Send Feedback
 

Atlanta’s 36-Year String Of Black Mayors May Come To An End

Written by News One on October 21, 2009 1:33 pm

atlanta

From the NY Times:

ATLANTA — Since 1973, this Southern capital has elected a succession of black mayors, sometimes to the consternation of residents in the largely white, prosperous neighborhood of Buckhead to the north.

But the current race to succeed Mayor Shirley Franklin in the Nov. 3 election has upended normal expectations here in what Chris Rock, in his new documentary, “Good Hair,” calls “the city where all major black decisions are made.” The front-runner, Mary Norwood, is one of Buckhead’s own, a white Junior Leaguer running as a populist outsider.

All three candidates have maintained that Atlanta has moved beyond using race as a qualification for public office. But the ascendancy of Ms. Norwood may also reflect the decline of the city’s black majority and the recession’s sour effect on the mood of the voters.

The city has changed significantly since Mayor Franklin squeaked to victory without a runoff in 2001. It has grown by more than 100,000 people since 2000, according to census estimates, and the influx of many whites and Hispanics has narrowed the black majority to 56 percent from 61 percent.

Atlanta is still a draw for black professionals, and the percentage of blacks in the metropolitan area has grown slightly, but in the city the pool of likely black voters is estimated at just barely a majority. Many of the city’s public housing projects, where black votes once could be marshaled in a bloc, have been demolished.

Click here to read more.

RELATED STORIES

Atlanta May Have First White Mayor In 35 Years

Flooding In Atlanta Claims Two Lives


Tags: Atlanta, Black Politicians
Recommend to friends!
  • BlackPlanet
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • email

News One Links

 
  • http://www.blackplanet.com/WestsideCartelAtl85/ WestsideCartelAtl85

    I’m native of the city and not shocked at all. My dad told me as a teen that a White mayor would be elected again eventually in Atl. Due to rising costs to stay in the city alotta Blacks are moving to Dekalb, Cobb, Clayton, and other counties around the metro Atl area.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/kennyd4/ kennyd4

    i lived there from 1988 to 2002 and when them clowns saw the olympics were coming they started shipping negroes out on everything that could carry black folks away.the last real black man to run the city was maynard jackson and the fools after him are nothing more than road kill in the way of whitey who has every intention of taking back that city.so when they shipped out so many of us it did’nt occur to these fools that a large part of thier voting block was going with them.and of course the first order of the day after the crackers take back the city is revenge,and guess whoes going to be on the receiving end of that?ANY AND EVERYBODY KNEW THAT ATLANTA WAS A MIRAGE JUST WAITING TO BLOW AWAY,THE CITYS FINANCIAL BASE IS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WHEN FOLKS AINT COMING TO UR CITY GUESS WHAT DUMMIES.thats rite somethings gotta give.i knew people with a $400.000 morgage working 2jobs and neither one was enuff(ONE JOB AT A FAST FOOD AND ANOTHER AT A MOTEL)a recipe for failure!!!!something big needs to happen in the atl.and i see an out flux of black folks just like the one that took place when negroes were rushing in like it was a gold rush in the early 90′s

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Stan_Vinyl/ Stan_Vinyl

    please let’s not start with the “white people are the answer shyt” PLEASE!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/slimc20472/ slimc20472

    Well….I totally understand I from DC and we’re in a similar position, although I don’t see a white matter anytime in the near future. We too have a bunch of sell out Black politicians trying to help white people take over. I wonder where the loyalty has gone. They’ve always wanted to take over Atlanta and DC it’s been there life’s work.They hate the fact that there are two major cities in America that have large groups of African-Americans that have a a large piece of the political, financial and social pie. I would caution anyone in ATL from voting for this woman she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And for all of the middle class Black folks that think that they have arrived and color doesn’t matter just wait until these fools get into power and see how much of a voice you’ll actually have. Y’all betta wake the hell up.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/LastManStandingTall/ LastManStandingTall

    If having a black mayor is so important, you can always move to Detroit. There has been a black mayor here since our first one nearly 40 years ago and the city is in the best condition it has ever been in…(sarcasm) I’m not sure why having a black mayor seems to be more important than having a good one, but…ok…

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/SexyMoneyMaker/ SexyMoneyMaker

    Interesting

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Stan_Vinyl/ Stan_Vinyl

    Detroit aside, these other cities were doing great… and if the black people in Detroit would get off of eminem’s d!ck, they could rebuild their city.

    All that burnt down shyt there and no one has attempted in good faith to reconstruct? What? Only white people have money?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/ImTheTruth45/ ImTheTruth45

    Atlanta is still the place where the most black professionals, businessmen, and athletes live, although the black middle-class seems to be disappearing and being replaced by the whites who are returning in numbers as well as a large number of our latino brothers and sisters.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/slimc20472/ slimc20472

    Uhhh…. Im The Truth45 that’s not exactly correct please see the attached article. (http://ybpguide.com/2007/04/18/the-ten-best-cities-for-african-americans/) I’ll give you the athletes though. But we are still the number one spot for Black Professionals and Black businesses.

  • http://newsone.com/nation/atlanta-mayoral-candidates-in-dead-heat-days-before-runoff/ Atlanta Mayoral Candidates In Dead Heat Days Before Runoff | News One

    [...] Atlanta’s 36-Year String Of Black Mayors May Come To An End [...]

  • http://www.blackinfo.net/?p=7699 Black Info.Net – African American News Hub | Black Info.Net

    [...] Atlanta’s 36-Year String Of Black Mayors May Come To An End [...]

  • http://www.blackinfo.net/?p=7781 Black Info.Net – African American News Hub | Black Info.Net

    [...] Atlanta’s 36-Year String Of Black Mayors May Come To An End Read more here: Atlanta Mayoral Race Will Be Decided By Black Voter Turnout Posted in The 411 Tags: atlanta, black, nation, norwood, not-crash, people, racism, voter turnout, white « State Dinner Crashers Want Money To Tell Their Story VIDEO: Rick Warren Church Burglarized By Ex-LAPD Officer » Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site. [...]

blog comments powered by Disqus
?>