The best way for me to describe "Atlanta proper" is to give a quick review of my initial experience with the city. Having just graduated from a college in the Northeast I had my mind set on moving to Atlanta. Most of this was influenced by the positive reviews that I had received from "Jet" and "Ebony" magazines. I heard there were 7 women for every man. As a single stud that is all that I needed to know at the time.
When I flew into Atlanta a college buddy who graduated one year before me and moved down greeted me at the Atlanta airport. I recall the trains that talked and the massive terminal complex. We got on the MARTA train and then headed North and then on the East line. As we walked from the train to his rented house I was stunned at the dilapidated conditions of the houses and noted that there was a church on each block.
My friend took me downtown Atlanta and I noted the large number of homeless Black men that were walking around, begging for money or waiting in line at a soup kitchen.
I seriously had second thoughts about moving to Atlanta based upon what I saw.
As we linked up with another friend who had a car I soon learned that the poverty in Atlanta is concentrated in certain geographic regions. It is more accurate to talk about "Atlanta-proper" and then "Metro-Atlanta". For the most part the Blacks who are living "Big Willie Style" are not housed within the city borders. (Note - as the article says it is true that parts of South Fulton county has been annexed into Atlanta, thus increasing the number of wealthy Blacks into the city).
The Hidden Truth About The City Of Atlanta
Last summer my children attended a "Salvation Army" day camp. The camp was housed at the Salvation Army building on Metropolitan Parkway. This is in the heart of the "Pittsburgh Community" that one of the articles from "The Root.com" mentioned. This community is the best example of my expose' about the true conditions in Atlanta. There is a young, educated class of Black people and then there is a poor and abandoned class of Black people.
In my previous posts about the conflicts over the redevelopment of Fort McPherson and about the struggle over Grady Hospital I spoke of how this "poor, aggrieved and neglected" community in Atlanta serve as an important political base for certain operatives. These operatives have two modes of operation with regard to these people:
- They serve as the "Articulate Spokes People" for these people as they attempt to get a piece of the action while sitting at the negotiating table
- They serve as a "harvested set of voters" in support of the Black Political Establishment of Atlanta
This area of Atlanta should be considered as a harvesting ground for use by those who have a broader vision of these people's worth in the context of Atlanta politics. Last summer was election time in the ATL. A new mayor, city council president and city council was to be chosen. Pound for pound there were far more campaign signs in this area of the city than any other. Ironically other places around the city likely have "community covenant" that would prevent the carpet bombing of these political signs. More ironically is the fact that those who are elected representatives of some of these places show no particular embarrassment about the condition of the place where their name is posted on a stick.
It is my view that these elected officials and their ground forces are more interested in getting these "gardens of misery" to a point where the people are not on the verge of angry protest over the conditions yet HOPEFUL enough that if they keep supporting the establishment politicians and machine that is in place that things will be better in the long run.
In as much as the articles attempt to point out the "Buckhead Coalition" which is a powerful political block it is also true that Pittsburgh, Old Fourth Ward, West End and the Vine City areas have a loyal constituency just the same. In our "one man, one vote" system these impoverished places have just as much power to elect the political establishment of Atlanta than do the "elites" in Buckhead.
I believe that the "Root.com" article missed the mark in its understanding of this dynamic. Yes the "White folks" in Buckhead have more money and they represent the business interests of the City of Atlanta. What else is new? It is more accurate to make the distinction between political power and corporate power and note that the Black Establishment's business interests are far more skewed toward obtaining government-related contracts. Certainly Herman Russell was a creation of the massive expansion of the Atlanta airport and the minority participation that then mayor Maynard Jackson had mandated. The article should have noted that there is a far larger world of commerce in metro-Atlanta outside of government contracting.
My major criticism of this "Black political class" and the machine (which includes the poor) in general is that while they have control over all of the key institutions (schools, mayors office, police, airport) and a favorable press and media establishment they have failed to leverage this potential as a means of providing organic uplift to these communities that form their core voting base.
The "Roots" article is correct about how the Atlanta Housing Authority's decision to tear down all of the projects in exchange for mixed income residences triggered an exodus of Atlanta's poor out to places like Clayton and Dekalb County. What they failed to make note of is that despite having lived for 20 or 35 years in these places the people who received such a "treatment" where no more COMPETENT to live and compete in the real world than when they entered into (or were born) in these housing projects. Somewhere along the way these residences which were originally built as a temporary respite for those who needed to get back on their feet after a major life change became permanent residences. An expression of one's "Social Justice" rights.
In summary the word "Progressive" is merely just a label when we consider the people who have expressed the most amount of hopefulness that their support of these establishment players would translate favorably into their individual lives.
Metro-Atlanta
Metro Atlanta has a large and growing number of educated Black professionals. Go to any "Opportunity Meeting" regarding real estate, stock market investing or tax strategies and you will see a large representation of Black people in the audience that are hungry for knowledge and advantage.
I have heard several friends or co-coworkers from out of town note to me the impressive number of Black people that populate certain white-collar staff or managerial level of power. Having come from the Northeast they are not used to such sights.
Most of these people don't live in Atlanta proper. There are pockets in South Fulton, North Fulton, Dekalb County, Cobb County and Gwinnett that have thriving upper-middle class Black areas. Increasingly traditionally White and conservative counties of Henry, Fayette and Coweta are seeing a large influx of Black people.
Course Correction
Beyond the politics of race must come the commitment toward actual attainment of our "permanent interests". Too often we focus upon hanging more "Black portraits" upon the wall. Yet after obtaining such a victory and our core interests remain unaddressed, some people are not willing to perform the necessary recalibration.
My logic says that if "Black Flight Progressives" are finding that their interests are addressed by moving into places where their ideological enemies rule then such a requirement exists. They should not merely consider that thanks to the Civil Rights Movement they can move anywhere they want to without fearing being lynched. Instead they should consider the governance of the place where they have chosen to rest their heads and then go back to the places where they have departed from and invest in the community governance to transform these areas into more favorable places.
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