Clarkston, Georgia
Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement
Clarkston is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 14,756 as of the 2020 census,<ref name="Census 2020">Template:Cite web</ref> up from 7,554 in 2010.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>
The city is noted for its ethnic diversity, and is often referred to as "the most diverse square mile in America" and "the Ellis Island of the South."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1990s, refugee resettlement programs identified Clarkston as a good fit for displaced persons of many backgrounds. The rental market was open, residents were moving farther out from the Atlanta urban core, and Clarkston was the last stop on a transit line into the city. At present students attending Clarkston High School come from over 50 countries; the local mosque (Masjid al-Momineen, or Mosque of the Faithful in English) has a diverse and sizable congregation;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and over half the population is estimated by some to be foreign born.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
[edit]A post office called Clarkston has been in operation since 1876.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place in 1882 as the "Town of Clarkston", with municipal corporate limits extending in a one-half mile radius from the Georgia Railroad depot.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The community was named after W. W. Clark, a railroad official.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Geography
[edit]
Clarkston is located at Template:Coord (33.810304, −84.239877).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and 0.94% is water.
Clarkston is on the Eastern Continental Divide.
Demographics
[edit]| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,199 | 8.13% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 9,491 | 64.32% |
| Native American | 24 | 0.16% |
| Asian | 2,866 | 19.42% |
| Pacific Islander | 7 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 620 | 4.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 549 | 3.72% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,756 people, 3,727 households, and 2,341 families residing in the city.
Education
[edit]DeKalb County School System operates Clarkston's public schools.<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list
2010 school district map showing the situation prior to annexations by Clarkston in the period 2010-2020: Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>
Zoned schools which have attendance boundaries in the residential-zoned portions of the city limits include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Check against school district boundaries.</ref>
- Jolly, Idlewood, and Indian Creek elementary schools<ref>Template:Cite web - Check against municipal boundary.</ref>
- Freedom Middle School and Tucker Middle School<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Clarkston High School and Tucker High School<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
All the school district-operated schools are located outside of the city limits of Clarkston.<ref name=GAHighwayMap>Template:Cite web</ref>
Atlanta Area School for the Deaf, operated by the State of Georgia, is in the Clarkston city limits. Additionally, Georgia Fugees Academy Charter School, a charter school, is in the city limits.<ref name=GAHighwayMap/>
The Clarkston Campus of Georgia State University's Perimeter College is just south of the city limits.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College, part of the Technical College System of Georgia, is also south of Clarkston.<ref>Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web - These maps do not directly indicate the colleges' locations, so one should compare the map to the colleges' addresses.</ref>
Public libraries
[edit]DeKalb County Public Library operates the Clarkston Branch.<ref name="Loc">"Library Locations & HoursTemplate:Dead link." DeKalb County Public Library. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.</ref>
Refugee resettlement
[edit]Georgia is among states that receive the highest amount of refugees for resettlement, and has resettled more than 37,000 refugees since 1993.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Clarkston receives a large portion of these refugees, but arrivals have gradually declined yearly since 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, then Georgia Governor Nathan Deal issued and then reneged on an executive order attempting to cease influx of Syrian refugees into the state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally, as of 2019 federal funding for refugee programs has decreased and executive orders have been issued that allow states increased authority to limit resettlement, which has resulted in the downsizing of several Georgia resettlement organizations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Organizations that aid the resettlement of refugees in Clarkston include:
- Friends of Refugees<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Fugees Family<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- International Rescue Committee of Atlanta<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- New American Pathways<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- World Relief Atlanta<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Transportation
[edit]Major roads
[edit]Mass transit
[edit]- MARTA Bus 120 connects to MARTA Blue Line rail service at Avondale
- MARTA Bus 125 connects to MARTA Blue Line rail service at Kensington
Pedestrians and cycling
[edit]- Stone Mountain Trail
In popular culture
[edit]In television
[edit]- Clarkston was featured in season one of "Good Girls" Netflix series (the fictional supermarket "Fine & Frugal" was shot in Fresh Food Town in the Tahoe Village plaza).
- Clarkston is the setting of the episode "Make Ted Great Again" in the second season of Queer Eye in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Clarkston is featured in the episode "It's a Greens Thing" in the first season of Vivan Howard's PBS cooking show Somewhere South in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
[edit]- Machop Chol (born 1998) – soccer player who represented the South Sudan national team<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>