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Chicago's black population is bigger than most cities.
I just meant that influence will always be split the bigger the city.
I'm sure you can feel it the vibe in L.A. as much as you could in Oak land. But there's more places to run to in L.A. While in a smaller place(Oakland) you're forced to see only that.
What I'm saying is that there are larger cities where the Black presence is pretty widespread throughout and not just limited to one or two sides of town.
Los Angeles city: 8.5% black (pop. ~337,000)
LA metro: 6.3% black (pop. ~843,000)
LA CSA: 6.3% black (pop. ~1,176,000)
Oakland city: 23.1% black (pop. ~97,000)
Oakland metro division: 9.3% black (pop. ~264,000)
SF/Oakland MSA: 7% black (pop. ~328,000)
Bay Area CSA: 5.7% black (pop. ~496,000)
Los Angeles has 19 suburbs at or above state average black population (5.5%): Inglewood (43.6), Compton (27.0), Carson (24.7), Gardena (23.6), Hawthorne (21.6), Lancaster (20.3), Long Beach (12.0), Bellflower (10.5), Palmdale (9.9), Paramount (9.7), Pasadena (9.4), Lakewood (9.1), Culver City (8.5), Lynwood (8.2), Lawndale (7.9), Cerritos (7.4), Duarte (7.1), Norwalk (6.4), Monrovia (6.1)
Oakland has 14 suburbs at or above state average black population (5.5%): Antioch (25.3), Hercules (19.5), Pittsburg (17.1), Richmond (16.9), San Pablo (14.7), Emeryville (13.6), Pinole (11.8), San Leandro (10.3), Berkeley (9.8), Alameda (9.1), Hayward (7.4), Oakley (6.8), El Cerrito (6.7), Dublin (6.1)
Los Angeles peak black population was in the 70s; 1970 Census 17.9% of Angelenos were black, or ~503,000 population. The black population has shrunken by a full third/33% since '70...
By contrast, Oakland was at its blackest percentage in 1980 (47%), but at its blackest in raw number in 1990 Census at ~164,000 (43.9%). Oakland's black population has actually declined faster, down 41% from its '90 peak, 27 years ago...
So Oakland has always been blacker as a percentage of its population, but LA's volume has always been multiple times larger. Both cities have suffered extensive black flight....
That said, people are out of it if they think LA is light on black culture. So much of LA's black culturisms has impacted the larger LA culture that it's not associated with its root anymore; Black LA also has an outsized influence on American culture in general, given that as a proportion of its population, blacks have always been such a small percentage of the city...
I went to Weemes Elementary in the '90s for two years; I walked to school in a neighborhood that is now around 25% black. At that age, and even going back to visit in my mid and late teens, while you definitely understand that Latinos have a larger physical presence, you see black people all around you in that part of LA, and the older I've gotten I've been able to witness Black LA's influence on the country in general. I never lived in The Bay, and even though I'm originally from Northern California, I can tell you that LA has just as much pull and influence--maybe just barely slightly less--as Oakland even though LA is 5 hours south. And living and traveling around the country, growing up on the other side of the map, it's not even close--Oakland has nowhere near the resonance that LA has to Black Americans...
There is no "chocolate city" in California, and if there were, it always would have been centered around South Central LA and it's adjacent "suburbs"--between both the greater Oakland and LA areas, the two blackest suburbs (Inglewood and Compton) are in LA and are essentially extended neighborhoods of South Central; and six of the seven suburbs at least 20% black are in LA. There is literally no way to justify Oakland as having a stronger black culture--its too small, less diverse, more blacks are leaving at a faster rate, fewer blacks are moving in, and finally: LA is far more relatable across a variety of culturally relevant topics to Black Americans than Oakland!
Los Angeles city: 8.5% black (pop. ~337,000)
LA metro: 6.3% black (pop. ~843,000)
LA CSA: 6.3% black (pop. ~1,176,000)
Oakland city: 23.1% black (pop. ~97,000)
Oakland metro division: 9.3% black (pop. ~264,000)
SF/Oakland MSA: 7% black (pop. ~328,000)
Bay Area CSA: 5.7% black (pop. ~496,000)
Los Angeles has 19 suburbs at or above state average black population (5.5%): Inglewood (43.6), Compton (27.0), Carson (24.7), Gardena (23.6), Hawthorne (21.6), Lancaster (20.3), Long Beach (12.0), Bellflower (10.5), Palmdale (9.9), Paramount (9.7), Pasadena (9.4), Lakewood (9.1), Culver City (8.5), Lynwood (8.2), Lawndale (7.9), Cerritos (7.4), Duarte (7.1), Norwalk (6.4), Monrovia (6.1)
Oakland has 14 suburbs at or above state average black population (5.5%): Antioch (25.3), Hercules (19.5), Pittsburg (17.1), Richmond (16.9), San Pablo (14.7), Emeryville (13.6), Pinole (11.8), San Leandro (10.3), Berkeley (9.8), Alameda (9.1), Hayward (7.4), Oakley (6.8), El Cerrito (6.7), Dublin (6.1)
Los Angeles peak black population was in the 70s; 1970 Census 17.9% of Angelenos were black, or ~503,000 population. The black population has shrunken by a full third/33% since '70...
