Our latest interviewee from Lynwood Park was Ms.

Jacquelyn Hampton. Born in Atlanta in 1946, her family moved to Deacon Lane in Chamblee when she was nine years old. Since DeKalb County schools were still segregated, Jacquelyn and other Black children were bused to the Lynwood Park School. Other than a few community jobs, General Motors was the primary employer for people who moved to the area. Entertainment options were also so limited that Jacquelyn’s mother created a teen hangout space from their home. She was a busy student at Lynwood Park School, actively participating in cheerleading and other sports. She graduated from Lynwood Park School in 1964 as the valedictorian. After graduating, she studied at the College of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas. From there, she was recruited by the Presbyterian Church to become part of the youth council as a representative at the World Council of Churches in Uppsala, Sweden. Following college, she married and moved to Kansas City, where she transitioned from teaching into social work. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Kansas. In her time spent living in Kansas, she worked on a 13-year Black Adoption Project and, for 16 years, researched developmental disabilities. These roles would parlay her into a position working for the government of Wyandotte County in housing and urban development. After living in Kansas for several decades, she returned to Atlanta in 2014. Today, she’s enjoying her retirement surrounded by her children and grandchildren. If you or someone you know is interested in doing an oral history interview, please let us know! 😊✨