The PATH to a Legacy
Atlanta is a city steeped in rich history. This much we all know. But what is probably news to many of us is the rich history of the Carmichael family. Born on March 12, 1955, Robyn Carmichael grew up in the area where the PATH Jones Avenue Bridge now stands. Mr. Carmichael came to know PATH’s own Pete Pellegrini during the construction of that very bridge as it is within “shouting distance of his family home.” Mr. Carmichael reflects on his childhood growing up near the bridge fondly: “As a child, I gazed upon the bridge that goes over Jones Avenue, and I watched the trains go across there. I played up there, and that was my special getaway. I’d sit up there on the bridge where nobody could see me. That was me time. At 10 years old, I gazed upon the world, and I thought about life. I thought about myself, about my family. That was a special place for me. That bridge stayed dormant for many, many decades. As I grew older—this is what’s special about getting older—I can get up in the same spot and gaze upon the world from the eyes of a 10-year-old. I went back and I remembered my thoughts, and I remembered how I felt, and how the world was. We didn’t all get along so well then. We didn’t like each other quite well. But as times went on, I watched people get so incredibly close.”
Mr. Carmichael shares how wonderful it is to “see a myriad of people of all colors come across the PATH. I’m getting to see people from Asia, people young and old…what an incredible thing! What’s special about that particular PATH is its proximity to the Vine City community, says Mr. Carmichael. In that community lies English Avenue, which is where Mr. Carmichael’s grandmother went to school. “That was the only place in Atlanta that Blacks could go to school at the time,” he explained. Within that community resides “Mims Park, named after a white person, and rightfully so,” according to Mr. Carmichael “because he fought for equality, for the rights of all American citizens in Atlanta. “There was a great divide on Boone Street,” he notes, “that has been bridged by PATH.”
Having lived in the same community his entire life, Mr. Carmichael offers a special insight into the Atlanta’s winding history. It’s not just Mr. Carmichael who holds a key to that history, though, it’s actually the entire Carmichael family. The land that’s just a mere stone’s throw from PATH’s Jones Avenue Bridge was passed down through his family for well over 100 years, serving as the residence for more than 50 Carmichael family members. Mr. Carmichael and his sister Nikki still own the property on which their familial home used to reside. “Not only did my mother live there as a child,” Mr. Carmichael explains, “but my mother’s grandmother lived in that house.” Certainly, the Carmichaels have lived through much of Atlanta’s history and offer an unmatched perspective on the trials and tribulations Atlantans have faced and especially how far we’ve come. Pondering this, Mr. Carmichael recalled from his childhood how Blacks “couldn’t” go to the Varsity, so they went to the Rainbow Inn. “What the Rainbow Inn means to me,” Mr. Carmichael shares, “is being accepting of all people of all colors.” It seems safe to say from Mr. Carmichael’s experience at the Rainbow Inn that the PATH Foundation has provided a reactional space for all in this area, much to likeness of how the Rainbow Inn did back in the day.
In his mid-60s, Mr. Carmichael stands firm on a goal of his: “I’m striving for world peace among people in my lifetime. Can we start with me and you? We have to start somewhere. If we don’t achieve this, we can achieve inner peace, and what more can you ask for than that?” Indeed, what more can we ask for than that? Mr. Carmichael is proud of his roots, remarking, “If I had to live in a shack, I would live here.” Whether communal or familial, there is a “history I’m involved in every single day” by living in this community. Mr. Carmichael’s story reminds us all to do right by our neighbors, to set out into the world with kindness in our hearts, and to use our past experiences to fuel our fire to forge a brighter future.
Mr. Robin Carmichael (left) & sister Reverend Marleesha L. Carmichael (right)
