“Race has always been and remains a factor in Atlanta politics — sometimes more overt; other times more subtle,” so says an op-ed piece. This year the overt racial factor has hit like a sledgehammer in the midst of the mayoral campaigns.

Last week's flap over the “The Struggle for Unity” memorandum, written by two Clark Atlanta University professors, ignited fierce and overwhelming criticism from all quarters including the black candidates for mayor and the current - black - Mayor Shirley Franklin who called the memo “bigoted.” The negative outcry was well deserved.

The document had explicit or implied touches of clenched fist black nationalism, a dash of aggrieved, “we're owed” mentality, and was sprinkled with racialist, identity politics and victimization. “The Struggle for Unity” with it's “Black Agenda” is a failed recipe for disaster. Blacks are concerned about quality-of-life issues like drugs and escalating violence and crime in their neighborhoods, property taxes and cost effective delivery of city services. Not unlike white folks. A “Black Agenda” is as repugnant as a “White Agenda” would be - and the outcry of such would be deafening.

The agenda urges voting for a black candidate simply because he or she is, um, simply black. That's pure nonsense and tarnishes and demeans the legacy of what the original “struggle” was all about. “The Struggle for Unity”and it's agenda espouses an Atlanta I don't want to see and I  think most Atlanta residents don't either - based on the reaction the memorandum received.

 Atlanta has a stellar history of biracial governance from William B. Hartsfield, to Ivan Allen, to Sam Massell, to Maynard Jackson, to Andrew Young. “The City too Busy to Hate” was a beacon of the new South. The only agenda that mattered was an “Atlanta Agenda.”

“The Struggle for Unity” harkens back to an era long past. It's discredited message was rightly rejected.

Just a few days after the release of “The Struggle for Unity” memorandum, a Spelman College student was hit and killed by a stray bullet on the professors' campus at Clark Atlanta University. Another student was wounded. A tragic but telling post script to a “Black Agenda.” Do the professors get it?

As a pastor says, “There is a crisis of violence in our community.” Perhaps that sad and telling incident on their very campus might prompt the good professors to take a look at the out of control, escalating crime and violence plaguing our city - especially black-on-black. A document with that "agenda" would be welcomed.