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The rapid demographic shifts affecting much of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area as a whole have also been felt strongly in South metro Atlanta/Southern Crescent suburban Henry County, where that county's Board of Commissioners became a 'majority-minority' governing body after the results of the 2018 elections.
Before the 2018 election, the makeup of the Henry County Board of Commissioners consisted of 3 white members and 3 black members, including 4 Republicans and 2 Democrats.
After the 2018 election, the makeup of the Henry County Board of Commissioners will consist of 4 black members and 2 white members, including 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats.
Over the past 28 years, racial and ethnic minorities have transitioned from being less than 12% of Henry County's population in 1990, to being more than 56% of Henry County's population as of 2017.
Well I'm happy to see these changes. I hope that one day the changes will be so large that rural votes will not overwhelm Atlanta/the Metro's. Someone asked a question on here regarding their votes having so much power though their numbers are less. I hope even more counties have dramatic demographic changes.
The rapid demographic shifts affecting much of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area as a whole have also been felt strongly in South metro Atlanta/Southern Crescent suburban Henry County, where that county's Board of Commissioners became a 'majority-minority' governing body after the results of the 2018 elections.
Before the 2018 election, the makeup of the Henry County Board of Commissioners consisted of 3 white members and 3 black members, including 4 Republicans and 2 Democrats.
After the 2018 election, the makeup of the Henry County Board of Commissioners will consist of 4 black members and 2 white members, including 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats.
Over the past 28 years, racial and ethnic minorities have transitioned from being less than 12% of Henry County's population in 1990, to being more than 56% of Henry County's population as of 2017.
I have wondered that though...why these demographic shifts are affecting the South metro Atlanta area so much. From what I know, you can find a house that's a lot more affordable in these counties. I guess Gwinnett, Cobb, and Forsyth are too expensive or are getting too expensive for many to afford. Is there less traffic coming up from "the South" on weekdays? I'm always having to use the 20 to get to I don't know if it's Rockland or Newnan...(I hardly go down there) County and from my experience, not too much traffic but then again, I think I went during the weekend.
I have wondered that though...why these demographic shifts are affecting the South metro Atlanta area so much. From what I know, you can find a house that's a lot more affordable in these counties. I guess Gwinnett, Cobb, and Forsyth are too expensive or are getting too expensive for many to afford.
That is an excellent point that one of the major factors propelling the rapid demographic shifts across much of the greater Southern Crescent Atlanta metro (Douglas, South Fulton, Coweta, Fayette, Clayton, Henry, South DeKalb, Rockdale, Newton counties) is the lower cost of housing there compared to many parts of the more affluent Northside (particularly Northside areas like Buckhead, East Cobb, North Fulton and South Forsyth).
Though, it should be mentioned that there are many Northside areas that are being affected by ongoing rapid demographic changes.
South Cobb, North Fulton, South Forsyth, North DeKalb, Gwinnett and even parts of Paulding and Hall counties are notable areas on the Northside that are being significantly affected by ongoing rapid demographic shifts.
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Originally Posted by DreamerD
Is there less traffic coming up from "the South" on weekdays? I'm always having to use the 20 to get to I don't know if it's Rockland or Newnan...(I hardly go down there) County and from my experience, not too much traffic but then again, I think I went during the weekend.
Compared to the Northside, there generally is relatively less traffic traveling towards and away from the city during peak traffic hours on the Southside.
Though, I-75 South can be prone to experience very heavy traffic volumes during peak traffic hours, including during morning and evening rush hours and during holiday and weekend travel periods from traffic traveling to and from coastal getaway/resort areas to the south (like Florida and the Atlantic Coast).
Also, Southern Crescent counties like Rockdale and Newton are accessed from the city by I-20 East, while a Southern Crescent area like Newnan is accessed from the city by I-85 South.
This is an article about my very good friend of 20 years winning his first state senate seat.He flipped a previous Republican seat.He won a decisive victory .
Quote:
"In the State House, the Democrats and El-Mahdi Holly flipped the District 111 seat from a red seat to a blue seat. Holly won the Henry-exclusive seat with 15,063 votes, or 55.94 percent of the vote. Incumbent Republican Geoffrey Cauble ended Tuesday with 11,849 votes, or 44.01 percent of the vote."
The demographic shifts in the metro area have been rapid, but have been happening for a few decades in the south metro area. The massive demographic shifts in the southside suburbs started in Clayton County. Clayton was over 90% white in the early 80s and was majority black by the late 90's. The diversification of Atlanta's suburbs has occurred most rapidly in former rural/ blue collar white areas that border predominantly black areas. Clayton was the first, followed by Douglas, Rockdale, and now Henry. This rapid diversification has also spread into South Cobb, North Fayette, and south/eastern Gwinnett.
This has been driven by a large migration of northern African American transplants returning south. From 2000-2010, Atlanta had a net population gain of 1M people. Of the 1M net gain, almost 60% were African Americans and only 20% were whites. Demographers now suggest the black migration has peaked, and Asian and Hispanics will make up the majority of net populations gains in the future.
In less than a decade, the entire metro area will be majority minority, and Asians will replace Blacks and Hispanics as the fastest growing minority group.
