ATLANTA – State Representative Mesha Mainor (D-Atlanta) today responded to the Norfolk Southern Corporation’s recent decision to terminate its plans for a rail transfer facility at the previous Chattahoochee Brick Company site.
“The history of the Chattahoochee Brick Company includes a cost of lives that can never be repaid,” said Rep. Mainor. “It is unfortunate that the community, the mayor and Norfolk Southern could not come to a compromise that all stakeholders could walk away with feeling satisfied. I spoke to a global and local leader, Mr. Joe Beasley, about his concerns. During our conversation, he expressed that just because graves were not found, it does not mean bodies are not there. ‘Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,’ he told me. ‘We were created from dust and our bodies return to the same.’ I appreciate the Norfolk Southern Corporation’s decision to honor the ‘ashes’ of those who may have perished at this site by terminating this plan.”
Rep. Mainor did not speak to the mayor’s office regarding its petition for preliminary injunction with the federal Surface Transportation Board, but she has been in conversations between the community and Norfolk Southern. The chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern has reportedly accepted the loss and believes the company’s corporate social responsibility is to be a steward to the community and House District 56.
“I wish I were a part of these conversations sooner as the Lord always makes a way,” added Rep. Mainor. “We must now decide how we honor the ‘ashes’ of those lost at the Chattahoochee Brick Company. Now that Norfolk Southern has withdrawn from the project, including the money to build a memorial, we still need a memorial of Atlanta’s history.”
Founded in 1878 by Atlanta Mayor James W. English, this brick company became a site for commercialized prison labor. Inmates were leased to the Chattahoochee Brick Company through the convict lease system. Mayor English was also the majority shareholder. Prisoners are speculated to have been buried on the site during grueling days of forced labor. The land is owned partly by Lincoln Energy, and it has been considered by Rep. Mainor and others as the “Black Auschwitz of Georgia.” It is unknown at this time if the city has any plans to purchase the land to build a memorial park for the community.
Representative Mesha Mainor represents the citizens on District 56, which includes portions of Fulton County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Education, Governmental Affairs and State Planning & Community Affairs committees.
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