*The filmmakers behind the documentary “Central Park Five” are telling the tragic history of a former public housing community in Atlanta for their next project, “East Lake Meadows.” Sarah Burns & David McMahon direct the documentary, which premieres Tuesday, March 24, at 8/7c on PBS.
In 1970, the Atlanta Housing Authority opened East Lake Meadows on the edge of the city. But as public housing in America was abandoned and stigmatized, and a crack wave swept through the neighborhood, East Lake Meadows became nearly uninhabitable. In the mid-1990s, Atlanta bulldozed the housing project to make way for new, mixed-income housing.
Through the stories of former residents, the film raises critical questions about concentrated poverty and limited housing opportunity for African Americans, and what can be done to address it. Ken Burns produces.
Watch the trailer below:
