Atlanta neighborhood feels sidelined by plan to move 1996 Olympic Cauldron

Billy Payne, chairman of Atlanta ‘96 Legacy, often credited with leading the effort to bring the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta, is quoted in the release, referring to the collaboration as “an unofficial gateway to the neighborhood and Georgia State’s continued expansion... combining the elements of the most iconic moment of the Centennial Games with its greatest physical legacy.”

Georgia State declined to comment further, not answering questions such as when the cauldron will be moved. The university has ownership of the cauldron and other properties in the area built for the Olympics.

Community concerns

Residents said previous attempts have been made to move the torch, and the Summerhill community expressed vehement disagreement, helping halt such efforts.

GSU officials informed several community members of the updated decision in a recent meeting, telling residents that the matter had already been voted on.

“I started tearing up. And I didn’t realize I was so emotional about it,” said Mary Gay, a Summerhill resident since 1998.

Lifelong Summerhill residents like 53-year-old Dyral Rooks are struggling to understand the reasoning behind the decision, citing a lack of transparency. He emphasized the sentimental meaning of the cauldron for the community, a landmark that welcomes them home every time they reenter the neighborhood.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s like a slap in our face,” Rooks said. “Every time they come in, they take something... they always make a promise, but never fulfill the promise... it make the residents, the old residents, feel kind of, you know, they just feel defeated.”

A statement demanding the cauldron remain in Summerhill was issued Wednesday by the Organized Neighbors of Summerhill and Summerhill Neighborhood Development Corporation. It emphasizes the impact of the ‘96 Olympics on the Summerhill neighborhood, mentioning the widespread displacement and gentrification that residents faced after the Games, as well as the cauldron being central to Summerhill’s community identity as a lasting symbol of resilience and pride.

“When the fanfare ended and the world moved on, Summerhill remained...” the statement reads. “The community’s concern is not simply that the torch is being moved, but that one of the last remaining symbols of a community’s sacrifice can be removed over the formal objections of the very community whose history gave that symbol its meaning. Preserving and showcasing the torch’s legacy does not require taking it from the community that has sat in the shadow of its tower for 30 years.”

The statement also calls for increased collaboration between all involved parties in properly honoring Summerhill’s legacy moving forward. “Summerhill has already given so much to Atlanta. It should not be asked to surrender one of the last symbols of that sacrifice without ensuring that future generations inherit a legacy of investment, recognition, and respect.”

A lack of input

Cheron Pitchford, the executive director of the SNDC, maintains that there have been no attempts by members of the ‘96 Legacy— the organization largely behind the push to move the cauldron — to speak with Summerhill residents, which she finds inappropriate and disrespectful.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

“Everyone was involved with making it happen, so everybody should be at the table when it comes to what’s going to happen for the future. Not just one group,” Pitchford said.

Summerhill resident Simone Anderson, who holds fond memories of working for the 1996 Olympics as a 16-year-old girl, is confused by the decision.

“I didn’t anticipate this at all... I feel like the new members of the community, and even Georgia State, I think that they’re just not sensitive to what that torch means and they don’t care about the history,” she said. Anderson finds moving the torch from its original location for purposes of “preservation” contradictory.

“The torch is sacred for Summerhill,” Rooks said. “We just need them to keep their hands off of it.”