The Black Women’s Mecca: Black Women, Atlanta, and the Making of the New Great Migration

Starting in the 1970s, the migration patterns that defined African American life for much of the 20th century began to reverse. The American South became a net gainer, as opposed to a net loser, of Black migrants, and southern cities attracted young, educated, and upwardly mobile Black professionals. The city that defined this emerging movement was Atlanta. Labeled the new Black Mecca, the economic, political, educational, and cultural opportunities the city offered Black migrants made it the leading destination of what became known as the New Great Migration.

This paper will use Essence magazine to approach Atlanta as more than the Black Mecca, arguing that it was explicitly a mecca for Black women—the Black Women’s Mecca. From its start, Essence magazine frequently shared information about the emerging movement with its readers, and it became a prominent booster of the movement with dazzling photo essays about successful and stylish professional Black women in Atlanta and compelling articles placing Atlanta among the best migration destinations for Black people. Using articles from Essence as a springboard, the paper describes the experiences and impact of Black women who came to Atlanta during the New Great Migration and helped to cultivate and increase its image as a place where Black women could find unmatched opportunities for success. The paper focuses on education, arts, and politics as three spaces where Black women increased the city’s national and international visibility. Lastly, since Black men’s political empowerment in Atlanta is understood as the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, by centering Black women in the city’s development of Black political power, this paper claims Black women as key torchbearers for the movement.