Bankhead (Atlanta)

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Bankhead is a neighborhood on the west side of Atlanta, Georgia. It's surrounded by Grove Park on the west, West End on the south, Vine City on the east with Berkely Park and Home Park on the north. At its center is MARTA's Bankhead station and Maddox Park. The schools that serve the neighborhood are Grove Park Elementary, A.D. Williams Elementary School, Carter G. Woodson Elementary School, Alfred Blalock Elementary School, Benjamin Solomon Carson, Sr. Honors Preparatory School.

In 1953 white residents near Bankhead Avenue protested two black families moving into the neighborhood, and police patrols were called in. Today, Bankhead is a predominately black lower-class community.

Rap stars such as T.I., Young Dro, P$C, Dem Franchize Boyz,[De'Andre Boddie] ,Bohagon, D4L and Citty have lived there. Kilo(Andrell Rogers) aka Kilo Ali was the first rapper from Bankhead. He was also one of the first rappers from Atlanta to achieve national recognition. He resided in the now infamous Bowen Homes. Shawty Lo(Carlos Walker) is also from Bankhead. Monica, and The-Dream are R&B singers that have also lived there. Dem Franchize Boyz' music video, "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It," is set in Bankhead Plaza. In addition, T.I., P$C, and Young Dro recorded a song entitled 'Bankhead' on T.I.'s album, King. Bankhead has also become the home of popular hip-hop dances such as the "Shoulder Lean," the "Poole Palace," and the popular favorite, "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It."

Bankhead is also home to Bowen Homes, a housing project known for its rampant violence and drug dealing.^{[citation needed]} It has become one of the most crime infested and poverty stricken areas in Atlanta.

Its name comes from Bankhead Highway (which has recently been changed to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, for a famed civil rights attorney who lived near Bankhead in the nearby Historic Collier Heights neighborhood), whose route passes through the neighborhood. The neighborhood gave rise to the Bankhead Bounce, a type of urban dance and later a song (by Diamond in 1995) about it.

Some revitalization has begun in the area with projects such as the English Avenue Yards, which houses an artist community consisting of approximately 20 studio spaces, the workshop for the Alliance Theatre Company, Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera. In addition new lofts are scheduled to be built by Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy and Oliver Street, as well as a new Shell gas station that is currently under construction across the street.

The Bankhead neighborhood has also been the location of one movie shoot, in September 2006. One Missed Call (a remake, released in 2008, of a 2004 Japanese horror movie) was partially filmed at the abandoned school building by Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and English Avenue.