Politics, racial tensions and economic disparities make it very hard for varying communities to live in harmony with one another. Crime is escalating in Atlanta, Georgia, and its surrounding neighborhoods have been dealing with calls to defund the police, riots and voter fraud.
Residents of Buckhead, an Atlanta neighborhood, are considering forming their own city, primarily as a way to tackle the increased crime. The Washington Post reported, “In Atlanta, the homicide rate is up 50 percent over this time last year, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) said she and her police commanders have been struggling to come up with concise reasons as they brace for a potentially rough summer.”
Reportedly the Mayor’s “split” with the Atlanta Police Department is one of the reasons she has decided not to run for reelection. The Post reports “so far this year, the police zone that includes much of Buckhead has experienced a 40 percent increase in homicides, a 39 percent hike in robberies and a 64 percent spike in car thefts, according to city statistics.”
Bill White, chairman of the Buckhead Exploratory Committee said of the environment, “the mayor and the city council have been making bad decisions, so at what point does anyone with a brain say, ‘Enough?’ If crime is out of control and you are doing nothing about it you are finished as a city.”
While Buckhead has compelling safety reasons to secede, the city of Atlanta has a monetary stake in making sure it does not. An analysis by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found if Buckhead becomes its own city, it would sap 40 percent of Atlanta’s property wealth with a median income of $140,000 and 74 percent White residents.
“The population of the remaining Atlanta would be 59 percent Black – up from 50 percent – and the median household income would drop to $52,000 from $60,000” concluded the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.