Atlanta's Cityhood Movement Might Be Out of Control

Last November, the city of Stockbridge, a small municipality about 20 miles south of Atlanta, elected its first black mayor: Anthony Ford, a retired, decorated U.S. Army Colonel. Not only that, but several other African Americans were elected, making this the first time in its history that Stockbridge would be governed by an all-black city council and mayor.

Five months later, the state passed two bills allowing one of Stockbridge’s wealthiest communities, Eagle’s Landing, to break off to form its own city. That moving schedule might appear racist on its face, especially since it was initiated by a woman named Vikki Consiglio who happens to be white. Consiglio has pointed out, though, that the new city of Eagle’s Landing, if formed, would be a diverse city, with an estimated 46 percent African-American and 40 percent white population.