The name of Atlanta’s airport is a lot more revealing of the city’s history than it might look like: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport is named after two of the city’s mayors: William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson. The first one was a white racist man who gave the city its famous motto “The City Too Busy To Hate”. The second one was the first African American mayor of a major city in the South. Those two names next to each other are the most obvious symbol of Atlanta’s evolution and growth, from a severely racially segregated city to an inclusive black mecca. The name of the airport also features the word International which ads another layer of Atlanta’s history. As the home of the world’s most travelled through airport and as a major economic and cultural hub of North America, Atlanta is an international city.
During the second half of the XXth century Atlanta went from being the capital city of a Southern State to being a World famous Metropolis.
The city of Atlanta’s journey is defined by the fight for racial equality and the opposition between a well established power structure supported by wealthy Atlantans and neglected inhabitants of poor neighborhoods. This fight shaped the city and ultimately transformed Atlanta into the Black Mecca that it is today.
The city also grew economically, as it became a major economic, political and socio-cultural hub of North America.
Atlanta’s growth has always been linked to its history, creating a pattern of haves and have-nots. Unsurprisingly, Atlanta’s modern challenges are intrinsically linked to economic inequality.
'Separate but equal’
Modern day Atlanta can’t be understood without an historic overview of its race relations. Studying the system of segregation and the different events of the Civil Rights era in Atlanta can help to better understand the city’s pattern of inequality. It also showcases the power structure of the city as well as the different leaderships of the different mayors. Atlanta’s segregated past left a durable stain on the social fabric of the city as well as its demographic landscape.
The history of Atlanta and the evolution of the leadership in City Hall is well described in Frederick Allen’s book, “Atlanta Rising”. The book explains how the city had a very peculiar way of handling race relations. In the 1960s, Mayor Hartsfield was describing Atlanta as ‘the city too busy to hate’. The goal was to advertise the city as a place where race was not an issue, right in the middle of the segregated South. Mayor Hartsfield wanted the city to thrive economically, and an appealing selling point was to say that Atlanta was not impacted by the racial tensions of the South. This lie is an example of the broader doctrine that was dictating Atlanta’s race relations: “separate but equal”. The city, hosting one of the largest African-American community of the country had to deal with a White population that did not want to cohabit with African-Americans. The city did everything to keep both communities away from each other. Instead of implementing anti-segregation laws, the city would constantly try to avoid legislation. When a problem would arise, city hall would spend money to keep both communities separated. The most grotesque example of this policy was the construction of a 200,000$ golf course for African-Americans, just to make sure that Whites and Blacks would not meet (Allen, 1996). As long as they could keep Whites and Blacks away from each other Atlanta did it. Some symbolic desegregationist acts would be done such as the nomination of Dr. Rufus Clement, a Black man, to the Atlanta Board of Education, but in reality they weren’t meant to end segregation, their goal was most probably to earn Black votes during elections (Allen, 1996).
In this context, Atlanta’s experience of the Civil Rights movement was different from the rest of the country. Although Atlanta was the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., MLK was specifically asked not to demonstrate in the city, once again to try to make Atlanta look innocent (Allen, 1996). It took a lot of time, demonstrations, sit-ins and pressure from the federal government for the schools to be finally desegregated.
In 1973, Atlanta elected its first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson Jr. and the city, little by little grew to become the Black Mecca that it is today.
Atlanta’s paternalist and capitalist handling of the racial tensions, trying to make money while ignoring racial inequalities can be largely attributed to the power structure of the city. In Allen’s book, the city is described as “a city of salesman” in which businessmen and private interests had almost as much power as politicians. The best example of that is the influence that Robert Woodruff, the CEO of the Coca-Cola Company had on the city (Allen, 1996).
Although Atlanta has changed a lot, the scars of segregation and the capitalist driven leadership of the city can still be seen today. The “separate but equal” doctrine changed the social fabric of the city and drew borders that dictate the demographic landscape. Ponce de Leon Avenue in East Atlanta is a good example of a border between a White Atlanta and a Black Atlanta (Vice, 2016). The North/South divide is an even more striking example of the wealth inequality that defines Atlanta today (Brookings Institution on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, 2000).
Atlanta 1996
Many argue that the 1996 Olympics helped put Atlanta on the map (Wabe, 2016). During a month the eyes of the world were watching and the games created a brand for the city. However, the 1996 could not have happened if the city had not been equipped with world-class infrastructures. The fact that Atlanta was chosen for the Olympics legitimizes the city as an International metropolis, able to host events of such magnitude.
By the 1990s Atlanta imposed itself as the economic powerhouse of the South. With many huge corporations such as CNN, UPS, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines or Home Depot headquartered in the city. Nowadays, Atlanta has a GDP of over $324 Billion, making it one of the most dynamic economies in the country.
