Is Atlanta the new Harlem? (Perry, Nashville: crime, neighborhoods, movies)

[jeffm1984]

I recently had a conversation with some friends about Atlanta being the new Harlem...not the Harlem of today, but the Renaissance Harlem of the 1920's which was seen as a hotbed and model of African American culture for the whole country. Here's why I think this may be true:

-Like 1920's New York City, Atlanta is a metro area that is fairly diverse, growing rapidly and seeing a lot of migration of all races from all over the country. In fact, many African Americans are migrating back to the South to places like Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, and Atlanta. This is similar to the migration to the North during the early part of the 20th century.

-the black cultural production that is coming out of Atlanta (although not always the best in taste) is heavily influencing people all over the country. We're in a different age so literature isn't as important now as it was in the 1920's, but music is still big. Jazz was big then. Hip is big now. And just as jazz was considered radical youth music back then, hip hop is now very popular by white and black youth. Atlanta certainly produces its share of hip hop. Southern Rap has definitely grown in popularity over the last decade and many of hip hop's moguls are based in Atlanta or at least frequent the city often.

Also, many black movies are filmed or based on Atlanta (esp. with the contribution of Tyler Perry).

-Religion. Love them or not, mega churches are very popular around the country and Atlanta has some of the largest ones, especially with predominatly African American congregations.

-Education. Not only are two of the most elite Historically Black Colleges located in Atlanta (Morehouse and Spelman), but the city is very popular with black college students and college graduates.

-Lifestyle. Atlanta definitely has one of the highest populations of black professionals in the country as well as some of the wealthiest black neighborhoods.

My point isn't that Atlanta is necessarily the best place for black people. And other cities also produce black culture. But there seems to be a lot of similarities between Atlanta now and Harlem of the 1920's as sort of a center for the country's black elite.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Sounds like a compliment for the city if it's true.

[maddy1980]

Yes atlanta is good to for our people with one exception and that's the hip hop culture. I am a woman of the hiphop generation and use to love rap music but now I think the music of today is the worst thing for all people. That's because it is so negative and most of the rappers are a bunch of chauvenist (sp) pigs who loves to degrade women. With the exception of the rap industry I applaud all the black entreprenuers (sp) in atlanta.

[wxjay]

All I see Atlanta as is the hip-hop center of the country (world?). I wish they did emphasize more of the African-American heritage and cultural things, but nowadays, that is all that makes news.

[ahcharleston]

What about African-American fashion designers? Mychael Knight from Project Runway is an Atlanta-based fashion designer and he is great! Is fashion designer becoming more popular in and around the Atlanta area?

[DC's Finest]

Atlanta is a great place for AA's but I wouldn't give it the Harlem Renaissance nod.
The DC area boasts the most educated and affluent AA's in the country. DC also has more job opportunities, cultural ammenities, social events that showcase AA's in positions of power. In addition, Howard University has always been the top educational institution for blacks. That's not a slight against Spellman or Morehouse but Howard has been called the "Black Harvard."

[70Ford]

Atlanta is a good place for many people. It can be a very dangerous city, though - for anyone.


According to the moderator here...

The area is changing mostly due to the illegal influx with gangs and such.
Atlanta is actually the 7th most dangerous city in America and the 3rd most dangerous on city limits of <500,000

Atlanta suburban city crime rate?

Ethnic map


STI: ERsys - Atlanta, GA (Ethnicity)

Now do a crime map.

Atlanta Police Department | Crime Mapping (http://www.atlantapd.org/index.asp?nav=CrimeMapping - broken link)

Makes you wonder who they are looking out for.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by 70Ford

Atlanta is a good place for many people. It can be a very dangerous city, though - for anyone.


According to the moderator here...

The area is changing mostly due to the illegal influx with gangs and such.
Atlanta is actually the 7th most dangerous city in America and the 3rd most dangerous on city limits of <500,000

Atlanta suburban city crime rate?

Ethnic map


STI: ERsys - Atlanta, GA (Ethnicity)

Now do a crime map.

Atlanta Police Department | Crime Mapping (http://www.atlantapd.org/index.asp?nav=CrimeMapping - broken link)

Makes you wonder who they are looking out for.

Outstanding post and very informative with the interactive mapping.
Great Job!

[mg83]

I love how you can only perform a 2-week-wide search on the police Web site... imagine if you tried a month? The entire year?

Your computer would implode.

[jeffm1984]

Originally Posted by DC's Finest

Atlanta is a great place for AA's but I wouldn't give it the Harlem Renaissance nod.
The DC area boasts the most educated and affluent AA's in the country. DC also has more job opportunities, cultural ammenities, social events that showcase AA's in positions of power. In addition, Howard University has always been the top educational institution for blacks. That's not a slight against Spellman or Morehouse but Howard has been called the "Black Harvard."

Yeah, so has Morehouse been called the "black Harvard". Their schools colors are the same and they even have t-shirts that said that or that Harvard is the "Morehouse of the North" LOL