The demographic shifts in the metro area have been rapid, but have been happening for a few decades in the south metro area. The massive demographic shifts in the southside suburbs started in Clayton County. Clayton was over 90% white in the early 80s and was majority black by the late 90's. The diversification of Atlanta's suburbs has occurred most rapidly in former rural/ blue collar white areas that border predominantly black areas. Clayton was the first, followed by Douglas, Rockdale, and now Henry. This rapid diversification has also spread into South Cobb, North Fayette, and south/eastern Gwinnett.
This has been driven by a large migration of northern African American transplants returning south. From 2000-2010, Atlanta had a net population gain of 1M people. Of the 1M net gain, almost 60% were African Americans and only 20% were whites. Demographers now suggest the black migration has peaked, and Asian and Hispanics will make up the majority of net populations gains in the future.
In less than a decade, the entire metro area will be majority minority, and Asians will replace Blacks and Hispanics as the fastest growing minority group.
Those are excellent points and comments.
Though, one important thing that probably should be mentioned is that the greater 29-county Atlanta metropolitan area appears to already be a 'majority-minority' area.
As of 2016, non-Hispanic whites appeared to make up only about just under 48% of metro Atlanta's population.
With the greater 29-county Atlanta metropolitan area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area) appearing to already be a 'majority-minority' metro area where racial and ethnic minorities make up a majority of the entire population, it appears to be the state of Georgia that will be the next major geographical body to transition to a 'majority-minority' population within about the next decade or so.
As of 2017, Georgia's racial/ethnic demographic makeup was officially estimated to be 52.8% non-Hispanic white, 47.2% racial/ethnic minority.
That is compared to 1990 when Georgia's racial/ethnic demographic makeup was 70.13% non-Hispanic white, 29.87% minority; and 1980 when Georgia's racial/ethnic demographic makeup was 71.65% non-Hispanic white, 28.35% minority.
As of 2017, Georgia's racial/ethnic demographic makeup was officially estimated to be 52.8% non-Hispanic white, 47.2% racial/ethnic minority.
Might as well just go ahead and declare GEORGIA purple right now. Regardless of how the governor’s race eventually turns out, it’s safe to say that after less than 20 years, the white republican dominance of politics in this state is over.
Might as well just go ahead and declare GEORGIA purple right now. Regardless of how the governor’s race eventually turns out, it’s safe to say that after less than 20 years, the white republican dominance of politics in this state is over.
Well, I don't know if one can yet exactly say that Republican dominance of Georgia politics is over.
Progressives and Democrats did a great job in pushing Georgia much, much closer to purple status behind the leadership of Stacey Abrams' electrifying run for governor, but Republican dominance of Georgia politics does not yet appear to be quite over.
Though there are two statewide contests that have been pushed to runoffs in the Georgia Secretary of State and Public Service Commission District 3 races, Democrats still have not won a statewide race since 2006.
And of the 10 statewide races during the 2018 election cycle, Republicans received over the 50% + 1 vote needed to avoid a runoff in 8 of them.
And though Democrats made some noticeable dents in GOP control of the Georgia state Legislature with about 14 pick-ups of state legislative seats in metro Atlanta (with all but one of those pick-ups being on the Northside), Republicans still hold about a 30-seat advantage in the Georgia House (where the GOP still controls about 58% of the seats) and a 14-seat advantage in the Georgia Senate (where the GOP still controls about 63% of the seats).
And though, Democrats made history by winning a Georgia 6th Congressional District in Atlanta's Northern suburbs that had been legendarily dominated by Republicans for 40 years and came within 420 votes of winning a Georgia 7th Congressional District seat that has been dominated by Republicans for 24 years, Republicans still hold a 9-5 advantage in Georgia's Congressional delegation.
Democrats will have to deal with the possible loss of many of the state legislative gains that they have made in 2018 when the GOP targets those seats to be flipped back to Republican control during the 2020 election cycle.
Democrats likely will also have to deal with many of those state legislative gains being wiped off of the map during the next redrawing of state legislative and congressional districts after the next census in 2020... That's when a Republican governor (Brian Kemp) and a rural and exurban Republican-controlled state legislature are likely to be tempted to gerrymander the lines to get the Georgia GOP as close as possible back to the two-thirds supermajorities/near-supermajorities they enjoyed in both chambers of the state legislature and in the state's congressional delegation during the early and middle parts of the decade of the 2010's.
Plus, Democrats have carried Georgia only once in a presidential election once since 1980 (when Bill Clinton narrowly won Georgia over George H.W. Bush on the way to being elected to his first term as President in 1992).
Democrats have basically lost Georgia in 8 of the last 9 presidential elections and by the time 2020 rolls around will not have carried Georgia in a presidential election in 28 years.
Democrats and progressives undoubtedly should celebrate the massive progress that they made in breaking the GOP's firm grip on Georgia politics during the 2018 election cycle.
But Democrats and progressives must also keep in mind that, even with the seemingly favorable demographic changes trending their way, they have much very hard work to do to get the Democratic Party back to parity and back into contention on a consistent basis in Georgia.
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