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Couldn’t agree more, however I’ve theorized that many Black families don’t want those dense urban neighborhoods.
I think part of it may have to do with the fact that many younger Black families who settle in Metro Atlanta were raised in perhaps more impoverished urban neighborhoods elsewhere, so their “American dream” is to obtain that large home in a gated suburban community because that’s what it feels like to make it. Knowing inner city Atlanta is depicted in the media as this terrible crime ridden place, why would they want to go there when Black Americans can statistically generate more wealth, have access to better opportunities, better schools and raise more successful children in a community such as Fayetteville or Smyrna?
Contrast their goals with that of young White families who were more likely to be raised in the bland cookie cutter suburbs, they often want to experience the exciting hustle and bustle of living in a city, so they move to cheaper urban neighborhoods, leading to gentrification. That’s true in most major cities.
But, trust me. I get it. Atlanta’s endless, cookie cutter, soulless suburbs leave a ton to be desired in terms of amenities, build and layout.
100% agree. We just need a black urban neighborhood that isn't a dump. It doesn't even have to be majority black, it could be mixed i don't care. It's just that in these nice urban communities its like 90% white.
100% agree. We just need a black urban neighborhood that isn't a dump. It doesn't even have to be majority black, it could be mixed i don't care. It's just that in these nice urban communities its like 90% white.
I'd argue there are a few of these neighborhoods that are notable. It's not that rare. and you certainly need to define dump. I'd argue a large share of Black NYC (especially NYC), DC, Oakland, and Boston fit this category. And they are priced accordingly.
100% agree. We just need a black urban neighborhood that isn't a dump. It doesn't even have to be majority black, it could be mixed i don't care. It's just that in these nice urban communities its like 90% white.
The mecca expanded beyond the city proper into the larger metropolitan area sometime in the 80's. That coincided with more robust suburban growth all across the country which continues until this day.
So when folks talk about Atlanta as the Black Mecca, they are including suburban communities in surrounding counties as well--as they should be.
Also, many of the reasons Atlanta was initially called the Black Mecca had less to do with the size of its Black population. It was more about its abundance of Black institutions and its influential Black political and civic leadership--both of which have only expanded over the years, even as the share of its Black population has shrunk. There's more coverage about Atlanta's evolving status as a Black Mecca today than there's ever been.
Black folks always were in suburban counties of Dekalb, Fayette and Clayton dating back to the late 1980s. They've expanded more north to Gwinnett/Duluth, Alpharetta to a lesser extent but more of south Cobb/Douglas county. East Cobb demographics have changed little. I think Atlanta is still viewed as the #1 choice because of its HBCU cluster and Civil Rights history but when one really looks, those ties are as material as many think. For example, Texas Southern in Houston has a student body as big as all four HBCUs in Nashville or the three in Atlanta. Add Prairie View A&M, about 25 miles from Houston's city limits, and those two schools are twice the size of the HBCUs in Atlanta, plus rank 3rd and 4th largest in the country.
Now Georgia State is the college in Atlanta, in terms of black enrollment, many have not talked about at over 8,600 enrolled.
Not many American cities have suburbs like Atlanta's. Some are majority AA, others are wealthy, but few are simultaneously prominently Black and Wealthy like many Atlanta suburbs are.
Outside of Dekalb, what counties "prominently Black and Wealthy"? Clayton is majority AA but certainly doesn't fit those two criteria. Gwinnett, Cobb and Douglas don't either.
Sad they all flock to boring strip mall filled suburbia. The city itself is no longer majority black and that number is declining fast. The white transplants get the interesting neighborhoods, walkability, public transit, and nice restaurants, meanwhile we're content with chain restaurants, walmarts, cul de sacs, strip mall galore, dollar stores, gold for cash/dilapidated storefronts, and stroads.
Let's see how long the White transplants stay in the city if they have to deal with a crack epidemic, a wave of child murders, and much higher violent crime rates like Black residents did before they fled the city. Boring strip mall suburbia was absolutely a step up compared to all that.
Black folks always were in suburban counties of Dekalb, Fayette and Clayton dating back to the late 1980s.
How does that contradict what I said?
The late 70's into the 80's was when Black suburbanization began en masse. The Fair Housing Act was only passed in '68, and Maynard Jackson was elected mayor of Atlanta in 1973. His airport minority contracting mandate did much to swell the ranks of the Black middle/upper-middle class and that's how Dekalb came to mirror PG County in demographic/socioeconomic migration trends during that time. And from there, Black folks fanned out into the rest of the region.
What are some wealthy BLACK suburbs in Atlanta? I know there's plenty middle class, but wealthy? When I think wealthy black neighborhood I think Ladera Heights in LA in the hills with beautiful ocean views and palm trees where the average household income is $136,000 and all the kids go to private school.
Mcdonough is a black suburb in atlanta many people name and the houshold income there is only $62,000. And the schools in Henry county arent the best (the schools got bad when clayton county lost accreditation several years back and all the families moved to henry)
Atlanta is actually the poster child city for "suburban poverty". You can see this in suburbs like Lithonia, Decatur, and Stonecrest. It looks middle class but alot of people are struggling/getting government benefits.
I'd argue there are a few of these neighborhoods that are notable. It's not that rare. and you certainly need to define dump. I'd argue a large share of Black NYC (especially NYC), DC, Oakland, and Boston fit this category. And they are priced accordingly.
The price is the important thing here. Most urban neighborhoods with decent amenities with large black populations are going to be expensive, with notable exceptions of course.
Couldn’t agree more, however I’ve theorized that many Black families don’t want those dense urban neighborhoods.
I think part of it may have to do with the fact that many younger Black families who settle in Metro Atlanta were raised in perhaps more impoverished urban neighborhoods elsewhere, so their “American dream” is to obtain that large home in a gated suburban community because that’s what it feels like to make it. Knowing inner city Atlanta is depicted in the media as this terrible crime ridden place, why would they want to go there when Black Americans can statistically generate more wealth, have access to better opportunities, better schools and raise more successful children in a community such as Fayetteville or Smyrna?
Contrast their goals with that of young White families who were more likely to be raised in the bland cookie cutter suburbs, they often want to experience the exciting hustle and bustle of living in a city, so they move to cheaper urban neighborhoods, leading to gentrification. That’s true in most major cities.
But, trust me. I get it. Atlanta’s endless, cookie cutter, soulless suburbs leave a ton to be desired in terms of amenities, build and layout.
As someone from North Jersey and lived in Philly, I agree with this. I want a half or majorly Black urban enclave that isn't a ghetto infested cesspool. Or a dense yet safer suburb(Landsdowne PA and Roselle NJ kinda fit the bill).
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