Ataleoftwocities 090624132526 Phpapp02
- 1. A Tale of Two Cities Atlanta and Birmingham respond to the Civil Rights Movement Lori Campanile and Lindsay Robinson
- 2. Atlanta and Birmingham Both cities have similar populations and importance up until about 1950 Began to diverge in the mid 20 th century Develop different economies and different images Why did Atlanta and Birmingham develop so differently? What choices did city leaders make that effected the future of each city?
- 3. Atlanta “ Atlanta was in the South but not of the South .”
- 4. Atlanta’s Population The City White Black 1940 302,280 60% 40% 1960 487,455 54% 45% 1980 425,022 34% 66% 2000 416,474 37.7% 56.8% Estimations leaving out other ethnic groups.
- 5. Metropolitan Area 1940 - 820,000 about 35% of whom are black. 1960 – 1,300,000 44% Black 1980- Population is just under 2 million 66% Black By 2007- Atlanta has been the fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation since 2000, with a gain of nearly 900,000 residents to 5.1 million
- 6. Atlanta: The City too Busy to Hate Is Atlanta’s ‘Progressive’ reputation overstated? Atlanta’s business community chooses early on to comply with desegregation, but it was a grudging and long process. One example is the encouragement by the Chairman of Coca-Cola Robert Woodruff….
- 7. The Coca Cola City
- 8. Diverse is not Equal Atlanta experiences white flight and a growth of inner city ghettos One of the starkest examples is Atlanta’s schools Despite the level of development; Atlanta remains ‘segregated’. Atlanta is Progressive by comparison…to Birmingham!
- 9. Conclusions on Atlanta Atlanta’s growth and economy accelerate past Birmingham’s especially 1970-2000 The city’s early; albeit grudging acceptance of Civil Rights and growth of the Black Middle Class accounts for its accelerated development Perhaps the development of a sizable Black middle class but also an influx of non-Southern whites account for Atlanta’s development.
- 10. Birmingham Founded in 1871 Named after a manufacturing center in England Famous for dubious distinction of “ Most segregated city in the United States” – MLK Jr Bombingham Bull Conner
- 11. Birmingham Populations White Black 1940 267,583 61% 39% 1960 340,887 60.3% 39.6% 1980 284,413 43.9% 55.6% 2000 242,840 24.1% 73.5%
- 12. The ‘Magic’ City Industrial- iron ore, limestone and coal found in close proximity led to “Magic City” The Big Mules– mine owners control the city -delegate political intermediaries to oversee strategic racial violence– not realizing racial hatred is not the best strategy for economic growth
- 13. Bombingham
- 14. Birmingham
- 15. What stopped the “Magic City”? Small elite upper class and large lower class of poor whites and Blacks led to huge racial problems that politicians not only didn’t stop, but encouraged Encouraged racism whenever the have-nots threatened to organize unions across racial lines Bull Conner—commissioner of public safety “White and Negro are not to segregate together!”
- 16. Conclusions Atlanta and Birmingham develop different after the 1950s as a direct result of their different responses to the Civil Rights Movement
- 17. Sources Cited http://sos.georgia.gov/archives/tours/html/atlanta_history.html http://www.atlantahighered.org/civilrights/ http://www.edutopia.org/diverse-not-equal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta 1. Carry Me Home Birmingham, Alabama, The Climatic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution Diane McWhorter, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001. 2. "Southern Exposure" Jon Wiener, The Nation , June 11, 2001. 3. America Divided The Civil War of the 1960s Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazen, Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (February 28, 2007) . 4. "Family's Profits, Wrung from Blood and Sweat" David Barstow and Lowell Bergman, New York Times , January 9, 2003.