The Joyland Park neighborhood began as the Joyland amusement park, a 10-acre marvel developed for Black citizens. When it opened in 1921, the Atlanta Constitution called it the “colored Lakewood,” a reference to the nearby Lakewood Fairgrounds that was reserved for white residents only.
After an opening that welcomed local luminaries, including then-Mayor James L. Key who gave remarks to the 5,000 park attendees, the park faced trouble when a windstorm damaged an animal cage and a leopard escaped. After the park closed, the area would be repurposed as farmland. In 1951, it was redeveloped as a community of 50 brick homes that could be had for $6,275 and a down payment of $625.
This culturally rich African American community with grocery stores, businesses and a community center was the neighborhood Akbar remembered when he returned in 2017. But during his years away, the community had declined.
Businesses that had sustained the community were gone. Drug dealers left the mostly older resident feeling like hostages in their own homes. The baseball field and tennis courts were abandoned. And no one seemed to be doing anything about it.
“All those great people that purchased land at the turn of the 20th century and those who built Joyland amusement park, people like my parents who made sure the community was the magical place that it was, I feel their spirit,” Akbar said.
Akbar began reaching out to residents. He crafted a mission statement to bring back civic responsibility and enterprise to the neighborhood. He restored his parents’ home and did media interviews to promote the revitalization efforts.
Some of those efforts are taking root. They got the speed limit reduced to 25 miles per hour. Last year, they changed parking regulations to one side only given the narrow streets. In the spring, they will get speed bumps and anticipate Georgia Power relocating overhead power lines underground to prevent outages.
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