Day 18 - Buford Highway, Dekalb County, Georgia
📌APIA Every Day (18) - Buford Highway is a culturally diverse corridor northeast of Atlanta, spanning Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties in Georgia. Renowned for its multicultural atmosphere, the area boasts over 1,000 immigrant-owned businesses representing a wide spectrum of ethnicities, including Korean, Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Central American, Somali, and Ethiopian. Despite facing an identity crisis and being labeled with the outdated moniker "Chambodia," Buford Highway challenges traditional urban development narratives. Unlike downtown Atlanta's upscale focus, this corridor has evolved into a thriving hub where various immigrant communities coexist, fostering a unique and vibrant suburban culture that reflects the true essence of the New South.
During the late 20th century, as Atlanta prepared for the 1996 Summer Olympics, Buford Highway experienced a transformative period. While the city aimed to project a cosmopolitan image, the corridor's significant cultural changes were overshadowed. Immigrant-owned businesses, attracted by affordable leases and consistent traffic, flourished, contributing to Buford Highway's emergence as an international corridor.
On March 16, 2021, a series of spa shootings targeted three massage parlors within a ten minute drive of Buford Highway, resulting in the tragic deaths of eight people, including six Asian women, and sparking widespread discussions about anti-Asian, misogynist violence.
Reflecting on relatively contemporary places like Buford Highway, where the architectural forms are akin to the strip malls we often dismiss in traditional historic preservation ethic, begs questions like: If and how do we acknowledge the historic contributions and persisting presence of Asians in the American South? If and how do we preserve mundane places like retail and service centers when horrific or honorific events have occurred there?
LEARN MORE:
Buford Highway Project (2011, Archived)
Washington Post: Atlanta's 'Chambodia,' a 'Burb With a Global Flavor (1999)
Delkalb History Center: Buford Highway, Signs of Diversity
USA Today: The people and places of Buford Highway in Doraville, Georgia
NPR: A year later, Atlanta remembers the 8 people killed in spa shootings
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