The Ben Hill neighborhood is located in the very southwest corner of Atlanta. Settled in 1820, Ben Hill is home to one of the oldest Methodist churches in Atlanta; the Mt. Gilead Methodist Church was founded in 1824 and is marked with a historical marker. The neighborhood was named after Benjamin Harvey Hill, a confederate senator who served during the civil war who fought against the abolition of slavery, and later against Radical Reconstruction. Now, the neighborhood hosts a 97.8% Black population and many small black-owned businesses.

Before closing its doors, Ben Hill was home to Jellybeans, a notorious skating rink that the movie ATL is loosely based on. Every Sunday evening Jellybeans was packed with a predominately black teenage crowd looking to escape Atlanta’s south side’s harsh environment. Included in this crowd were Atlanta-native hip-hop artists OutKast, Jermaine Dupri, Little Jon, Trillville, and TLC.

Ben Hill’s residents are resilient and hopeful for the continuing uplift of the neighborhood, despite facing the challenges many low-income areas face- including lack of economic development and the effects of being in a food desert.