The city of Tucker is releasing its first documentary next week, centering on a small neighborhood that played a large role in the civil rights movement and the fight for integration.
The documentary, titled “Four Streets,” is about just that — the four main streets of a community that came to be called Peters Park. Clark Drive, Herbert Drive, Peters Road and Ramey Road were each named after a family that lived in the neighborhood, according to a statement from the city.
The city will hold a preview screening Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Tucker Recreation Center, and the documentary will also air on the city’s Facebook page Feb. 28.
Tucker Communications Director Matt Holmes worked on the film, interviewing residents about what the area was like dating back to the 1940s.
“This area’s important because [our parents] struggled so we could have a nice place to live,” Peters Park resident Virginia Turks Sharpe said in the statement. “It might not be the finest looking home, but it’s a nice place. [There’s] a lot of love and a lot of care and a lot of value here. That’s why we value this area.”
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The film points out that leaders used Tucker as a meeting place during the civil rights movement, and some of the first students to integrate DeKalb County’s schools came from the area.
“We heard from a 102-year-old woman about the fear stoked by a cross burning in the community,” Holmes said in the statement, adding, “This movie is going to keep some important history alive for our younger generations.”
Faith also played a large part in the story of the community, which is located just north of Ga. 78 and west of Mountain Industrial Boulevard. There were five churches in the neighborhood, the city said.
“In 1964, the members of this church got together and built this building,” said Apostle Thomas Smith of the Little Miller Grove Baptist Church. “[They] poured the foundation, laid the bricks and a couple of them are still here now.”
The documentary cost virtually nothing to make, and the city plans to show it at the local middle and high schools, Holmes said.
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