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Atlanta is and always will be a Black Mecca; the black elite of the city are not going anywhere. White people are not moving into areas like Peyton Forest, Cascade Heights, Washington Park, Sandtown, and other areas of S.W. Atlanta because those people are not selling their homes. The white people are moving into areas like Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, and Lakewood among others because those areas have been drug infested war zones with vacant houses aplenty for years, so naturally that’s where they would start. Drive down B.E. Mays Dr.off of Cascade or Peyton Rd. off MLK and count how many For Sale signs you see in the yards, you won’t find many. But drive down Atlanta Ave over by Turner Field and you will probably lose count of all the For Sale signs in the yards as almost whole blocks are literally for sale in that area. The crackheads and drug dealers who were in areas like Pittsburgh, Lakewood and others are not what made Atlanta a Black Mecca, it was the old guard people who live in areas like Cascade and Sandtown that made Atlanta a black Mecca and they are not getting foreclosed on nor are the going to sell their homes to “urban pioneers”.
Oh yeah don’t forget South Dekalb County, with all the problems that Dekalb has, South Dekalb still is the 2nd richest majority black area in the country right behind P.G. County in Maryland.
I don't know what specific statistics you're pointing to (maybe you can share) but the notion that Atlanta's black population is shrinking is a total misconception. As other posters have pointed out, there are several different demographic changes going on here. The city is becoming more attractive to high income residents, many of whom are white (but not all), while at the same time the burgeoning African-American middle class here is discovering the attractiveness of the suburban lifestyle and thus are going through their own suburbanization movement. Meanwhile, the city of Atlanta proper recently surpassed its previous all-time high population and is now over a half million. So one thing to look at in deciding whether Atlanta will remain a key African American stronghold is the black population of the metro area as a whole. And I don't have any numbers handy at the moment but I would suspect there's NOTHING to suggest that Atlanta is losing any ground in this regard.
And of course, all of this is just accepting your initial presumption (a very debatable one) that it's population alone that decides whether a place is a "mecca" of this or that. In this particular case, there are other factors in play, such as the fact that Atlanta is almost unrivaled today as the new "Motown" of the day and it's the only place I can imagine being compared to a Harlem of the early 20th C.
The bottom line is, if you're young and black and wanting to be where it's really at, I would say to you that, as always, you basically have two choices: NYC and Atlanta.
^^^^
I agree, but I would add DC to the list as well. NYC, ATL, or DC is where its at. With cities like Houston, and LA on the second teir
Why do you find it interesting? Because all parties involved are black?
America is becoming a society of the haves and have nots. Race is not the issue, it's class. Well off blacks do not want to be around poor blacks. I do
not find this strange at all......
Well off blacks get burdened with the jopb of having to "take care" of the entire race of blacks when in fact it's not their responsibility. This only happens to blacks. Whites DO NOT get burdened with having to take care of poor whites in rural America.
I'm with you Ron. I agree that class issues are the bigger picture that many do not recognize. While many people are busy hating different races, sexual orientations, and/or cultures, the serious rich are laughing all the way to the bank. I always find it astonishing that people don't recognize the truly small percentage of the world who are seriously rich, I'm talking billions. Well, they come from a lot of different countries and whether they like each other or not, they want the world to keep the lion's share of money in their pockets. Instead of us banding together and saying wait a minute, I contributed 750K to my company this year, but I only got paid 40K. What going on? We're all saying, where's the black mecca? This is just fabulous for the serious rich who none of us are really focusing on. The system is flawed and it needs to be fixed worldwide.
Sorry if I got off topic. I am black and understand the desire to live around people that look like me, I have it as well. On the other hand, I am a huge fan of diversity. Diversity in races, cultures, attitudes, etc. All this "black mecca" crap is an embarrassment truly! No disrespect intended to the OP who is still quite young.
I'm with you Ron. I agree that class issues are the bigger picture that many do not recognize. While many people are busy hating different races, sexual orientations, and/or cultures, the serious rich are laughing all the way to the bank. I always find it astonishing that people don't recognize the truly small percentage of the world who are seriously rich, I'm talking billions. Well, they come from a lot of different countries and whether they like each other or not, they want the world to keep the lion's share of money in their pockets. Instead of us banding together and saying wait a minute, I contributed 750K to my company this year, but I only got paid 40K. What going on? We're all saying, where's the black mecca? This is just fabulous for the serious rich who none of us are really focusing on. The system is flawed and it needs to be fixed worldwide.
Sorry if I got off topic. I am black and understand the desire to live around people that look like me, I have it as well. On the other hand, I am a huge fan of diversity. Diversity in races, cultures, attitudes, etc. All this "black mecca" crap is an embarrassment truly! No disrespect intended to the OP who is still quite young.
Very nicely said. The desire to be with people who are 'like us' is basically universal. A progressive person doesn't (or shouldn't) necessarily try to deny that or suppress it, but simply works with it and acknowledges it.
