Atlanta, the capital of Georgia and the ninth largest metropolitan city in the United States, is home of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, the National Black Arts Festival and the largest consortium of historically black colleges and universities. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, African American tourists choose Atlanta as their favorite U.S. city to visit.

The combination of great food, weather and people are just some of the reasons African Americans continue to move to Atlanta. It's also known for small business:

"Atlanta is amazing," notes Ray Wallace, president of W. Ray Wallace & Associates, an Inc. 500 firm that does financial consulting from suburban Alpharetta, Ga. "The opportunities are here and small businesses are here. People from all over the South come to Atlanta like to Mecca."

In the past few years, there have been several articles on the appeal of Atlanta for the black lesbian and gay community. As of 2005, Atlanta has the largest population of black gay couples in the United States (NPR podcast). Some even call Atlanta a "mecca for black gays".

Atlanta is known for being steeped in tradition and religious values. Given this reputation, vistors are often surpised by how visible the gay community is in Atlanta. Indeed the city is host to a healthy amount of organizations and publications.

Links of Interest

In The Life Atlanta
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Atlanta, GA 30312
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Mission: ITLA serves to promote unity, pride, self-empowerment, and positive visibility within Atlanta's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community of African descent through education, advocacy, and coalition building programs.