In 1973 Atlanta's first black mayor, Maynard Jackson, was elected into office. Racial tension was present throughout the city, mostly due to the large poor black population. When Mayor Jackson started helping white men in positions of power, the black population largely saw him as a traitor to the black community. Atlanta had ghettos, as any large city does, which were filled with poor minorities, and was practically inescapable to the average resident. This set the backdrop to what would be one of the most terrifying serial killings in American history. Williams would be able to prey on his young black victims with relative ease because death was, unfortunately, a rather common thing in the ghetto.
Sources: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/williams/index_1.html
http://www.atlanta.net/visitors/history.html
http://www.atlanta.net/visitors/history.html
Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto