Atlanta’s historic Westside has been home to generations of remarkable women whose courage, vision, and love for their neighborhoods have helped shape the city as we know it.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we’re taking a moment to recognize the incredible women whose stories have shaped Vine City, English Avenue, and the communities beyond. These women were change agents, advocates, educators, and visionaries whose legacies continue to inspire and inform our work at Westside Future Fund. 

Dr. Irene Jackson Dobbs

Born in 1908, Dr. Irene Jackson Dobbs was a brilliant academic, Spelman College valedictorian, and advocate for civil rights who made her mark as the first Black person to integrate the Atlanta Public Library system. After studying in France and earning a doctorate, she returned to her home on Sunset Avenue in Vine City—a neighborhood she and her husband chose for its promise as a thriving Black community.

Her quiet but courageous acts of resistance, like demanding a library card in a segregated city, blazed trails for future generations. Her son, Maynard Jackson Jr., carried that legacy forward, becoming Atlanta’s first Black mayor. Today, Westside Future Fund is restoring her family’s former home at 220 Sunset Avenue to serve as high-quality, affordable housing for faculty and staff of Spelman College in honor of her legacy. 

Dorothy Bolden

A native of Atlanta, Dorothy Bolden began working as a domestic worker at the age of nine and transformed her lived experiences into a national movement. In 1968, she founded the National Domestic Workers Union of America, which gave voice to countless women laboring in households without rights, protections, or dignity.

Her fierce advocacy helped elevate domestic work to the forefront of labor rights and women’s rights conversations. Though her work spanned the country, her passion was deeply rooted in the communities of Atlanta’s historic Westside, where she organized workers and built power among the city’s most overlooked women. Her spirit of grassroots empowerment continues to inform the mission of Westside Future Fund—ensuring long-term residents can choose to stay and thrive in the neighborhoods they’ve called home.

Mattie Freeland

For more than 55 years, Mattie Freeland was the heart and soul of Dalvigney Street. Known affectionately as “Mother Mattie,” she offered food, shelter, and love to anyone in need. When others saw a blighted lot across the street, she envisioned a garden—a space for hope and beauty in a neighborhood too often forgotten.

Though she passed before that dream came to life, her neighbors carried it forward. Today, Mattie Freeland Park is a vibrant green space and a testament to community power. Westside Future Fund proudly supports development efforts surrounding the park and, in 2017, supported the conversion of Mattie’s home as a community house—ensuring her legacy of love and service lives on in the place she cherished.

Kathryn Johnston

Kathryn Johnston was a 92-year-old matriarch who lived for decades on Neal Street in English Avenue. In 2006, her life was tragically cut short during a botched no-knock police raid that sparked national outrage and catalyzed conversations about justice and reform.

In her honor, the Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park now sits just a block away from her former home, transforming once-neglected land into a sanctuary of healing and remembrance. The park, designed to mitigate stormwater flooding and offer a safe space for residents, is part of a broader effort—supported by Westside Future Fund—to reclaim and renew the English Avenue community in ways that honor the lives and legacies of those who came before. Several WFF projects—including new blocks of single-family homes along Proctor Street, the nearly completed mixed-use development at 839 Joseph E. Boone Blvd., and an upcoming single-family and multifamily project set to break ground across from the park—reflect a concentrated effort to revitalize and transform the area into a thriving, vibrant community.

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American female poet, serves as the namesake of the historic Phillis Wheatley YWCA on Atlanta’s Westside. Once a gathering place for Black women and children, the building has been shuttered since 2015—but its mission lives on.

Thanks to the leadership of Danita V. Knight and partners including Westside Future Fund, the Phillis Wheatley YWCA is being revived. When it reopens in 2025, the building will house vital wraparound services—from early childhood education to career training and health programs—designed specifically to uplift Westside women and families. With more than 60% of Westside households led by women, this investment is a critical step toward community-wide stability and empowerment.

At Westside Future Fund, we’re proud to stand on the shoulders of women like Dr. Irene Jackson Dobbs, Dorothy Bolden, Mattie Freeland, Kathryn Johnston, and so many others. Their courage, leadership, and love continue to guide our work to build a community where every resident—especially the women who anchor it—has the opportunity to thrive.