A Tale of Two Cities Your Story, Your Stage

Can a community renounce the poverty its people inherited?

Atlanta is a tale of two cities, a place of paradox. It’s the home of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the world’s busiest airport. A city “too busy to hate” and the capital of Black culture. And yet, a child born in poverty in Atlanta has the lowest chance at significant economic mobility of any major city in the U.S. But why? Why does dust from the construction of new, glittering skylines cover the blocks of historic neighborhoods as they await their inevitable renaming and sale?

In a city steeped in possibilities, we have the highest income inequality in the nation. Today, the median white household here owns 46x as much wealth as the median Black household. That gap is as wide as it was nationally in 1863 – just 4 years after Charles Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities was published. Our quality of life has improved in that time, but our economic and racial disparities have not. Unfortunately, we too often embrace a shallow version of what Dr. King called “the beloved community.” A version that prioritizes representation over equity and the comfort of the passengers over the direction of the train.

It is indeed the best of times and the worst of times, and yet we have the power to do something about it. At the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund, we build bold solutions to address poverty and narrow the racial wealth divide. Solutions like In Her Hands, a guaranteed income initiative that provides women in Georgia with an income supplement – no strings attached. Developed with community members, we demonstrate that people closest to the issue are often the most knowledgeable about solving it. Solutions like Baby Bonds, that invest in young people to help build wealth, setting us on a path to narrowing the racial wealth divide by 25%. Programs like these make a significant and direct impact.

We celebrate those who overcome significant obstacles because, deep down, we know how hard it is to defy the status quo and envision a better future. Many aren’t able to – despite their best efforts. If we’re ever going to live in a city that isn’t defined by the line from Buckhead to Bankhead, we’ll need your help. Go to www.2Atlantas.com and learn how you can help end the divide. Let’s make this one, united city.

Paul Glaze

Communications Director

Georgia Resilience and Opportunity (GRO) Fund