The 1990s represent an economic boom in Atlanta’s history (Allen, 1996). The city grew at a very fast rate, with new residents and new businesses settling in the city. A good example of this growth is the city’s skyline which is mostly made up of skyscrapers built in the 90s (like the Bank of America Plaza).
Atlanta’s recognition as an international city can also be attributed to its cultural scene. The city is home to many museums, like the High Museum of Art.
As the home of the worlds most travelled through airport, Atlanta can rightfully claim to be an international hub.
The city too busy to care?
If Atlanta’s economic boom helped to constitute a large middle class and numerous wealthy individuals, it also emphasized the inequalities of the city. Atlanta has one of the most unequal repartition of wealth in the country and faces a homelessness and affordable housing crisis.
Atlanta’s modern day challenges can be attributed to its segregated past, since the wealth divide that is at play in the city is also a racial divide. The scars of segregation are easy to see. Those challenges are also a consequence of the unplanned and fast growth of the 90s which benefited the suburbs and neglected the city of Atlanta itself.
More recently, gentrification, with projects like the Beltline or Glenwood Park, has resulted in an increase of the cost of living in some neighborhoods, forcing some poorer communities to relocate. Following the same pattern of “the city too busy to hate”, Atlanta seems to allow such practices and does not provide enough affordable housing and might be described as “the city too busy to care”.
Atlanta’s wealth divide is a North/South divide (Brookings Institution on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, 2000). The North/South divide is not only a wealth divide but also a racial divide. It is evident when analyzing the different districts of the city that the Black districts (mostly on the South side) are much poorer than the predominantly White districts (like Buckhead) (Atlanta City Council, 2019) .
This divide is one of the best examples of the legacy of the “separate but equal” doctrine. Both communities are in fact, separate. However, they are still not equal. Access to jobs and public transportation is not as good in the South as it is in the North. The same comparison can be applied to schools and health centers. The city seems to focus its attention and allocate its resources to the more profitable areas of Midtown and Buckhead.
As a huge metropolis, Atlanta does not only face poverty and inequality. Atlanta is known to be one of the best examples of sprawl (Brookings Institution on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, 2000) which is the unplanned growth of a city. Sprawl in Atlanta can also be attributed to the city’s segregated past and growth of the 1990s. Sprawl has many different consequences, ranging from traffic to environmental concerns.
In his book “White Flight”, Kevin Kruse explains how White Atlantas moved out of the city to the suburbs in order to live away from African-Americans (Kruse, 2005). This resulted in a city that has no boundaries and that keeps on expanding.
In the 1990s, City Hall delivered numerous building permits (Allen, 1996). This had the same impact on the city scape: buildings as far as the eye can see.
Sprawl came with the construction of highways making Atlanta one of the most car oriented city in the country. This resulted in the traffic that makes many Atlantans life a nightmare. On top of the inconvenience, this way of life has terrible consequences on the city’s natural environment.
As Atlanta quickly grew, mostly unplanned, public transportation such as MARTA does not provide a realistic alternative to cars.
In the recent years Atlanta has seen many new projects pop up in different parts of the city. Those projects were often built in poor communities and as hip new places, forced the poor communities to move out. The Beltline, and especially the soon to be built westside and southside of the trail is a good example of that.
Once again Atlanta is taking care of those who have the money to live in those new places, but the city is not providing enough affordable housing for the poorer communities to relocate. If in the past Whites did not want to live with African Americans it seems like today the rich do not want to live next to the poor.
Gentrification has dramatic consequences. One of them is the homelesness crisis that the city is facing. This phenomenon is brilliantly described in a 2019 article by The New Republic. In this piece the author explains how a mother could not afford her home anymore and had to relocate multiple times and go through endless procedures to get a roof over her children’s head.
Hope for the future
Atlanta’s history is painful and present at the corner of every street. The city scape tells the story of segregation and tells the story of a city that grew too fast with populations that did not want to live together.
Going forward Atlanta could use this history and this legacy as a way to create a compelling identity and as a way to connect its citizens. It seems like Atlanta is lacking a real identity, something that draws people together. On top of securing housing for all and ensuring that the city respects its natural environment, the city could try to have people come together around a powerful narrative.
Atlanta is the capital of the South. Atlanta is the birthplace of MLK. Atlanta is the fight for equality. Atlanta is the scene of innovative urbanism, with the Beltline. Atlanta sets the trend for hip-hop.
Atlanta needs to embrace this heritage. Atlanta needs to reinvent itself, Atlanta needs a stronger sense of community to close the gap between different neighborhood and people from different walks of life. Creating this narrative could allow Atlanta to find an identity and a path which would be a vital start to walk on the path of a fairer and better city.
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