US Black population: The biggest growth is in smaller cities

Also: Census: Black population grows in suburbs, shrinks in cities (Associated Press)

______________________________________________________________________

Source: Associated Press

US Black population: The biggest growth is in smaller cities

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
March 14, 2022

Brandon Manning and his wife were both born in the U.S. South and had been itching to return, but Manning didn’t want to go back to his native Atlanta because of the traffic, housing costs and sprawl. So, when he was offered a job teaching at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, the couple decided to give the smaller city a chance.

They weren’t alone. The largest African American population growth in pure numbers over the past decade didn’t take place in Atlanta or Houston, long identified as hubs of Black life, but rather in less congested cities with lower profiles: Fort Worth; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Each gained between 32,000 and 40,000 new Black residents from 2010 to 2020, according to 2020 census figures.

Meanwhile, Black residents left the nation’s largest cities, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, by the tens of thousands.

“The sprawl of a Houston or an Atlanta, it’s just massive and traffic makes it hard to get around,” said Manning, an assistant professor of Black Literature and Culture, who moved to Forth Worth from Las Vegas. “We wanted something that was manageable.”

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-north-carolina-houston-charlotte-florida-d6422831fe1f40357dc54aa3c0528050

______________________________________________________________________

Source: Associated Press

Census: Black population grows in suburbs, shrinks in cities

By SOPHIA TAREEN
March 13, 2022

CHICAGO (AP) — A longtime area staple with its wagon wheel décor and “Roy Rogers ribeye,” The Ranch Steak House is fighting to reopen as one of the last sit-down restaurants in the once-flourishing Black Chicago neighborhood of Roseland.

About 13 miles (21 kilometers) away near Indiana, Christopher Cain and wife Deja Cousins-Cain sought a new market for their wine bar that promises “Good Vibes Only,” settling on the suburb of Lansing, where growth has included a steady increase in Black residents.

The two enclaves of roughly 30,000 people reflect how Black migration patterns in the 21st century are changing the makeup of metropolitan areas nationwide. For decades, Black residents have been leaving some of the nation’s largest cities while suburbs have seen an increase in their Black populations. Those two trends have now spread to even more areas of the country, according to the 2020 U.S. census.

The patterns echo the “white flight” that upended urban landscapes in the 20th century. Like those who left cities before them, Black residents often move because of worries about crime and a desire for reputable schools, affordable housing and amenities. But there are key differences: Leaving Black city neighborhoods that are starved for investment is often more of a necessity than a choice, and those who do settle into new suburban lives often find racial inequities there, too.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/census-black-population-grows-in-suburbs-shrinks-in-cities-b3e7b1988f81d01c9b25673a112dcdaf