In the 1970s, Atlanta became known as the “Black Mecca” and billed itself as the City Too Busy to Hate, attracting Black businesses and Black entertainment with a working-class ethos that kept the city thriving.

Atlanta and the state of Georgia more broadly have a flip side. Bald-face racism and white supremacy have also been a hallmark of Georgia social and political dynamics. Atlanta, GA was the seat of the Confederacy and despite its history of segregation only experienced a single race riot in 1906, which killed scores of Black people.

Many believe that Black church leaders and white economic interests colluded to form an alliance at the exclusion and domination of the mostly Black underclass, which is popularly known as The Atlanta Way. While making Atlanta a less volatile space during the 1960’s upheaval, it has led to economic oppression that still persists.

Despite the Black upsurgence in electoral politics, Atlanta leads the nation in income inequality and has one of the highest per capita poverty indexes and economic immobility. Today the city is facing a decline in its Black population as its economics have tilted toward business interest above those of the working class. Gentrification through costly housing stock is rapidly dismantling entire communities, as poor residents are pushed out of their homes and away from the city and their extended family networks. Immigrant populations are under siege through ICE rapids, detention and deportation efforts. The city and region face growing environmental injustices undergirded by a refusal to expand mass public transit to all.

Poor and working-class residents continue to suffer under conditions of food apartheid (mischaracterized as “food deserts”), where residents lack access to fresh, healthful, and affordable foods and land ownership. In other areas such as education, Atlanta’s public schools continue to rank among the state’s lowest performers and lowest funded, while public education monies are siphoned away from students into private development projects. Within the schools, students face hostile learning environments created by increased criminalization, underpaid and under supported teachers, and ineffective, high-stakes learning methods. Meanwhile, police and other forms of state violence continue to mount against marginalized peoples and communities.

For both its history of resistance and its continued efforts to erode human rights, Atlanta serves as an apt site for SHROC XII. The Conference’s purpose is to bring organizers, human rights defenders, and community activists together to commune, strategize, and amplify work taking place across the global south in order to advance a sustainable and thriving human rights culture in Atlanta and beyond.