizations like United Way. It includes data that focuses on social determinants like health, education, economic opportunity, housing, transportation, and environmental conditions. This panel will include community thought leaders such as Katrina Mitchell, Chief Impact Officer for United Way of Greater Atlanta, Alvin Glymph, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for United Way of Greater Atlanta, Tommy Pearce, Executive Director for Neighborhood Nexus, and Errika Moore, Executive Director for the National STEM Funders Network and 30-year equitable education champion. | ||
2:50 p.m. — 4:05 p.m.
Session 4
Constructing a Shared Vision for an Energy Secure Atlanta
Location: Woodruff Library 312
| Constructing a Shared Vision for an Energy Secure Atlanta | ||
| Moderator: Laura Diaz-Villaquiran, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) | ||
| Energy insecurity is an acute problem in Atlanta. A recent study found that low-income residents here face the fourth-highest energy costs as a percentage of their income of any city in the nation. Over 400,000 households in the region pay more than 6% of their income for energy, exceeding affordability thresholds. Over 100,000 of these face severe burdens and pay more than 10% of their income to keep the lights on. For these Atlantans, maintaining essential energy services is a challenge, and this insecurity has far-reaching impacts. Energy insecure households are more likely to experience financial hardships and utility shutoffs, to live in poor quality housing, to experience negative health outcomes, and to struggle with food insecurity, among other issues. Energy insecurity will deepen as Atlanta experiences the impacts of climate change and utility rates increase. But it doesn’t have to. This panel will review the state of energy insecurity in Atlanta and envision pathways to a different future. Researchers from SEEA will discuss recent work on how historic policies and programs, such as redlining, created an inequitable distribution of energy burdens and will provide a data-driven review of current trends in housing quality and energy insecurity. Envisioning an energy secure future requires cross-sector collaboration, and Greenlink Analytics will discuss breaking down siloes through meaningful community engagement. Finally, the city’s sustainability office will highlight promising avenues for addressing energy insecurity through innovative policies and programs. Ultimately, this panel will illuminate the challenges and opportunities for building an energy-equitable future in metropolitan Atlanta. | ||
Historic Atlanta, Say Gaytl: The Atlanta LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement
Location: Woodruff Library 314
| Historic Atlanta, Say Gaytl: The Atlanta LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement | ||
| Moderator: Eric Solomon, Oxford College, Emory University | ||
| The Atlanta LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement is a nearly 400-page document that is now available to the public. Teams of researchers and reviewers, including representatives from the City of Atlanta, Department of City Planning, Historic Atlanta, and New South Associates, have developed the document over the course of many years. In the preservation world, historic context statements provide the basis for evaluating site significance and integrity. For scholars, students, and researchers, context statements identify broad themes and areas of importance for LGBTQ+ history. For queer and trans-identifying people, such statements provide tangible evidence of structures in and stories about our past as LGBTQ+ Atlantans. This roundtable will feature figures who have been involved in the development of this statement. | ||
Building Environmental Justice & Climate Protection
Location: Center for AI Learning: Classroom 217
| Building Environmental Justice & Climate Protection | ||
| Moderator: Amy Sharma, Science for Georgia | ||
| Those advocating for environmental justice and for climate protection have similar goals (improving the health of people and the environment by addressing environmental injustices), but vastly different backgrounds and lived experiences. It is important that these two communities join together and work on mutually beneficial projects and programs. In 2022, Science for Georgia and Dogwood Alliance hosted the first Environmental Justice & Climate Protection Conference (EJ&CP) in Georgia to bring together academics, community organizations, and policy makers to focus on taking pragmatic, evidence-based, action. In 2023 they were joined by Emory CHARTER and the Center for Black Women’s Wellness. The EJ&CPs hosted over 100 attendees each, provided access to resources and exemplars, and kick-started several academic-community partnerships and a coalition for Georgia EJ Legislation. We propose to host a workshop to guide participants in identifying stakeholders and then setting mutually beneficial goals. The purpose is to enable the hosting of a gathering event that kick-starts year-round collaborations and efforts. Through a series of group exercises, attendees will discover their needs, how to effectively listen to other’s needs, and participate in bridge building exercises. Attendees will walk out with a blueprint to replicate success – specifically in Atlanta. | ||
4:05 p.m. — 4:15 p.m.
Break
4:15 p.m. — 5:15 p.m.
Cliff Kuhn Memorial Lecture: Professor Chris Sellers
Introduction by Casey Cater, Georgia State University
Location: Jones Room
Dr. Christopher C. Sellers is professor of history at Stony Brook University in New York. He holds a Ph.D. in American studies from Yale and an M.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; he is also on faculty at the graduate program in public health at Stony Brook University Medical Center. He is author of Hazards of the Job: From Industrial Disease to Environmental Health Science and co-editor of, among other volumes, Dangerous Trade: Histories of Industrial Hazards across a Globalizing World, and most recently, Race and the Greening of Atlanta: Inequality, Democracy, and Environmental Politics in an Ascendant Metropolis.
His talk today is entitled, “Atlanta: Crucible of Modern Democracy.”
5:15 — 5:25 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Location: Jones Room
5:30 p.m. — 6:30 p.m.
Reception: Rose Library
Sponsors of the event include Emory’s Center for Digital Scholarship, the Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Program, and the Department of Quantitative Theory and Methods, the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, Clark Atlanta, Georgia State University’s Department of Geosciences, Urban Studies Institute and Department of History, the Georgia State University Library, Georgia Institute of Technology’s Schools of Interactive Computing, City and Regional Planning, Architecture, History and Sociology, and Public Policy; University of West Georgia; Kennesaw State University’s Departments of Architecture, History and Philosophy, and Geography and Anthropology; The Atlanta Interdisciplinary AI Network.
Symposium Organizing Committee
J. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor/Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship and Partnerships in Geography and Atmospheric Sciences (University of Georgia).
Katherine Hankins, Department Professor and Chair of Geosciences (Georgia State University).
Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Assistant Professor of Environmental and Health Sciences (Spelman College).
Thomas Jackson Jr., African American Studies and History Librarian (Robert Woodruff Library).
Louise Shaw, Senior Curator (David J. Spencer CDC Museum).
Allen Hyde, Associate Professor of History and Sociology (Georgia Institute of Technology).
Jesse Karlsberg, Senior Digital Scholarship Strategist (Emory Center for Digital Scholarship).
Kaelyn McAdams, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History (Emory University).
Clint Fluker, Senior Director of Culture, Community, and Partner Engagement (Michael C. Carlos Museum and Libraries).
Brandeis Marshall, Data Equity Strategist in Computer Science (DataedX Group, LLC).
LeeAnn Lands, Professor of History (Kennesaw State University).
Ben Miller, Committee Chair, Associate Teaching Professor of Writing, Quantitative Theory and Methods (Emory University).
