Atlanta 2040: What life will look like in the city’s third century

The “Atlanta Way” won’t be just black and white

The demographic shifts we’re seeing now will continue. We’re going to see more immigrants and refugees choosing Atlanta as their home when they arrive in America. We have the stores, faith institutions, and community groups where people of multiple ethnicities can feel at home. There will also be an influx of transplants from other parts of the country. So, the look of people will change, but will policies change? Will power change? Who is even being invited to the table? The “Atlanta Way” sees diversity as only black and white. We need to make room for new communities of color. That means some people are going to have to step back. Power doesn’t just give itself away. We need a new Atlanta Way.

—Helen Ho, attorney specializing in employment discrimination, founder and former executive director of the Atlanta branch of Asian Americans Advancing Justice