Race and the City

Last month, I blogged about Atlanta's Mayoral Election. In the election 3 weeks ago, none of the candidates received 50% of the vote, so the city is headed to a runoff election on Tuesday, December 1st. Kasim Reed, an African American State Senator, and Mary Norwood, a White Atlanta City Councilwoman, are battling it out to become the city's next Mayor. In examining voting patterns from the election 3 weeks ago, nearly all Whites that voted supported Norwood, while nearly all African Americans that voted supported Reed. I must admit that I am proud of both candidates for not exploiting the city's racial tensions as other past elections have done. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for some of the city's citizens, who are determined to create division, distraction, and fear-mongering.

I have been amazed by the comments that have played out in the media over the last month. For example, ABC News's Nightline featured a story about the Mayor's race and the possibility that Atlanta could elect its first White Mayor in almost 40 years. In the segment, a young White woman was interviewed and stated that we needed a White Mayor so the city wouldn't be known as the "ATL" anymore, wouldn't be a city just for rappers, and could become a city that White people could relate to again. Say What!? As horrible as her comments were, I truly believe that they reflect the opinion of a segment of the population who have witnessed the city drastically change over the last 20 years. Atlanta has become more multicultural and has even been nicknamed "Black Hollywood" in some circles. In the hip hop music world, Atlanta has stepped into the spotlight with cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Some are uncomfortable with this new identity and fear that the political structure is fostering this change. Some view electing a White Mayor as a last chance to reverse this change.

On the other end of the spectrum, many African Americans have claimed that the Atlanta Mayor's office can only be held by someone who is Black. Some Black Atlantans believe that electing someone White as Mayor will erase their influence as well as 30+ years of political gains. Frankly, some of the fear-mongering and "the sky is falling" mentality is unnecessary, if it is based on race. As I said before, mandating that all African Americans vote for an African American candidate solely based on race is just as bad as Whites only supporting White candidates. People need to be allowed to think for themselves and support the candidate of their choosing. Just recently as this week, unsubstantiated claims have been made that some of Mary Norwood's Black supporters have been harrassed by other Blacks for not supporting Kasim Reed.

Hundreds of comments have been posted on numerous newspaper blogs regarding this runoff election. Unfortunately, the majority of these comments have displayed a level of ignorance and insensitivity that reflects poorly on our city. I wonder if people are posting some of the comments just for shock value or do they truly agree with what they are posting? It makes you wonder if the year is 2009 or 1959.

Unfortunately, the fact that race has to play a backstory around a city election shows that Atlanta is not quite ready for primetime. As the city's demographics continue to change as a result of gentrification, I fear that the voting public will continue to create an atmoshere of name calling and racial pandering instead of a mature discussion of candidate qualifications during future election cycles. Atlanta, what happens in 2013 and 2017 when it is election time again? Will we behave maturely or will the dialogue become even more hostile? I sincerely hope that the winner of this year's runoff election will do his or her part to bring this city together. We need each other more than ever to solve very serious issues.