The city of Atlanta – a southern symbol for black political empowerment and a mecca for African-American professionals - could be on the verge of electing its first white mayor in more than 35 years.

Atlanta Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who is white, is one of the front-runners for the Nov. 3 election to replace Mayor Shirley Franklin. The other top candidates are City Council President Lisa Borders and Georgia State Sen. Kasim Reed, both of whom are black.

Norwood is leading all of her opponents in most major polls, but the race is tightening.

A racially-inflammatory e-mail sponsored by a black political group recently emerged, saying Norwood should be defeated before a potential runoff election.

“Time is of the essence because in order to defeat a Norwood (white) mayoral candidacy, we have to get out now and work in a manner to defeat her without a runoff, and the key is a significant black turnout in the general election,” the memo from the Black Leadership Forum states.

But Charles Ellison, author and director of the Center for New Politics and Policy, said Norwood's ascendancy as front-runner in Atlanta's mayoral race is no accident.

“It's typical, and it is rooted in a number of factors impacting most urban centers with large black populations,” Ellison told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“It's the for-better-or-for-worse consequence of gentrification, of low-income to working class- black neighborhoods rapidly disappearing in a wave of real estate bum rushes by mostly white urban professionals,” he said.
 
The city has changed substantially since Franklin was elected mayor in 2001. It has increased by more than 100,000 people, but the black majority has dropped to 56 percent from 61 percent.

“Atlanta is still a draw for black professionals, and the percentage of blacks in the metropolitan area has grown slightly, but in the city itself, the pool of likely black voters is estimated at just barely a majority," according to The New York Times. “Many of the city’s public housing projects, where black votes once could be marshaled in a bloc, have been demolished.”

Most residents of Atlanta have supported black mayors since Maynard Jackson was elected in 1973 in a city where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached and led non-violent marches during the 1960s civil rights movement.

Jackson’s election symbolized the emergence of black political power in a city where black professionals have now thrived over the years.

But will black voters support a white candidate for mayor?

“Dr. King said we should be evaluated on who we are, not what we look like,” Norwood told The New York Times. “I’m focused on public safety, city service delivery, quality of life issues and growing the city. That’s what the citizens of Atlanta are interested in.”

Over the past few months, Norwood and the black mayoral candidates have engaged in spirited debates over who can best address the city’s financial problems and reduce crime.

“It would be a major game change in this town if a Buckhead Betty became mayor,” Tom Houck, a former newspaper columnist, who is white, told The New York Times. For Houck, Buckhead was a mocking term for the well-heeled women of the north side of town. “Atlanta is a symbol for black Americans, more than Los Angeles, more than Chicago, more than Baltimore,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ellison said the new political dynamic in Atlanta is evidence of the inability of the African-American political establishment to rally around one strong black candidate. 

“It’s sign of the evolving and diverse political attitudes of African-Americans in the 21st century, where black voters are more open to picking candidates based on perceived qualifications than race,” Ellison said.

“It's not about how black you are. It's about 'What can you do for me?'” he added. “The successful candidates are those who are able to build multi-racial, multi-ethnic or multi-group coalitions."