Hangin' Out
Left: Going to a movie at the Ritz, part of the Atlanta-based Bailey Theaters chain, which catered solely to African-Americans. The company was owned by a white man. Center: Rollerskating at the Allen Wilson Terrace Apartments. Right: Trinity High School football was great entertainment in the community.
For youngsters, Beacon provided numerous spots to meet up with friends, enjoy quick meals and snacks, and to enhance the close-knit nature of the community. Special events also helped to bring the community together.
On Saturdays, kids would flock to the “picture show” at the local Ritz Theatre, the social hall of the Allen Wilson Terrace Homes, or meet up at the “Brick Wall” that ran down the south side of Robin Street. Friends and neighbors could catch up on local news while sharing “splits,” popular split sausage sandwiches, at Tom Steele’s Café. The swimming pool and recreation center at Ebster Park was always bustling with kids during the hot summer. Families came together to celebrate annual events like the Thanksgiving Day football game and the May Day festivities.
The fight for equal rights had long been waged in Decatur’s Beacon community in myriad ways, but it began to coalesce as a movement around 1950 with formation of the Decatur Colored Citizen League. In 1955, the DeKalb Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was organized in Decatur. In the early days, the NAACP was often referred to as “the movement” for fear that affiliation with the organization could cost you your job, or worse.
