The proportion of black residents to white residents of Metro Atlanta counties rose dramatically from the 1940s to the 1970s. This phenomenon, known as “white flight,” occurred in urban areas all over the country, for the most part in direct response to school integration policies.
In 1940, the black population was concentrated in the middle of Fulton county, interspersed with plenty of districts populated primarily by white people. This is the Atlanta that my grandparents were born into.In 1950, we see that DeKalb county has become more white while Fulton county continues to contain primarily black neighborhoods nearby primarily white neighborhoods. During this time, my grandparents were attending fully segregated Atlanta public schools.In 1960, at the beginning of the serious push for school integration, Metro Atlanta’s black population was larger than it had been in recent decades. But there were still plenty of districts with approximately equal proportions of black to white students. This is the Atlanta that my parents were born into.Finally, in 1970, as white flight has come into full affect, the mass exodus of white people (including both of my parents’ families) led to the overwhelming majority of Fulton and DeKalb county districts becoming almost entirely black– essentially perpetuating de facto school segregation. In the upper right hand corner, you see Gwinnett County, where my dad graduated from high school. My cousins still attend Gwinnett County public schools– which are now among the wealthiest and highest quality public schools in the South, while Fulton County schools continue to struggle.
on integration 