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BlackATL

Atlanta, a cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, has been a historic hub for Black entrepreneurship, higher education, and political activism. Once known as a “Black Mecca,” the city has experienced demographic changes since its inception in 1837. The metro area’s Black population grew fivefold since 1970 to 2.3 million, now ranking second nationally after New York. The city has seen significant shifts in the racial composition of its neighborhoods over the years, with some areas experiencing gentrification and a decrease in Black population. Black neighborhoods and racial equality in the featured “Black Neighborhoods and the Creation of Black Atlanta” exhibit and the “Mapping Inequality” visualization project below.

While demographic shifts have transformed neighborhoods, Atlanta remains a vital hub of Black political, cultural, and intellectual life. Black communities form the vibrant heart of metro Atlanta – from multigenerational African American families whose roots stretch back to the Civil Rights era, to more recent immigrants bringing Caribbean rhythms and African traditions to the city’s bustling neighborhoods. This legacy is preserved in projects like the Our Story digital exhibit, which showcases how Atlanta University Center institutions nurtured Black excellence in theater, dance, and scholarship. 
“Atlanta Georgia Skyline at Night with Skyscrapers and Light Trails” by Shawn Kent, used under the Unsplash license.

Featured Project | Digital Projects | Articles | Further Reading | Teaching Materials

Featured Project

Mapping Inequality

From the afterlives of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights, Black Atlantans still grapple with the everyday legacies of inequality, visualized in this project from the University of Richmond.

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Featured Digital Projects

Black Neighborhoods and the Creation of Black Atlanta

The Atlanta University Center

While a Black population has always been present in Atlanta it has changed throughout time in both size and location.

Mapping Inequality: Redlining in Atlanta, Georgia

Digital Scholarship Lab
 
Black residents in Atlanta have always lived as second-class citizens. This mapping project visualizes inequality.

Demonstration in Atlanta, Civil Rights Digital Library

Digital Library of Georgia

Atlanta was a hub of the Civil Rights Movement.

Featured Digital Projects

Counter Narrative Project

The Counter Narrative Project

Black, queer narrative change organization for Black LGBTQIIA+ journalism.

Patterns of Black Geographic Redistribution 1960 - 1970

ATL Maps

On this project users can search a variety of key words that are related to Black Atlanta and watch the map populate.

Atlanta Kneel-ins 1959-1970s | Open Tour Builder

Emory Center for Digital Services

This link brings the viewer to a list of several different maps in the Atlanta area. From there, they are able to sort through the applicable maps on Black populations.

Metro Atlanta Racial Equity Atlas

A map of household economics, housing and community, education, and health or environment are featured. Each map shows racial and class differences in the metro-Atlanta area.

Featured Articles

"Our Story": Photographs and Publications of the Atlanta University Center Project​

Atlanta University Center
 
“Our Story” is a collection of primary sources, maps, and writings from major Black institutions in Atlanta. This includes Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, the Interdenominational Theological Center, and Morris Brown College. Here you can learn about Black theater and dance, Black life, and Black learning in Atlanta.

Reflecting on the “Still the Black Mecca?” Symposium: An Interview with Kali-Ahset Amen

Adam Perry Newman

This article is a reflection on the “Still the Black Mecca?” Symposium with an accompanying interview from Kali-Ahset Amen, the Assistant Director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute at Emory University.

A Complex Geography of Black Belonging: Exploring the Black Diasporic Geographies of Metro Atlanta

Kali-Ahset Amen
 
The project linked is the archives of a roundtable where Atlanta community members talk about identity and the Black Diaspora in Atlanta.

Further Reading

  • The Counter Narrative Project. “Home.” https://www.thecounternarrative.org/.
    • Narrative change organization for Black LGBTQIIA+ journalism.
  • The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). “Atlanta, Georgia.” SNCC Digital Gateway. https://snccdigital.org/location/atlanta-ga/.
    • Website compiled by the SNCC Legacy Project, Duke University Libraries, and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke. Inside the compilation are primary sources, writings on and by important individuals, and overviews of SNCC events.