And as far as the exploitation of the fear of the other, the super rich 'laugh all the way to the bank' as you say partly because they've been so good in figuring out how to package an agenda that enables that with exploitation of that very resentment.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,086,242 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArthursChoice
Yes it would be nice and if that had been the thinking from the start it would be that way. Black folks certainly did not create it to be this way. So now YOU must work even harder to help create it.
I agree.
Quote:
I don't know you personally. but its been my experience with those I do know who make these kinds of statements, that they are talk only. And they say it with a hint like it's Black people's fault...like we are the ones continuing this idea of Black this or that.
I'm 46, male, and white, of Swiss/German descent, and I grew up and then lived for my first 41 years in a wealthy SW suburb of Minneapolis where the population was almost entirely white, and where race was for all practical purposes a non-issue even for those few residents who were not white.
That might not be as true today as the areas are becoming more diverse and as folks from outside the state move in and bring their outside views and values with them, but it was certainly true then.
The few black folks I knew and grew up with were admittedly curiosities just like the few asian or Indian people I knew, but they were accepted just like anyone else was, and the whole concept of "racism" is something that I was only able to read about in books and see in the news in places like Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta, all of them hundreds of miles away from where I lived.
The concept of "diversity" simply didn't exist as a practical matter in the City of Minnetonka in the 1970's. That lack of diversity was more a function of settlement history and geography than anything else; Minnesota really isn't known for its non-white populations other than Native Americans, and far more recently the significant numbers of Somalis and Hmong who have immigrated to the area. There are far too many other cities like Atlanta which are closer and which have weather which is easier to deal with, so most of the folks who moved to MN were German, Norwegian, Swedish, etc. Farmers and craftsmen for the most part. Most MN residents still fit into that demographic and have the same attitude (a combination of stoicism and social liberalism combined with a strong desire for education and a strong belief in community).
Yes, I was largely (and probably still am largely) ignorant about what it's like to grow up as a minority, and I don't pretend to know, but that's because the few minority folks that I knew growing up simply weren't treated that way.
Even today, I sincerely believe that the non-white people I grew up with had every opportunity that we had, and as far as I know they've all been quite successful. I think you would have enjoyed growing up in that environment for the most part. There was no "black" or "white". We were just kids on the same football team, and the other team's colors were more important to us than the skin color of any of the players.
Understand?
I've since moved to an area of the country where it appears that even basic attitudes towards other people are often very different from anything that I had seen before, and where social tensions that I couldn't imagine (except theoretically) ten years ago are now seemingly part of my everyday life.
Why would you think that my core attitudes about race would change based on the lack of respect, lack of motivation, and downright childish attitudes that I've been finding in Atlanta?
Last edited by rcsteiner; 01-03-2009 at 09:16 PM..
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,086,242 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by tanzall
I'm with you Ron. I agree that class issues are the bigger picture that many do not recognize. While many people are busy hating different races, sexual orientations, and/or cultures, the serious rich are laughing all the way to the bank.
Bullseye. And many of those people are going to get off completely free after causing the current financial collapse due to their short-term views and belief that their own personal welfare (and that of their buddies) is more important than little things like personal accountability.
It doesn't matter what color you are -- if you were lucky enough to have a 401k or other investments, it's probably equally hosed today.
Atlanta is and always will be a Black Mecca; the black elite of the city are not going anywhere. White people are not moving into areas like Peyton Forest, Cascade Heights, Washington Park, Sandtown, and other areas of S.W. Atlanta because those people are not selling their homes. The white people are moving into areas like Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, and Lakewood among others because those areas have been drug infested war zones with vacant houses aplenty for years, so naturally that’s where they would start. Drive down B.E. Mays Dr.off of Cascade or Peyton Rd. off MLK and count how many For Sale signs you see in the yards, you won’t find many. But drive down Atlanta Ave over by Turner Field and you will probably lose count of all the For Sale signs in the yards as almost whole blocks are literally for sale in that area. The crackheads and drug dealers who were in areas like Pittsburgh, Lakewood and others are not what made Atlanta a Black Mecca, it was the old guard people who live in areas like Cascade and Sandtown that made Atlanta a black Mecca and they are not getting foreclosed on nor are the going to sell their homes to “urban pioneers”.
Oh yeah don’t forget South Dekalb County, with all the problems that Dekalb has, South Dekalb still is the 2nd richest majority black area in the country right behind P.G. County in Maryland.
They said the same think about Harlem once upon a time!
Just a thought, maybe Memphis could be in that category? Detroit could probably rival Atlanta for the mecca for black people. Detroit has the history for blacks including Motown? (anybody remember them days?) As a CLTean I beliece Charlotte as a super strong candidate because I see how many blacks are thriving here. New Orleans could also be mentioned. Houston, Jacksonville, Birmingham, D.C., Richmond. I am naming mostly southern cities. What cities in the West, Mid-west, and North could apply. NYC is not included.
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