Atlanta’s Convention and Visitors Bureau officials told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel at the time that Black tourism was a “large and lucrative market,” citing that more people visit Martin Luther King’s birth home and the King Center (where his body is entombed) than Mount Rushmore or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The guide, which featured numerous monuments and buildings important to Black American history and the civil rights movement, was an instant success. In 1992, Atlanta started banking heavily on Black tourism, leveraging the word-of-mouth buzz from Black communities about where to go and using it to create a special edition of its visitors guide, Atlanta Now, specifically geared toward Black Southern culture. The same year that Outkast set out to take over the airwaves, Atlanta began reclaiming its image thanks to Black tourism. These examples weren’t outliers the early ’90s was the beginning of a new age for the Black South.
Black Southern Democrats gained even more power in the early ’90s, becoming essential to presidential campaigns. The rap world showcased Atlanta’s endless creativity: Outkast, for instance, formed in 1992, giving rap a distinct Southern flair. Atlanta was in the beginning stages of changing its outward appearance to the world in the 1990s.
Black Southerners, however, are the key to political, social and creative progress in the region, and Atlanta is no different. When some think of the South, they forget about its Black citizens, despite those citizens’ ancestors making the region rich in more ways than one, usually while under duress. To understand Perry’s position in Atlanta’s growing dominance in the entertainment industry, it’s important to understand the history of 1990s Atlanta. In particular, it’s part of Black Atlantans transforming the city from its prejudicial roots into a safe haven for Black pride and Black excellence. The reverberations of Perry’s financial support for Atlanta is part of an ongoing tradition of Atlanta rising in the ranks of national prominence. ‘The positive impact” of the investments being made “will be felt for generations to come.” “Significant job creation such as this will create more opportunities for hardworking Georgians and surrounding small businesses, which are the real backbone of our state’s economy,” then-Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms added. Jakes’ joint efforts to keep Atlanta on the cusp of the national conversation, telling The Hollywood Reporter that the studios and Jakes’ real estate company “ a real shot in the arm for an important community within the state of Georgia.” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also talked about Perry and Bishop T.D.
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