Atlanta Hospital Closes in the Midst of Poverty and Politics

  • Religious leaders urge Georgia Governor Kemp to stop closures
  • Announcement of new hospital funds called a band-aid solution
Bishop Reginald T. Jackson is joined by other faith leaders outside Atlanta Medical Center.Photographer: Brett Pulley/Bloomberg
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The Atlanta Medical Center sits on a vast stretch of urban land, just one mile south of Ponce de Leon Avenue -- the street that segregationists over a century ago designated as the dividing line between Black and White Atlanta.

That distinction was palpable on Thursday, when a group of Georgia religious leaders held a press conference outside the hospital, calling on Governor Brian Kemp to meet with them, and find a way to stop the planned closure of the 120-year-old medical center, along with others like it in the state.