How Atlanta left its Olympic generation behind and why it matters

Here’s why it matters: Culturally, there is now a gap in the connective tissue. We don’t have enough people raised during these years in enough positions of power in Atlanta.

Credit: [email protected]

Credits: [email protected]

I believe the kids of Atlanta’s Olympic era, who graduated from high schools like Mays, Woodward and Southwest DeKalb between 1995 and 2005, know how to bring us closer together. But when you look left and right, and you don’t have that, and ATL continues to grow, it’s just moving away from hyperlocal connectivity.

You might find someone like John Hyman, valedictorian of my class at North Atlanta High School, who is now a partner at King & Spalding. Or you might see Karimah McFarlane, a graduate of Southwest DeKalb High School who held a top job at Google for years, and now owns the Buckhead Art & Company art gallery.

Credit: courtesy

Credit: courtesy

But these victories – having someone hyperlocal working at Coke or Google and being part of the system – these are small victories.

There aren’t a lot of people like John or Karimah, so they can’t really hold hands like “We Are the World” and systematically make changes and create some sort of pipeline between Southwest DeKalb and Google. We need three or four other people in this age group to fill these positions.

So there is a gap. People in Karimah’s situation don’t get the help they need because the gap is so wide. As a result, these large global companies are failing to connect to Atlanta’s neighborhoods and communities.

Our public school base is not well represented in corporate positions in Atlanta. You may see representation of Atlanta Public Schools at companies like NCR and Norfolk Southern, but it’s usually in the lobby – more janitorial, janitorial, valet and security jobs, which are paid positions. That’s where you’ll find MARTA-riding, my cousin, the “Atlanna” — without the “T.”

But take the elevator to the second, third, and fourth floors, that’s where you’ll find Atlanta, pronounced with the “T.” I don’t want to blame any one person or entity, but, economically, Atlanta is not working for the “Atlannas.”

We keep bragging about how Georgia is a great state for business, but that seems like an outside attraction. And those of us who represent “Atlanna” make it a local place with mottos and slogans like “I grew up here; you flew here” and “We’re full.”

The Atlanta Regional Commission and the Metro Atlanta Chamber get to work when big things come to town. And then they develop projected growth models. We learn that Atlanta is expected to grow by a certain number of people.

ARC and the people who project growth models couldn’t project Freaknik’s background. Its impact on the city’s population, from a growth perspective, has never been taken seriously. Freaknik was followed by traffic and crime, but we never followed those who said “I’m moving here next year.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Freaknik and the TV show “A Different World” attracted many black people to the city. But there was no preparation for hyperlocal black people.

Back when I was a student at APS, we had to take Georgia history in seventh or eighth grade. The older I got and (the more I) started paying attention, I realized that native Atlantans who followed us are emotionally connected but don’t know where Auburn Avenue meets Peachtree or the legend of the Black Mecca.

Today, students who come to Morehouse or Spelman experience a bit of that history, including that of the school and the West End. They’re discovering a story that some of us don’t know, which is shameful.

But even though these schools offer the history of Atlanta University, it is not the “real” history of Atlanta. So there are a lot of people who don’t really understand how or why Atlanta works, even if they claim they do.

We love each other, but we don’t know enough about our true Atlanta history. And once again, it’s not the natives’ fault. We send students here and they don’t really know where they come from. And you have to know and love yourself before you can teach someone else to love you.

I hold corporations accountable. I may be critical of newcomers, but I am equally determined to hold indigenous people accountable.

And if there is no intention to love yourself, accept yourself and try harder, and build from within, you can’t turn to Mercedes-Benz or Norfolk Southern and start demanding that they create a pipeline program. There is no connection.

Credit: [email protected]

Credit: [email protected]

This is how we got the Falcons to use Rotimi for a marketing campaign. We are not in a position of power.

We should capture the janitor and security downstairs – this is the real Atlanta. But that didn’t happen. And it’s not a blow to the Falcons – or the Hawks, or any of them. But we’re supposed to be natives and support these teams, or exclusively drink Coca-Cola, or only fly Delta even though it’s expensive, and not associate with Spirit….

The money Atlanta makes from its growth is not are manufactured or spread in our neighborhoods. I live right next to Sylvan Middle School, and when I see these students, I don’t know how they would end up working at United Talent Agency or how a Therrell student would end up at Pandora.

No one even mentions Therrell. And that was Anthony Edwards’ high school. The mayor went to see Mays.

These school names are not said by the people running marketing meetings in Atlanta. They only know Mays because the mayor talks about Mays. When he doesn’t say it, they don’t say it. And isn’t it “pronouncing their names” that we demand?

What would help is for these school systems to spend more time on ARC. Because ARC has the numbers in terms of growth and the economy. It is a database agency.

You can give students information about the area, it has nothing to do with the lesson plan. “Hey, kid, you know we should have 150,000 people in 10 years, right? Be careful now, buddy.

Credit: Natrice Miller / [email protected]

Credit: Natrice Miller / [email protected]

This amounts to providing information, which these school systems do not do. The wealth disparity, the projected growth, all of this is not communicated. They therefore find themselves with a deficit heading into “New Atlanta”.

I’ve never worked 9-5, but I kind of understand the corporate hierarchy. By now, if you’re part of Atlanta’s “Olympic Generation,” you should be close to the C-suite by now.

It doesn’t even have to be about race. I rarely meet white people in my age group. Show me one white person from that era, besides John, who went to some of those public schools and is now working at Delta or Coca-Cola to make this happen. I do not see it. We don’t see each other.

And what gives me the confidence to say that is the growth of Atlanta Influences Everything. People say “Be everywhere”. So if you say that, and we had the success that we had, you don’t think I would have met the people in the class that we’re talking about?

Running in Atlanta influences everything, these days it’s all lonely.

It’s no one’s fault, but “the Olympic generation” got lost in the preparation and growth of the Olympic Games. What if we had identified this as the “Olympic Preparation Generation?” »

I talk my shit to new people, but I’m also required to hold the natives accountable. The system itself, from an administrative leadership perspective, has been broken for so long. They need to love themselves and have difficult conversations to make adjustments and adjustments.

We support the Mayor’s “Year of Youth” initiative, but we need greater overall support and intentionality for the program. We need a “Year of Youth” on steroids. Give a lot more support to these programs. We need to place our best and brightest with Invest Atlanta, the Chamber, and entities like them, including the AJC. Put the valedictorian at Mays High School with Katie Kirkpatrick or Dan Corso.

I encourage everyone reading this to contact these new superintendents of DeKalb, Fulton and Atlanta public schools. Don’t wait for them. Bomb them. Having grown up here, flown here or whatever, let’s create some kind of connective tissue with these school systems.

We are in another period of transformation and growth for Atlanta. Don’t let what happened to the “Olympic generation” happen again.

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