A SHOWROOM, NOT A SANCTUARY
Marketing Black Success While Normalizing Black Inequality
MYTH
The 'Black Mecca' Myth
The narrative that Atlanta is a place where all can reliably achieve economic, social, and political advancement.
REALITY
in Income Inequality in the U.S.
Behind the "Black Mecca" narrative lies stark economic disparity. Black Atlantans face systematic barriers to wealth building, homeownershipowning your own home, which builds long-term wealth that can be passed down to future generations, and economic mobility.
"A Black Mecca that steadily exports its historic communities is not a place of prosperity; it's a poverty pipeline."
CRISIS AT A GLANCE
Black residents lost (2000-2010)
Nationally for gentrificationwhen wealthier people move into a neighborhood, driving up costs and pushing out the people who lived there first eliminating Black areas
of Black renters are cost-burdenedspending more than 30% of their income on housing costs
of majority-Black neighborhoods lost that status by 2010
DISPLACEMENT MAP
Explore the 7 priority neighborhoods experiencing the highest appreciation and displacementwhen lower-income and longtime residents are forced to leave their homes because of rising costs across Atlanta. Click any marker for details.
DISPLACEMENT STATUS
Each neighborhood dot on the map shows its current displacement status based on housing costs and demographic changes. The four quadrants below group neighborhoods by geographic region and show the overall displacement pattern in each area of Atlanta.
Data Source: Fulton County Tax Assessor 2000-2024; RentCafe, Zillow & Census Bureau 2000-2026 estimates
WHY THIS IS HAPPENING
- 1.
Atlanta lost 100,000 residents between 1970 and 1990, hollowing out neighborhoods.
- 2.
The 2000s population boom brought new residents with higher incomes into those same neighborhoods.
- 3.
Property appreciation and displacementwhen lower-income and longtime residents are forced to leave their homes because of rising costs accelerated through the 2010s and 2020s.
- 4.
The result: increased demand, rising property values, and economic pressure pushed out long-time Black residents.
THE NUMBERS
Black population decline (1990-2020)
Black residents displaced from 16 majority-Black tracts
Atlanta ranks 4th nationally for gentrificationwhen wealthier people move into a neighborhood, driving up costs and pushing out the people who lived there first
This is not accidental; it's the result of deliberate policy choices
WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR BLACK ATLANTA?
LOSING OUR HOMES MEANS LOSING OUR VOICE
LEGACY RESIDENTS
Risk of displacementwhen lower-income and longtime residents are forced to leave their homes because of rising costs, loss of generational wealth, community fragmentation
BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES
Commercial rent increases, loss of customer base, cultural erasure
"A city without Black businesses is a city without Black culture"
SCHOOLS
Enrollment changes, school closures, loss of community anchors, student performance tied to community health
VOTING POWER
67% to 47% population decline means reduced political power and representation