While serving on the hospitality ministry at church, I had a conversation with Michelle, a fellow volunteer who recently relocated from Los Angeles to Atlanta. As we talked about sports, she reminisced about L.A.’s long-standing commitment to winning—teams like the Lakers, Dodgers, Kings, and even the Raiders during their time in the city all have a history of championship success. This led to a deeper reflection on Atlanta, my birth city, and whether we truly have a spirit to win—not just in sports but in all aspects of life.
The Power of Spirit
The spirit is more than just a mindset. It’s the core of who we are, the unchanging essence that shapes our actions and resilience. While the mind influences decisions and strategies, the spirit fuels determination, perseverance, and the will to overcome obstacles. This is the fundamental difference between having teams and having a culture of winning.
Los Angeles has cultivated a winning spirit—a belief that success is not just possible but expected. In contrast, Atlanta, despite having talented teams, often falls short of sustaining that championship mentality. The same can be said about our city’s broader challenges beyond sports.
The Spirit of a City
Sports are a microcosm of society. Just as teams must embody a winning spirit to claim championships, a city must foster a spirit of resilience and progress to break cycles of poverty, inequality, and systemic oppression.
Atlanta is a city of contradictions. It is home to incredible Black wealth and culture, yet it ranks #1 for income inequality based on race. It is a city where four out of five Black children live in concentrated poverty, where being born in poverty means having less than a 4% chance of escaping it. These realities aren’t just statistics—they are reflections of the policies, structures, and attitudes that shape life in Atlanta.
The Reality of Racism
Before race is about people, it’s about power, influence, and affluence.
- Power is control over policies, systems, and opportunities.
- Influence is relationships and social capital.
- Affluence is financial wealth and economic security.
When race becomes about people, it becomes a literal race—where there are winners and losers, and the systems in place often determine who succeeds and who struggles. Racism is not just about personal prejudice; it is a structure designed to benefit some at the expense of others.
Three Racist Policies Still Impacting Atlanta Today
Despite being a city known for its civil rights history, Atlanta continues to have policies that disproportionately harm African Americans and keep them in cycles of poverty:
- Predatory Housing and Gentrification
- Black residents in historically redlined neighborhoods continue to face displacement due to rising property taxes, aggressive redevelopment, and a lack of affordable housing policies. Gentrification is reshaping communities without protecting the long-time residents who built them.
- Education Inequities and School Funding Disparities
- Atlanta Public Schools serving predominantly Black communities receive fewer resources and lower teacher retention rates compared to schools in wealthier, predominantly white areas. This gap limits educational and economic mobility for Black children.
- Discriminatory Lending and Banking Practices
- Black entrepreneurs and homeowners face systemic barriers to securing business and home loans due to discriminatory lending practices. Black-owned businesses receive significantly fewer investment opportunities, limiting wealth-building and economic growth in the community.
Cultivating a Winning Spirit
For Atlanta to truly win—not just in sports but in justice, equity, and opportunity—we must cultivate a spirit that demands change. Just as a championship team expects victory and does the hard work to achieve it, we must expect and pursue real transformation in our city.
This means:
- Challenging policies that perpetuate economic and racial disparities.
- Investing in education and economic opportunities to break cycles of generational poverty.
- Fostering a collective spirit that believes in and works toward systemic change.
Atlanta is a city with immense potential, but potential alone doesn’t win championships—or create justice. It takes spirit, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to win. The question is: Are we ready to embody that spirit?