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Liberal Place: DeKalb County, GA
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I strongly feel that DeKalb County, Georgia shoud be added to the liberal friendly list. The county forms the eastern half of "intown" Atlanta, the liberal safety zone formed by I-285, Atlanta's beltway. Parts of Atlanta's city limits extend into DeKalb, giving the area a rare mix of urban and suburban communities. It is the only suburban county in the Atlanta area that did not reject expansion of MARTA, Atlanta's transit system. The county seat, Decatur has a large lesbian population that gave us the Indigo Girls. Progressive Emory University and Agnes Scott College also bring a large liberal and gay community to the area. Apart from the city of Atlanta, DeKalb is the only locale in the area to welcome its gay and lesbian citizens. It is by far the most ethnically diverse county in the state, and one of the most diverse in the country. North DeKalb is home to a very diverse Asian and Hispanic community of various ethnicities, while South DeKalb is a bastion of middle-class African Americans. Even in Bible-Belt Georgia, DeKalb has historically been receptive to Jewish citizens and has a the area's largest Jewish community, dating back well over 100 years. Nonetheless, the county has also drawn many wealthier families of all persuasion to the Dunwoody and Druid Hills areas and withstood much of the "white-flight" trend. The county has managed to assimilate all of these groups to form a very cohesive community with strong character and history. Recently DeKalb County was named to be one of ten All-American communities, and its diversity was a key in winning this award. The area is represented by Cynthia McKinney in congress, who, along with John Lewis of inner-city Atlanta, is a liberal rarity in the Georgia Congressional delegation. Recently Stone Mountain, in eastern DeKalb, elected its first African-American mayor, marking a turnaround from days when this town was once a bastion of the KKK. The county has historically proven that various cultures, religions, and lifestyles can combine to form a strong community that values all of its citizens equally. This is quite an accomplishment in conservative Georgia, and given the well-deserved ultra-conservative reputation that suburban and rural Georgia has, I think it's important to take note of this community's accolades.

...and another comment...

I've never been to DeKalb Co., Ga., but a good friend who lives in Decatur has described the area to me, and it was very consistent with the first comment. I know the Chamblee/Doraville/Buford Highway corridor in Northern DeKalb is home to a budding Asian American community. Southern DeKalb is to Atlanta what Prince Georges County, Maryland is to Washington, DC (both are havens of African American middle-class suburbia). MARTA trains run as far east as Decatur, giving it an advantageous mass transit link into downtown Atlanta and beyond (something myopic Cobb and Gwinnett counties don't realize; these counties are not coincidentally home to some of the worst sprawl in the nation). As much as I've thoroughly disliked greater Atlanta's out-of-control growth, choking traffic congestion, deteriorating air quality, and Olympic-related civic hubris (which was symptomatic of the "yuppified" so-called "New South"), from what I hear DeKalb County would be just where I'd like to set down roots if I ever move to Atlanta.

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