How Atlanta left behind its Olympic generation, and why it matters

What actually ended around that time, whether we knew it or not, was our reliance on analog things.

Here’s why that’s important: Culturally, there’s now a connective tissue gap. We don’t have enough people reared in those years sitting in enough positions of power in Atlanta.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

I believe kids from that Olympic era of Atlanta, who graduated from high schools like Mays, Woodward and Southwest DeKalb between 1995 and 2005, can figure out how to get us more connected. But when you look to your left and right, and you don’t have that, and ATL continues to grow, it’s just getting further 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, who graduated from Southwest DeKalb High School and held a big position at Google for years, and now owns Buckhead Art & Company art gallery.

Credit: courtesy

Credit: courtesy

But these wins — having someone hyperlocal working at Coke or Google and being of the system — they’re small wins.

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 from Southwest DeKalb to Google. You need three or four other people in that age range in those positions.

So there’s a gap. People in Karimah’s position don’t have the help they need because it’s such a large gap. And as a result, these big global companies fail to connect to Atlanta’s neighborhoods and communities.

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

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

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

The Atlanta Regional Commission and the Metro Atlanta Chamber get to work when we have big things coming to town. And then they do projected growth models. We learn that Atlanta is projected to grow by a certain amount of people.

ARC and the people who project growth models couldn’t project the back end of Freaknik. Its impact on the city’s population, from a growth standpoint, was never taken seriously. Freaknik was tracked by traffic and crime, but we never tracked those who said “I’m finna move here next year.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Freaknik and the TV show “A Different World” pumped in a lot of Black people into the city. But there was no preparation for the hyperlocal Blacks.

Back when I was an APS student, we were required to take Georgia history in seventh or eighth grade. The older I got and [the more I] started paying attention, I realized the native Atlantans who came after us are emotionally connected but don’t know where Auburn Avenue meets Peachtree or the legend of the Black Mecca.

When students come to Morehouse or Spelman today, they get a little bit of that history, including the school and the West End. They get history some of us don’t get, which is shameful.

But while those schools offer Atlanta University history, it’s not “real Atlanta” history. So you’ve got a lot of people who don’t fully understand how or why Atlanta works, even though they claim it.

We love ourselves, but we don’t know enough of our real Atlanta history. And again, it’s not the natives’ fault. We’re sending students out here and they don’t really know from whence they came. And you’ve gotta know and love yourself before you can teach somebody else to love you.

I’m holding corporations accountable. I might be critical of new people but I’m equally yoked in holding natives accountable.

And if there’s no intention to love on ourselves, embrace and double-down on ourselves, and build from within, you can’t go over to Mercedes-Benz or Norfolk Southern and start demanding they create a pipeline program. There’s no connection.

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

This is how we got the Falcons using Rotimi for a marketing campaign. We’re not in positions of power.

We should be capturing the concierge and security downstairs — that’s the real Atlanta. But that didn’t happen. And it’s no knock on the Falcons — or the Hawks, or any of them. But we’re supposed to be natives and root for these teams, or drink Coca-Cola exclusively, or only fly Delta even though it’s expensive, and not partner with Spirit….

The money Atlanta is making in its growth is not being made by or trickling down to 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 student from Therrell would end up at Pandora.

Nobody even brings Therrell up. And that was Anthony Edwards’ high school. The mayor went to Mays.

These school names are not said by people leading marketing meetings in Atlanta. They only know Mays because the mayor talks about Mays. When he’s not saying it, they’re not saying it. And isn’t “saying their names” what we demand?

What would help is if these school systems spent more time with ARC. Because ARC has the numbers in terms of growth and economics. It’s a database agency.

You can give students information about the region — that has nothing to do with the lesson plan. “Hey young person, you do know we’re expected to grow by 150,000 people in 10 years, right? Pay attention now, bruh.”

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

That’s giving the information, which is what these school systems are not doing. The wealth disparity, the projected growth — this is not being communicated. So they’re coming out at a deficit going into “New Atlanta.”

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

It doesn’t even have to be about race. I rarely run into white people in my age group. Show me a white person from that time period, besides John, who went to some of these public schools, and now works at Delta or Coca-Cola making it happen. I don’t see it. We don’t see each other.

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

Running Atlanta Influences Everything in this day and age is lonely.

It’s no one’s fault, but “the Olympic generation” got lost in Olympics prep and growth. What if we had identified that as the “Olympic Prep Generation?”

I talk my sh*t to the new people but I’m equally yoked in holding the natives accountable. The system itself, from an administrative leadership place, has been off for so long. They have to love on themselves and have some hard conversations to make audibles and adjustments.

We uplift the mayor’s “Year of the Youth” initiative, but we need more overall support and more intentionality for the program. We need a “Year of the Youth” on steroids. Put way more support around these programs. We have 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 would encourage everyone reading this to reach out to these new superintendents in DeKalb, Fulton and Atlanta Public Schools. Don’t wait on them. Bombard them. Grew here, flew here or whatever, let’s create some sort of connective tissue to these school systems.

We’re in another period of transformation and growth for Atlanta. Don’t let what happened with the “Olympic Generation” happen again.

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