1. Atlanta
    Historically black colleges in Atlanta  Black entertainment mecca  Mecca for LGBT African Americans  Criticism 

2. Harlem
    Harlem renaissance  Mecca for West African Muslim immigrants 

3. Other cities
    Canada 

4. References

A black mecca, in the United States, is a city to which African Americans, particularly professionals,^[1] are drawn to live, due to some or all of the following factors:

• superior economic opportunities for blacks, often as assessed by the presence of a large black upper-middle and upper class
• black political power in a city
• leading black educational institutions in a city
• a city's leading role in black arts, music, and other culture
• harmonious black-white race relations in a city

Atlanta

Atlanta has frequently been referred to as a black mecca since the 1970s.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

In 1971, Ebony magazine called Atlanta the "black mecca of the South", because "black folks have more, live better, accomplish more and deal with whites more effectively than they do anywhere else in the South—or North".^[15] Ebony illustrated as evidence of "mecca" status Atlanta's high black home ownership, the Atlanta University Center (the nation's largest consortium of historically black colleges (HBCUs)), Atlanta's civil rights heritage, black business ownership, black-owned restaurants, the civic leadership of the black clergy, black fraternal organizations, and black political power in City Hall, while it also acknowledged the poverty which a large percentage of Atlanta's black population endured.

In 1983, Atlanta magazine said that Atlanta's reputation as a black mecca was "deserved because it is true" because "the metro area now has the highest proportion of middle-income African-Americans of any city in the country".^[16]

A 1997 Ebony magazine article illustrated Atlanta's status as "the new mecca" (and the "land of milk and honey" for blacks) because a poll of the magazine's 100 most influential African Americans voted Atlanta overall the best city for blacks, possessed the most employment opportunities for blacks, it was American's "most diverse city", and was the city with the best schools and most affordable housing for blacks.^[11] A 2002 article in the same magazine reconfirmed Atlanta as "the new black mecca" and "the go-to city for blacks."^[14]

In 2009, the Associated Press characterized Atlanta's status as a black mecca by black political power in its City Hall.^[12]

A 2015 report showed that Greater Atlanta had the greatest numerical gain in new black residents than any metropolitan area in the U.S., with more than 198,031 black residents moving there, according to an analysis of census data.^[22]

Historically black colleges in Atlanta

Atlanta is the home of the largest consortium of historically black institutions in the nation. The Atlanta University Center consists of Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College and the Morehouse School of Medicine. The consortium structure allows for students to cross-register at the other institutions in order to attain a broader collegiate experience.

Black entertainment mecca

In 2011 in a New York Times article with the short title "Atlanta Emerges as a Black Entertainment Mecca", comedian Cedric the Entertainer, who hosted that year's Soul Train Music Awards, said Atlanta had always been a black mecca and continues to be one, with respect to the black musical talent in the city.^[20]

Mecca for LGBT African Americans

In 2005 the New York Times reported that Atlanta had become a mecca for gay blacks, noting that within the African-American community in the U.S., in which being gay was less accepted than in society as a whole, Atlanta formed a refuge of tolerance. It also noted Atlanta's annual Atlanta Black Pride festival.^[23] An earlier 2004 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also documented Atlanta as a "hub" or "mecca" for black gays.^[24]

Criticism

Atlanta's status as a "mecca" for blacks is sometimes questioned, or the concept of a "mecca" refuted altogether, due to the endemic high levels of black poverty that exist alongside black success.^[7] In 1997 the Chicago Tribune published an article titled "Atlanta's image as a black mecca losing luster". The loss in "luster" was because of a reality that too many blacks weren't coming close to financial success, but rather "caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty, crime and homelessness". The city had among the highest crime rates in the nation, many inner-city blacks were unable to travel to jobs in the suburbs, and despite 20 years of black city leadership, the reality was that city officials were unable to solve these problems.^[25]

Harlem

Harlem renaissance

Harlem in New York City was referred to as a black mecca during the 1920s and 1930s.

In March 1925 the leading magazine Survey Graphic produced an issue entitled "Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro"^[4] that was devoted to the African-American literary and artistic movement now known as the "Harlem Renaissance". Alain Locke guest-edited this issue. Much of the material appears in his 1925 anthology "The New Negro."^[2][3] In 1965, author Seth Scheiner published the book Negro Mecca; A History of the Negro in New York City, 1865-1920.^[26]

The 2001 book Harlemworld documented that the concept of Harlem as a black mecca at that time (i.e. seven decades after the Harlem Renaissance) was still present among many residents - a concept that was "history-laden" or even quasi-mythical.^[27][28]

Mecca for West African Muslim immigrants

Other cities

Rarely are places other than Atlanta and Harlem mentioned as black meccas, though in questioning the status of Atlanta as a black mecca, comparisons are often made to other cities with large black populations with cities over 200,000 people, such as Birmingham, Detroit, St. Louis, Memphis, Durham, Philadelphia, Houston and New Orleans,^[1] as well as New York (as a whole, i.e. not just Harlem), Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Oakland, Miami, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, and Joliet, Illinois.^[11]

Comparison of black-majority cities at the time of the 2010 US Census:

Canada

In the 1850's, the city of Chatham, Ontario was referred to as the "Black Mecca of Canada", as a final stop on the Underground Railroad.^[32] A museum in the city, the Black Mecca Museum, still bares this name.^[33] The small city was home to a number of black churches and business, with Black Canadians making up 1/3 of the city's population and controlling a significant portion of the city's political power. Nearby Dresden and Buxton were home to thousands of land-owning black residents.^[34] However, after the abolition of slavery in the United States, many black families left the area. Today the city is just 2.1% black, and many of the black-owned institutions have now closed.^[35]

In the 21st century, Halifax, Nova Scotia has sometimes come to be thought of as the black mecca of Canada due to the long history of Black Nova Scotians in the city. The city is home to an Afrocentric school, several land-owning black communities, and a number of black owned non-profit institutions. However, blacks control little economic wealth in the city and racist incidents are common.^[36][37] After not having black representation in local politics for 16 years - the city again elected a black city councillor in 2016.^[38]

References

• Dolly mix
• Dolly Mixture
• Dolly Morton
• Dollymount Township, Minnesota
• Dolly of the Dailies
• Dolly Parton albums discography
• Dolly Peel
• Dolly peg
• Dolly pegs
• Dolly Pratt
• Dolly Rockers
• Dolly Rockit Rollers
• Dolly Rots
• Dollyrots
• Dolly Shahine
• Dollys Scoop
• Dolly's Scoop
• Dolly's search for neighbours next big star
• Dolly Stark
• Dolly Suite
• Dolly the Cloned Sheep
• Dolly Unachukwu
• Dolly Varden (character)
• Dolly Varden (costume)
• Dolly Varden crab