History
The Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League (RCIL) was organized in 1952 under a program sponsored by the Atlanta University School of Social Work and the Atlanta Urban League. This was during the time when the city was segregated and voting rights were denied to African Americans. The main objective of the League was to involve the community in the political and voting process. The first goal of the League was to get all the residents registered to vote. The second was to get youth to participate in character building activities. The organization met monthly on a local level but also met various times with other local leagues to discuss projects, activities and/or strategies. Every third Sunday all of the local leagues met with coordinators from Atlanta University and the Urban League. Early league activities in the neighborhood included: 1) motivating interest in public issues, 2) sponsoring programs to enlighten the residents, 3) increasing voter registration and 4) petitioning the Atlanta Board of Education to construct an elementary school in the community. As an outcome of 4), property was purchased and the I.P. Reynolds School was constructed and opened in 1958. This was a great boost to the neighborhood because it served as an enhancement to curtail school dropout and as a neighborhood center for functions. After a period of inactivity, the League was reorganized as the Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League and chartered in June 1974. The reorganized League was under the leadership of Mrs. Mattie Griffin. Activities during this period included 1) installation of streetlights for added security, 2) traffic light installed at Moreland Avenue and Wylie Street, 3) secured Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) bus services to the neighborhood, 4) school crosswalks and safety zones placed at streets leading to I.P. Reynolds School, and 5) petitioning for improved police protection. Under the leadership of Mr. Young Hughley Sr., the League 1) secured funds to build a neighborhood park and recreation center, 2) sought housing for community functions, 3) operated a “thrift store,” 4) sponsored the Reynoldstown Community Festival, 5) published a neighborhood newsletter, and 6) sponsored a clean up campaign. Other past presidents were Mrs. Corrine E. Lang, Mr. James R. Hightower and Mr. Lewis Holmes Sr. Other important events included lobbying to curtail the toll road by the Georgia Department of Transportation, which would have been built through Reynoldstown, leveling many of its homes and destroying the neighborhood; filing suit against MARTA to curtail widening of streets and destroying several houses; lobbying for the Reynoldstown MARTA station; and, as an ongoing process, working with the C.S.X. Railroad project to monitor the purchase of property for this project.
The Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation (RRC) is an outgrowth of the Civic Improvement League. In the late 1980s, the League was considering becoming a Community Development Corporation (CDC) to receive available monies for technical assistance and operating funds for neighborhood redevelopment. The League asked Young Hughley Sr.’s son, Young Hughley Jr., to research the feasibility of becoming such an organization. After visiting similar groups in other parts of the country with Hattie Dorsey of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP), Young Hughley Jr. recommended that the new organization take a holistic approach. His recommendation was that the organization should be involved with more than just housing, and address economic development, leadership development and the overall health of the neighborhood—everything that makes up a vigorous community. Thereafter, Young Hughley Jr. was asked to head the organization, and he continues in that role today.
Read more about this topic: Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation
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