What city will replace Atlanta as the new black mecca? (Columbus: attorney, houses)

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by Crazy Virgo Child

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.

Where did you get that stat about richest black areas? Just curious.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by adavi215

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.

Definitely disagree with you about Detroit for the simple reason that you can't call a place a 'mecca' that's so badly struggling. Btw, it would be interesting to note how much of Detroit's population outflow is black (it goes w/o saying that a huge portion of Atlanta's inflow is black).

And as for cities in the West to rival the upsurge seen in the Southeast, there aren't any. African Americans are for various reasons (primarily historical) resettling in the Southern US in waves and the epicenter of that trend is Atlanta. And again, Jacksonville, Birmingham, Memphis, etc., may also be seeing similar influxes to Atlanta, but Atlanta has both scale to dwarf these cities and symbolic-historical reasons that make it the real 'mecca' for this group.

[AtlantaGuy404]

There is no "black mecca" and if there is then the percentage of blacks should not determine it but how many succesful blacks there are. Even though Seattle has a black % of 9.7 most would agree a black person would fare better there than in Detroit which is over 80% black. I'm white but I woudn't want to move to Fargo because it has a high % of whites and somebody declared it the white mecca of the U.S. The best city for you is the one where you'll be the happiest.

And one more thing. Is wealth the only way to measure the success of a community? People keep saying Dekalb County has the second highest per capita income for African Americans after Prince George's County. Aren't Dekalb and PG's county plagued with high murder rates and hyper segregation? An intergrated community with low crime and a solid middle class is more succesful in my book than a hypersegrated community with an elite upper class and then a lot of poor people.

[bugaboo72]

Originally Posted by AtlantaGuy404

There is no "black mecca" and if there is then the percentage of blacks should not determine it but how many succesful blacks there are. Even though Seattle has a black % of 9.7 most would agree a black person would fare better there than in Detroit which is over 80% black. I'm white but I woudn't want to move to Fargo because it has a high % of whites and somebody declared it the white mecca of the U.S. The best city for you is the one where you'll be the happiest.

And one more thing. Is wealth the only way to measure the success of a community? People keep saying Dekalb County has the second highest per capita income for African Americans after Prince George's County. Aren't Dekalb and PG's county plagued with high murder rates and hyper segregation? An intergrated community with low crime and a solid middle class is more succesful in my book than a hypersegrated community with an elite upper class and then a lot of poor people.

Your right on with that last paragraph. I wouldn't live in Dekalb County if you paid me. Crime infested, but remember second highest per capita income. It's segregated because they don't want to be around whites. I'm white and would never live there. Are you kidding me? It's the same way the other way around too. Whites generally want to live around white people. Nothing wrong with that at all. Whatever makes you happy. There's a reason for the "north" and the "south" side of Atlanta. It's not a coincidence that the suburbs are like that. Try not to kid yourself people. Unless your a far left liberal, you typically live around your own race.

I'm in Alpharetta for a reason. I lived in Henry County and had enough of that crap. On that note, I'm in the minority at work. It's probably about 80% black, but guess what? They are all great people to work with(except for a select few,work ethic). We all get along great and i've made some friends there in the process. Some of them live here in Alpharetta, even in Milton.

Well enough of this, Go Falcons 2009! Brooking needs to retire though.

[imaterry78259]

There is no black America or White america there is the United States of America. Go west young black man

[BringBackCobain]

The reason Dekalb county is the second richest black majority county is probably because places like Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Decatur, Briarcliff, North Druid Hills, and Brookhaven bring up that average as the are wealthy areas. I would bet that if South DeKalb was its own county, it would not be wealthy.

Again, I have seen no one provide reliable statistics to back up inferences that Atlanta is where wealthy blacks live.

[onemanarmy]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

The reason Dekalb county is the second richest black majority county is because places like Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Decatur, Briarcliff, North Druid Hills, and Brookhaven bring up that average as the are wealthy areas. I would be that if South DeKalb was its own county, it would not be wealthy.

Again, I have seen no one provide reliable statistics to back up inferences that Atlanta is where wealthy blacks live.

Well since you are asking for statistical support, it would be wise to provide statistics that supports your counterargument.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by AtlantaGuy404

There is no "black mecca" and if there is then the percentage of blacks should not determine it but how many succesful blacks there are.

What is this supposed to mean exactly? Are you denying one exists or not?

Point is, it might not be your cup of tea, but let's face it, cultural "meccas" of various types exist. Are you going to argue that San Fran hasn't been a gay mecca, New York an artist's mecca, Salt Lake a Mormon mecca, etc.? So c'mon, let's be real here.

As for using purely mathematical terms, that's why I tried to bring up "symbolic-historical" reasons in my earlier post in speaking of why Atlanta might become a mecca for blacks over say Birmingham, AL or Charlotte.

But at the end of the day, these facts get born out in the numbers too. For example, what city would you call the Jewish 'mecca' (outside Israel) in the Western world? The answer is obvious and the numbers bear that out both in gross and proportional terms (avgs.). One shouldn't overestimate the statistical measure, but it's very important nonetheless.

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by bugaboo72

Your right on with that last paragraph. I wouldn't live in Dekalb County if you paid me. Crime infested, but remember second highest per capita income. It's segregated because they don't want to be around whites. I'm white and would never live there. Are you kidding me? It's the same way the other way around too. Whites generally want to live around white people. Nothing wrong with that at all. Whatever makes you happy. There's a reason for the "north" and the "south" side of Atlanta. It's not a coincidence that the suburbs are like that. Try not to kid yourself people. Unless your a far left liberal, you typically live around your own race.

I'm in Alpharetta for a reason. I lived in Henry County and had enough of that crap. On that note, I'm in the minority at work. It's probably about 80% black, but guess what? They are all great people to work with(except for a select few,work ethic). We all get along great and i've made some friends there in the process. Some of them live here in Alpharetta, even in Milton.

Well enough of this, Go Falcons 2009! Brooking needs to retire though.

Why are you comparing north and south side of Atlanta ? Do people not realize there are an east and west side too ? It's amazing, if someone says they live in Atlanta, they are asked "north" or "south" side.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by matt8325

Why are you comparing north and south side of Atlanta ? Do people not realize there are an east and west side too ? It's amazing, if someone says they live in Atlanta, they are asked "north" or "south" side.

Well, in fairness it has been a pretty important divide historically in metro Atlanta, more so than say an East/West divide.

And might there be any specific reasons for that?