‘Atlanta’s Berlin Wall’: One Atlanta neighorhood’s history of racial roadblocks

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Owning a home is part of the American dream many families are never able to realize because of the color of their skin.

This Black History Month, Atlanta News First anchor Tracye Hutchins sheds light on a little-known part of Atlanta’s history when a roadblock was used as a barrier for Black people.

Cascade Heights has been known as a home to Black prominence and power in Atlanta. Several notable politicians, sports figures and celebrities have settled in there, but only in recent history.

In the early 1960s, the neighborhood was on the brink of a major transition when a doctor named Clinton Warner bought a home there. The problem was Warner was Black and that area of Cascade Heights was all white.

It wasn’t long before Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., who was in office at the time, decided to keep the peace and keep more Blacks for moving in — a permanent barricade made of steel and wood built on Peyton Road. The barricade became known as the Peyton Wall, a symbol of segregation.

Dr. Ron Bayor, a retired Georgia Tech professor, said the Peyton Wall was Atlanta’s most blatant attempt to block Black migration.

“The whole effort was to push Blacks to the west side. But it was a travesty, this was the year after the Berlin Wall was built, and it was often referred to as Atlanta’s Berlin Wall,” Bayor said.

Bayor has written about Atlanta’s segregated history in his book “Race And The Shaping of Twentieth Century Atlanta.”

The existence of the Peyton Wall prompted multiple protests and negative national headlines, which became too much for Atlanta city leaders. A judge later ruled the barrier unconstitutional, and the Peyton Wall was torn down after 72 days.

Bayor said the wall’s impact is still being felt today.

“Generally, Atlanta is still a pretty segregated city, and this is a legacy of what happened before,” Bayor said.

Archie Emerson, the local board president of the Empire Board of Realtists, has seen the impact firsthand.

Emerson represents the same group of Black real estate brokers who fought to help Black homeowners in that neighborhood in the 1960s.

“In order for us to elevate to the next level, we must change our mindset and understand that we have the right of homeownership,” Emerson said.

But in 2025, there are still barriers for Black people, including historical prejudice, economic disparities and denied mortgages.

The most recent data from the Atlanta Regional Commission found that Black homeownership in Fulton County was 25% lower than white homeownership, even though Black people make up a larger percentage of the population.

“So why wouldn’t we continue to fight now? Unfortunately, we’re still fighting,” Emerson said. “So that we can continue to have growth in homeownership. It starts right here on Peyton Road.”

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