Keys to the city: race, place and class in America’s Black mecca

Abstract

Considering the ways in which class and space inform the varied experiences of Black people is essential to a more complete understanding of the African reality. Situating these constructs within the context of the Black Intellectual Tradition sheds light on the history of scholars who, for decades, have encouraged this analysis. Starting with Du Bois, this study pays homage to and continues the work of analyzing race and class in Black spaces. Relying on thirty-four in-depth interviews, this research highlights the racialized and classed experiences of Black Atlantans. Drawing on the theoretical frames of Black placemaking, a premise that is encouraged in the Black Intellectual Tradition, I explain how, even in a Black mecca like Atlanta, certain class groups are left out of the educational opportunities and social privileges afforded to whites and economically advantaged Blacks. I use the term Black meccanisms to elucidate the way city institutions act as agents to help Atlanta maintain its Black mecca status, while simultaneously reinforcing class inequality. Community-engaged research empowers people to suggest and create solutions to the social problems they encounter. Therefore, my research gives voice to solutions participants agree would help undermine the effects of structural inequality – improved and diverse educational institutions.