Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Clarkston, Georgia, has been called “The Ellis Island of the Southeast” in multiple sources. A home for refugee resettlement for over twenty years, Clarkston has built an international reputation for having become a diverse, tolerant place. That reputation, however, has attracted the attention of the North American Mission Board, which is attempting to plant a church in the center of Clarkston. As well, economic pressures in Atlanta have meant that developers are eyeing Clarkston as the next target for development, for precisely the same reasons that attracted refugee resettlement groups in the 1990s. The resulting controversy - and the exit of refugee aid groups - is raising questions about the future of this small Atlanta suburban community. A careful examination of the current stakeholders in the debate over Clarkston’s future - outside investors wishing to extract income, current residents (refugee, minority, and white) with a broad spectrum of visions, millennial incomers from higher-priced neighborhoods, ambitious politicians, and local entrepreneurs - gives insight into the intersection of the debates about refugees and gentrification.