New report highlights Atlanta's persistent racial inequality

ATLANTA — There are a few things people need in order to live good lives. Young people need quality education, parents need jobs and people need safe, quality and affordable housing, the Annie E. Casey Foundation argues.

But in Atlanta, too often those opportunities are not evenly distributed, the foundation says. Despite employment gains, income increases and a decreased rate of children in poor areas, the financial and educational gaps between Black and white Atlantans are still growing, according to the Foundation’s new report, “Changing the Odds: Comprehensive Solutions for Atlanta’s Future.”

The authors analyzed U.S. Census surveys as well as local and state education data to look at the city’s racial disparities, particularly after the pandemic and the protests spurred by the murder of George Floyd. The report builds on the findings from two previous editions in 2015 and 2019, which highlighted similar racial inequalities.

But progress has been made and people in the community are resilient, according to Kweku Forstall, director of the foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site.

“They make a way out of no way, but what we want them to do is not have to do that,” Forstall told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We want to change the odds, so they don’t have to beat the odds.”

Uneven growth

Atlanta has the second-lowest economic mobility numbers in the country because of disparities in income, savings and debt, according to the report.

Median household incomes for all racial groups in Atlanta increased from 2013 to 2021, but it grew more gradually for Black residents. Despite the increased incomes, the gap between Black and white households widened from about $72,000 in 2013 to more than $75,000 in 2021.

At the same time, the Black unemployment rate decreased to historic lows, from 21% in 2013 to just 9% in 2021. That rate is still three times higher than that for white Atlantans.

This shows employment by itself is not a proxy for wealth accumulation, according to Ade Oguntoye, a senior associate at the Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site.

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