Editor’s Note: Angie Uddullah has been involved in the Norcross Issue from the very beginning. She spent days talking to residents about the issues that moved them, she served on the Norcross Community Editorial Board and helped senior editor Christina Lee frame the stories, and she worked for the second time as a Community Journalism Fellow to deepen her reporting work alongside her legal studies. It’s only fitting that she gives the final (for now) word on the city she called home.

Balancing a plate of hot dumplings in one hand and a bowl of soy-sauce in the other, I swiftly placed them both on the table. The smiles from customers invigorated my spirit as I pushed the heavy cart of Chinese food from table to table. My job as a “dim sum girl” at the age of 15 at Happy Valley restaurant was easily one of my core memories of Norcross. 

Surrounding Happy Valley is a cornucopia of other restaurants and food vendors along Jimmy Carter Boulevard. The diverse scents and tastes of Norcross offer residents memories of their homelands—from the Vietnamese spring rolls at Nam Phuong restaurant, to Argentinian lomitos served at a local food truck, Spice the Americas, to the beloved, ubiquitous masa flour, which yields tortillas and tamales and pupusas.

We knew that the multicultural dishes only told a partial story of this flourishing city. Our articles—written after more than 100 extensive community listening sessions in places like Thrasher Park, Best Friend Park and 45 South Cafe—dove deeper into the fabric of Norcross. And as a Community Listener, Community Editorial Board member and Norcross Senior Fellow, I feel incredibly grateful for my peer writers Jack, Danielle, Gelella, and the Canopy Atlanta staff contributors and residents who brought so much more to the table. 

We found that with Heritage Golf Links, where developers saw available, open greenspace on which to build, residents braced for a congested traffic nightmare. We also explored how the elderly get to their beloved karaoke parties, as well as the challenges that ESOL students in Norcross are poised to overcome. In “Lost in translation,” community leaders explain how poor translations and a lack of cultural understanding contribute to the lack of services for new Americans and non-English speaking residents. In a story about the tensions between incorporated and unincorporated Norcross, writer Sam Worley channeled the question from the Community Editorial Board: “How can Norcross knit together its many disparate cultures and peoples in a way that creates a cohesive whole?” 

Yet, we know our published stories only scratched the surface. There remain countless stories which will simply take more time and presence. During my listening sessions outside of Hong Kong Supermarket, I was privileged to be tuned into many more personal vignettes and stories waiting to be told: There are unhoused people without assistance, seniors without the capacity to vote, workers dealing with the heavy traffic, immigrants who considered this city their new safe haven. Coming back to Norcross, I took note of the changes that the city has undergone and also reflected on my personal growth, from a small-town dim sum girl working for $2 an hour to now, a community writer and aspiring lawyer with a commitment to give back. As you read through our stories, I invite you to step inside these narratives, explore these local pockets of food, culture, and history and see Norcross’s growth—through its residents’ eyes.

—Angie Uddullah, Norcross Senior Fellow and Community Editorial Board Member