TAP’s Top 5 Innovative Cities for African-Americans

4.  Atlanta, Georgia

The city of Atlanta earned its spot on the list with high black entrepreneurship rates. According to the most recent U.S. Economic Census, the whole state of Georgia has the fourth largest number of black-owned firms, and the booming Atlanta capital thrives from that fact.

Furthermore, Atlanta’s social brand can be witnessed in almost every hit African-American reality TV show franchise. From “Real Housewives of Atlanta”, to Mo’Nique’s hit late night talk show, there’s no doubt that Atlanta pulls some major production weight, and has blossomed into a black Hollywood. Plus, who could forget that the city is home to the first-ever African-American-owned film studio in the United States: the Tyler Perry Studios.  In addition, the city is a hotbed for African-American music and a haven for black music producers.

As for mayoral leadership, the December runoff between Mary Norwood, of Caucasian descent, and Kasim Reed, of African-American descent, showed that Atlanta’s populace is not blindly driven by race, but rather focused on comprehensive political debate.

To be sure, Atlanta almost didn’t make it to the Atlanta Post’s Top 5 Innovative Cities list, because its average unemployment rate for black men and women came in at a whopping 16.9% (which by the way is two points less than Chicago’s). The city was redeemed by its other enterprising features.

Overall Score: 3.25

Employment————-1.5

Entrepreneurship——3.5

Social brand————-5.0

Political Leadership—3.0