What city will replace Atlanta as the new black mecca? (ticket, Hispanic)

[Akhenaton06]

^Right. And one reason why many of us are saying that Atlanta isn't an Asian or Hispanic mecca (at least not yet) is because those communities aren't as rooted in the Atlanta area as African Americans. They simply don't have the legacy here that African Americans have.

[MikeandIke27]

BBC just needs to give it up if he can't see why this title was given then we are waisting our time...

[brkbowma]

Originally Posted by KingTat

New poster here! I have read many articles saying how the black population of Atlanta is shrinking. Its even on the wikipedia page! I am just wondering what city do you guys think will take the place of Atlanta as the "new black mecca?" I am thinking maybe Charlotte, or Dallas. Both cities saw a rise in african american population the same years Atlanta saw a decline.

I am only 16, but when I graduate college I wanna move to the new black mecca. By then (2015) Atlanta will have been dethroned. But by what city?!

Go to Africa if u want to live in a bubble with other blacks.

[Akhenaton06]

I thought people stopped saying "Go (back) to Africa" in the 60's?

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by MikeandIke27

BBC just needs to give it up if he can't see why this title was given then we are waisting our time...

Reading comprehension - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I understand why the title was given; my argument is that the same conditions exist for Atlanta being an Asian mecca as they do for being a black mecca.

Black mecca and Asian mecca are not mutually exclusive.

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

^Right. And one reason why many of us are saying that Atlanta isn't an Asian or Hispanic mecca (at least not yet) is because those communities aren't as rooted in the Atlanta area as African Americans. They simply don't have the legacy here that African Americans have.

That is what you don't get. The same factors that made Atlanta a black mecca don't have to exist for it to be an Asian mecca. An Asian mecca can be born under different circumstances.

You're forcing Asians to compete with blacks, and that just isn't fair. Blacks have been here in large numbers since the 1600s, Asians since the 1960s. As a result, different standards apply for an Asian mecca, standards that Atlanta not only meets, but exceeds.

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

I'm not really talking about growth rates; I'm talking about raw numbers. Growth rates will be higher for Asians because, like you said, they had a smaller base to start with. And Black growth did indeed begin in the 1970's as deindustrialization began to really take hold in the older cities of Northeast and Midwest. However, it wasn't as rapid as in decades past (when Blacks were still locating mostly from South to North). I don't have stats for the whole decade, but from 1975-1980, Atlanta was the 2nd most popular city for relocating Blacks, and after that time frame has placed first ever since (see http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2004/05demographics_frey/20040524_Frey.pdf). Furthermore, Atlanta surpassed Chicago in recent years to become the metro area with the second-largest Black population in the nation, second only to NYC.

Different standards should apply for Asians. They are only 4% of the U.S., while blacks are 12%. Asians number around 14 million, while blacks are 40 million. Most large cities have large black populations. Not so for Asians.

Yes but White flight occurred in major cities throughout the country, yet very few of them have had the longstanding Black political influence that Atlanta has had.

The point is that the political influence is not due to any mecca-ness; it's due to living patterns. By the way, the political influence will end in 2013 when a non-black mayor is elected. What happens then? Oh yeah, black political influence in DeKalb County makes up for it...

Furthermore, the clustering of the Asian population is a hallmark of Asian meccas in the immigrant gateway cities. The fact that this phenomenon isn't found in Atlanta demonstrates the relative newness for Asians here.

What are you talking about? Asians clustered in Atlanta. They live in Doraville and Duluth.

So you're going to ask me a question (supposedly in good faith) about why Blacks consider Atlanta a Black mecca but not an Asian mecca, but when I give a perfectly legitimate answer about Atlanta being a historic center of higher education for Blacks, you're going to say "what in the hell does this point have to do with anything"? I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt in this response because your question seemed genuine, but apparently not. You could have simply disagreed without being snarky and rude but I don't know why I expected things to be any different this time around.

You are trying to use the fact that Atlanta has HBCUs to support that Atlanta is not an Asian mecca. The argument just doesn't make sense.

*Sigh*.....really man? If you're going to ask the question and I give legitimate answers, you're just going to shoot them down with the most shallow reasoning? And how is being a millionaire a "worship of materialism or status"? If you don't see how that is relevant, then I don't even think I could begin to explain the relevance to you.

What do millionaires have to do with cultural mecca-ness?

Actually, I read where Georgia was 2nd for Asian American business growth with a growth rate of 71% for a five-year stretch from 2002-2007, but nationally it ranks 8th in terms of Asian businesses overall.

Yeah, and that's Georgia. Atlanta is diluted by the sparse amount of Asians outside of Atlanta. I would be very interesting to see where it ranked as a metro; I would suspect it would be 4th.

During that same five-year stretch, Black-owned businesses in Georgia increased by 103% and Georgia has the second-highest number of black-owned businesses in raw percentages and ranks first as a state in terms of the percentage of Black-owned businesses.

Again, using black population statistics to refute Asian mecca-ness. Different standards apply due to the differences in population.

Those aren't traditional Asiantowns that can be found in the true Asian meccas in the U.S. (e.g., San Francisco, LA, etc.). They are largely suburban retail strip malls. Of course, they are testament to the growing business presence of Asians in Atlanta, but you yourself just said it: they aren't historic. They are in the true Asian meccas.

Who cares what the buildings look like? Atlanta is a suburban city, physically and aesthetically. They decided to settle in a place that was developed under suburban planning standards, but what if they had settled in Kirkwood? Going by your logic, then it would be a true Asiantown.

And that's also largely why we don't see Atlanta as an Asian mecca. Time is a big part of that.

Considering how long mass Asian immigration has been occurring, Atlanta is an Asian Mecca.

I've not seen a source that confirms this. I'm not saying that you're wrong about it, but it would still be a relatively recent phenomenon whereas Atlanta has had this status with Blacks for a few decades now.

Asians have had it just as long as blacks.

[Akhenaton06]

So your whole argument boils down to the fact that different standards should apply to Asians in terms of Atlanta's supposed status as an Asian mecca. I disagree because the cities I consider true Asian meccas, like West Coast cities, largely meet the same criteria that's used for Atlanta's status as a Black mecca. But I'm sure you'll disagree with that, so I think we're pretty much at an impasse. Let's just agree to disagree here and move on.

[ATL_II_DMV]

Right, the Bay Area California would be considered an Asian mecca. No way Atlanta fits that description

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

I thought people stopped saying "Go (back) to Africa" in the 60's?

I know right.lol