Why Are Black Families Leaving Cities?

[Professor Emeritus]

I agree with the article a lot, though my experience is solely LA.


And honestly I think it's a good thing. City life isn't a good life - there's more stress, more crime, more pollution, more expenses, more gangs, more dealers, less nature, less land ownership. I understand folk sad about pulling back from historical black neighborhoods but in a lot of cases (especially West and Midwest) those spots were only black centers for a few decades. Where is the concern for the thousands of rural Black communities and millions of acres of Black-owned land that were lost and were a part of Black history for much much longer?

Like it said, Black folk who left the city were having better outcomes. Take advantage of this shyt. Move to a place with cleaner air, more space, less crime, less stress. A place where your kids can play in the dirt without worrying about finding needles in it. A place where you actually have a chance to afford some land one day, a place where you can grow your own food. It's better in the long run.

We've been plotting our exit strategy for two years now, I think next year we gonna make it happen and finally get out of the city for good.

And I call bullshyt on the article claiming that the cause isn't gentrification because you look at Harlem and Crown hts Bedstuy or Bushwick and they are full of nothing but white transplants buying and living in houses and buildings that were formerly black

The Atlantic s audience is those people so I'm pretty sure they are displaying a bit of bias in making their audience ( white and progressive ) not feel culpable in driving black people from black neighborhoods

I don't deny anything there, but we are seeing new high-end buildings in formerly low income communities. The article doesn't refute that point, which does sound like gentrification. We are also seeing older homes gutted out for higher earners.

I do agree with the lack of affordable housing being built in these cities, but that's for whom?

I think y'all are cherry-picking. We have gentrification in some neighborhoods in LA too, but Black folk who moved out due to gentrification are a small % compared to all the Black folk who moved out due to other factors. If gentification was the driving force then we would see the White populations of those cities start to dominate, and that't not happening.

in some areas like chicago and LA, hispanics are replacing blacks. the cost of rent wont go up when it's latinos, so it isnt gentrification, but the street and employment politics can be a force that expels blacks.

It technically could be but hard to see how Latinos could come to dominate any predominantly Black area unless the Black folk leave first. Neighborhoods like Watts and Compton became majority Latino because the Black folk left - the Black folk didn't leave because the neighborhood was becoming Latino. Huge portions of the transition happened when they only Latinos around were immigrants stacking themselves 6 deep in apartments, outside of their enclaves they didn't have any meaningful power in street politics or legit politics until after a ton of Black folk had already left.

 

[NZA]

It technically could be but hard to see how Latinos could come to dominate any predominantly Black area unless the Black folk leave first. Neighborhoods like Watts and Compton became majority Latino because the Black folk left - the Black folk didn't leave because the neighborhood was becoming Latino. Huge portions of the transition happened when they only Latinos around were immigrants stacking themselves 6 deep in apartments, outside of their enclaves they didn't have any meaningful power in street politics or legit politics until after a ton of Black folk had already left.

i dont mean to say that latinos are capable of starting any major population shifts on their own. i believe it is white action first, then other groups may behave opportunistically. one of those actions is employment discrimination - white people hiring anybody but blacks whenever possible once a steady supply of non-black workers is available. undermining black folk ability to earn a living is going to drive people out. once that begins, it can snowball into other things.

i have had a front row seat to this since my mom has worked in electronics manufacturing for at least 45 years. she is constantly picked on by whites in leadership and hispanics and asians in the same role she is in. she always tells me that the number of blacks being hired is low and they are the first to go for the slightest reasons. she herself has been kept at the lowest payscale allowed at several companies. it starts with what whites allow, and then others take advantage. this is in phoenix where the urban population was less latino and asian the further you go back in time.

 

[mastermind]

I think y'all are cherry-picking. We have gentrification in some neighborhoods in LA too, but Black folk who moved out due to gentrification are a small % compared to all the Black folk who moved out due to other factors. If gentification was the driving force then we would see the White populations of those cities start to dominate, and that't not happening.

In the DC, a lot of black people moved out due to being priced out.

I think the 80s and 90s, it was due to people getting government jobs and not wanting to live in a city that was violent and run by drugs and corruption. The last 10-15 years isn't that DC anymore and people are still moving out due to not being able to afford property taxes or older apartment buildings being removed.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

I agree with the article a lot, though my experience is solely LA.


And honestly I think it's a good thing. City life isn't a good life - there's more stress, more crime, more pollution, more expenses, more gangs, more dealers, less nature, less land ownership. I understand folk sad about pulling back from historical black neighborhoods but in a lot of cases (especially West and Midwest) those spots were only black centers for a few decades. Where is the concern for the thousands of rural Black communities and millions of acres of Black-owned land that were lost and were a part of Black history for much much longer?

Because young black people are underemployed or don't have steady career incomes

And I call bullshyt on the article claiming that the cause isn't gentrification because you look at Harlem and Crown hts Bedstuy or Bushwick and they are full of nothing but white transplants buying and living in houses and buildings that were formerly black

The Atlantic s audience is those people so I'm pretty sure they are displaying a bit of bias in making their audience ( white and progressive ) not feel culpable in driving black people from black neighborhoods

IT isn't. If you aren't building affordable homes, but instead investing in high end homes, whats happening?

in some areas like chicago and LA, hispanics are replacing blacks. the cost of rent wont go up when it's latinos, so it isnt gentrification, but the street and employment politics can be a force that expels blacks.

This. In my neighborhood and the neighboring one nothing but luxury apartments and condos are built. They keep harping about the building being affordable and the lotteries but it’s bullshyt since only a certain percentage are “affordable” and it’s on a scale. So there may be an 1 bedroom apartment for $1200 but there’s literally only 1 of that then the price goes up for a different bracket. Then these fukkers got the audacity to allow people making more than 70k to apply for affordable housing, I’ve seen people up to fukking 165k being able to apply. Like fukk off, if you making that much you can rent practically most places here

these places are tax sinkholes though with crumbling infrastructure.

many suburbs don't have the tax base to support themselves.

This ONLY works if black people are also high earners...and they're not. They're being pushed into ballooning debt traps.

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[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

I won't fault anyone who wants to move to the suburbs. I grew up in the suburbs, but until munipcalities invest in density then the suburbs are becoming deadweight unless you can find a bigger sucker to buy your McMansion...

... but if you can hold on in the city, I think its a the BETTER move.

Taxes are SKYROCKETING in the suburbs, often outpacing cities. You really have to consider what you value. A backyard is nice. but is it? Maintenance, worse utilities, slower internet, etc.

however...COVID shook shyt up.

If you can afford to work remotely and live rurally, it might be better unless you need to commute in which case you're just losing in the wash.

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[Uitomy]

It’s happening in DC, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago and many other cities.

Houston is probably an outlier where this isn’t happening, but that’s probably down to the size of Houston than anything else.

It’s scary when I think about it because it almost seems like the majority white population tends to just flip flop where they want to stay cause they get tricked by their counter parts and Just follow black people and push them out over and over

At first it’s, Move away from the city and black people to the suburbs. Leave them in the city, only worry about the stupidly ineffective bank skyscrapers and luxury apartments

Then, oh wait, dealing with traffic and soulless neighborhoods and 15-20 min commutes to the average store is horrible, move back in the cities, move blacks out, we want culture and walkability!

Now, oh shyt, these cities moved so many of us out and did nothing for the black peoples there that it looks and smells like shyt and it’s homeless people everywhere and I’m scared for my safety, time to move back out away, got to move them black people further out though, not in my back yard! It’s a ruthless loop