Introduction

Today, Carver Heights is a midtown neighborhood with approximately 430 homes in Columbus, Georgia. It holds historical importance as the first World War II segegated neighborhood. Home to doctors, lawyers, and teachers, it became an engine of economic growth and empowerment for the black middle class. With streets named after historical black colleges and universities and black leaders, this community of 430 residences (single family homes, duplexes, an apartment building) as well as a church, schools and a commerical district, it was a self-contained community in Jim Crow America. 

In fall 2018, we held a history harvest to hear oral histories from the people in the community. Residents and homeowners shared many photographs and artifacts that help tell the story of Carver Heights as a distinctive neighborhood. The aim of this project was to bring this history to light and allow those that live in the community now to reconnect with the residents of the past, and to share that history with others in our community, and those visiting Columbus interested in the Civil Rights history of the city. In this exhibit you will find interviews, artifacts, timelines and maps that will help you discover and learn more about the neighborhood of Carver Heights.