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Asian Atlanta

Atlanta’s Asian-born population has grown markedly, rising from just 10,000 in 1970 to over 300,940 by 2019. Today, the city is home to a vibrant and diverse Asian community, including individuals of Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino heritage. In communities like Clarkston, 32.1% of residents identify as Asian.

Buford Highway is a popular cultural hub deeply influenced by Asian traditions, known for landmarks like Patel Plaza and Asian Square. However, the community has also faced tragedy and violence, most notably during the 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings. “The Yellow Figment of East Asian American Women: A Case Study of the 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings” examines the impact of this event through a critical lens. Another featured article, “Refugee Resurgens: Asian Immigration in Atlanta,” highlights the experiences and contributions of Asian refugees in the metro area. 

In response to both challenges and opportunities, projects like the Georgia Asian American Community Archive Initiative work to empower local Asian American residents through civic engagement and community-building resources.

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

Featured Project

Georgia Asian American Community Archive Initiative

The Georgia Asian American Community Archives Initiative aims to identify, collect, preserve, and promote materials related to the history and experience of Asian Americans in Georgia.

Visit the GAACAI Site

Featured Digital Projects

GAACAI (Georgia Asian American Community Archive Initiative)

GAACAI

The GAACAI is working to preserve and share the history and experiences of Asian Americans in Georgia, focusing currently on the Atlanta metro area. They aim to connect the Asian American community with local libraries, archives, and museums through community events, art and storytelling projects, and research and education.

Examining the Geography of Opportunity for Asian American and Pacific Islanders in Metro America

National Equity Atlas
A Facebook-hosted web series to inspire Asian Americans in Atlanta to become more civically educated and engaged.

Atlanta’s Buford Highway

Southern Foodways Alliance
The Buford Highway Oral History Project explores a myriad of ethnic cuisines dotting old Atlanta Highway 13, stretching some thirty miles from interior Atlanta out to suburban Buford, Georgia.

Featured Articles

Segregation, Exclusion, and the Chinese Communities in Georgia, 1880s-1940

Daniel Bronstein, Asian Americans in Dixie

The Yellow Figment of East Asian American Women: A Case Study of the 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings

Lily Zhen-Ling Stewart,
University of Louisville

Refugee Resurgens: Asian Immigration in Atlanta

Jin-Kyung Yoon, University of Georgia

Further Reading

  • Altaher, Arwa MA, Joyce F. Clapp, and Selima Sultana. “Residential Settlement Patterns among Immigrants in Atlanta Metropolitan Area, Georgia.” Geographical Review 109, no. 3 (2019): 321-355.
  • Bronstein, Daniel. “Segregation, Exclusion, and the Chinese Communities in Georgia, 1880s-1940.” In Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South, edited by Jigna Desai and Khyati Y. Joshi, University of Illinois Press, 2013: 107–130.
  • Clayton, Obie, Cynthia Hewitt, and Gregory Hall. “Atlanta and ‘The Dream’: Race, Ethnicity, and Recent Demographic and Socioeconomic Trends.” Past Trends and Future Prospects of the American City: The Dynamics of Atlanta (2009): 219-248
  • Joshi, Khyati Y. “Standing Up and Speaking Out: Hindu Americans and Christian Normativity in Metro Atlanta.” Asian Americans in Dixie: Race and Migration in the South (2013): 190-215.
  • Olsson, Tore C. “Your Dekalb Farmers Market: Food and Ethnicity in Atlanta.” Southern Cultures 13, no. 4 (2007): 45–58. 
  • Ramiro, Caitlin. “After Atlanta: Revisiting the Legal System’s Deadly Stereotypes of Asian American Women.” Asian Am. LJ 29 (2022): 90. 
  • Walcott, Susan M. “Overlapping Ethnicities and Negotiated Space: Atlanta’s Buford Highway.” Journal of Cultural Geography 20, no. 1 (2002): 51–75. 
  • Yoo, Jin-Kyung. “Utilization of social networks for immigrant entrepreneurship: A case study of Korean immigrants in the Atlanta area.” International Review of Sociology/Revue Internationale de Sociologie 10, no. 3 (2000): 347-363.
  • Zhang, Qian. “Residential Segregation of Asian Americans in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, 1990.” Southeastern Geographer 38, no. 2 (1998): 125-141.