Macon Ganglands



After serving as an example of humanitarianism through the civil rights movement and the time following the vietnam war, Macon's relationship with her minorities, low income families and disabled veterans was battered by one disaster after another. After being devastated by a flood, epidemic and record breaking unemployment, Macon's underpriviledged reached their breaking point.

Due to the destruction, foreclosing and quarantining of thousands of homes, Macon's destitute were corralled into Bloomfield. What was once a symbol of freedom had become a cage. Desperation, hopelessness and resentment hang in the air.

In 2008, gang violence erupts in Bloomfield. Police struggle for months to regain control of the situation. The region south of Eisenhower Parkway, east of I-475, north of I-75 and west of Water's Stand became a war zone. For the next two years the police maintain a permanent presence in the Bloomfield area until violent crimes seemed to stop completely in September of 2011. It is unclear how the eerie peace will affect The People's Credit Union's decision to shut down their Bloomfield branch in October of 2011.

American Veterans
The admiration and appreciation for the soldier did not continue beyond the war. Macon's veterans saw little support from their fellow citizens. Sixty years after the original Bonus Army's March a second march on Washington, led by William Waters, great grandson of retired Army Sergeant Walter W. Waters who led the first Bonus Army March on Washington in 1932, resulted in a bloody resolution. When ordered to vacate all government property, members of the Bonus Army retaliated. After hours of fighting thousands lay dead in the streets of Washington D.C., including William Waters.

Macon, outraged by the federal governments reaction, set aside land, with the assistance of the Peyton Anderson Foundation, to be used exclusively by American Veterans. Water's Stand, south of Parkway Avenue, is still exclusive to American Veterans and their dependents. The following year the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, bringing some relief to Macon's veterans, but progress was slow. The Macon Historic Society resisted making alterations to Macon's historic downtown area and jobs that could be performed by individuals with particularly limiting physical disabilities, while providing sufficient pay and benefits to maintain a family, were few and far between.

Minorities in Macon
During the civil rights era Macon became known as a safe-haven for African Americans. As a result, African Americans from across middle Georgia flocked to Macon in hopes of a fresh start and safety during the turbulent times. Macon could not support its new residents' housing and employment needs. In 1963, YKK, a Japan based zipper producer, opened in Macon. With Macon's economy sufficiently boosted, construction companies begin bidding on residential developments in the city. Small, cheap and quick to produce, hundreds of cramped houses were slated to begin construction in Macon's Bloomfield area. In 1966 construction of what would develop into Macon's first ghetto was completed.

To secure their future, the minority community's wealthy and influential citizens pool together their resources and create The People's Credit Union. Inexpensive banking provides Macon's minorities, veterans and impoverished a chance to plan for the future.

The next thirty years saw the end of the Vietnam War, a population boom and a recession. Like everywhere else in the country, Macon faced hard times. In 1994 Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Florida dumping 24 inches (61 cm) inches of rain, which resulted in major flooding in Georgia. Macon was one of the cities to suffer the worst flooding. The flood damage left many minorities homeless. Thirteen years later a disaster destroys several neighborhoods in Macon, displacing a large portion of Macon's lower class, primarily comprised of minorities, to the Bloomfield area. Gang tension rises and the unemployment rate continues to go up.

As industry from Atlanta begins to pour into Macon, The People's Credit Union was revitalized by local Methodist and Baptist churches in 1997. In 2006 TPCU offered 0% interest on home loans for members who worked in the Borderlands Industrial zone and wished to purchase a home in Avondale.