By contrast, Oakland was at its blackest percentage in 1980 (47%), but at its blackest in raw number in 1990 Census at ~164,000 (43.9%). Oakland's black population has actually declined faster, down 41% from its '90 peak, 27 years ago...
So Oakland has always been blacker as a percentage of its population, but LA's volume has always been multiple times larger. Both cities have suffered extensive black flight....
That said, people are out of it if they think LA is light on black culture. So much of LA's black culturisms has impacted the larger LA culture that it's not associated with its root anymore; Black LA also has an outsized influence on American culture in general, given that as a proportion of its population, blacks have always been such a small percentage of the city...
I went to Weemes Elementary in the '90s for two years; I walked to school in a neighborhood that is now around 25% black. At that age, and even going back to visit in my mid and late teens, while you definitely understand that Latinos have a larger physical presence, you see black people all around you in that part of LA, and the older I've gotten I've been able to witness Black LA's influence on the country in general. I never lived in The Bay, and even though I'm originally from Northern California, I can tell you that LA has just as much pull and influence--maybe just barely slightly less--as Oakland even though LA is 5 hours south. And living and traveling around the country, growing up on the other side of the map, it's not even close--Oakland has nowhere near the resonance that LA has to Black Americans...
There is no "chocolate city" in California, and if there were, it always would have been centered around South Central LA and it's adjacent "suburbs"--between both the greater Oakland and LA areas, the two blackest suburbs (Inglewood and Compton) are in LA and are essentially extended neighborhoods of South Central; and six of the seven suburbs at least 20% black are in LA. There is literally no way to justify Oakland as having a stronger black culture--its too small, less diverse, more blacks are leaving at a faster rate, fewer blacks are moving in, and finally: LA is far more relatable across a variety of culturally relevant topics to Black Americans than Oakland!
What someone from the East Bay may bring up is the Black Panther/activism aspect or it also has had its own style in terms of Hip-Hop(i.e.-Hyphy).
Also, in terms of LA, there’s Ladera Heights, View Park-Windsor Hills, West Athens, West Rancho Dominguez and Westmont.
What someone from the East Bay may bring up is the Black Panther/activism aspect or it also has had its own style in terms of Hip-Hop(i.e.-Hyphy).
Also, in terms of LA, there’s Ladera Heights, View Park-Windsor Hills, West Athens, West Rancho Dominguez and Westmont.
I only named cities instead of CDPs but you're right, many other places could be named...
Hyphy was a local trend that never caught on anywhere outside California like that, definitely not here to the East Coast. I would liken it to LA's "crumping", except crumping was more popular nationwide than people "going dumb"...
Anything else related to Black music is going to be a landslide in favor of Los Angeles...
The Panthers were a big deal!
East Bay compared to LA is just smaller in scope, reach, and influence. When you're in these areas, I find it difficult to believe that East Bay cities, including Oakland, give off a larger culturally black presence than LA. As others have pointed out, the black spread in both areas is mostly relegated to one area each metro (Oakland and adjacent East Bay of the Bay Area; South LA and the surrounding "South Bay" suburbs around South Central). I think the size differential is what tips the scales. South Los Angeles alone is twice the size of Oakland City (well over 800,000 now), and is still at least 33-35% black--thats roughly ~265,000 blacks still in South Central, which is 2.75 times the amount in the city if Oakland--->plus South Central is directly bordered by Compton to the east and Inglewood to the west, both of which are blacker than anything in the Bay Area....
So, South Central is 51-square miles land, with nearly three times the black population as Oakland city limits in four fewer square miles of land. This is a landslide, to me...
No doubt, Oakland and surroundings is the second-most influential and "culturally black" place in the Western states, but LA is on another level here. Nobody could spend time in that 51m2 South Los Angeles, and feel the cultural impacts and presence of blacks there is to a lesser degree than in Oakland. Of course the presence in both cities is lesser than it was in yesteryear, and yet, South LA STILL has a higher percentage of blacks, as well as Latinos, which is all anybody wants to talk about in relation to LA, without pointing out that SCxLA still has a larger black population by percentage and raw numbers...
I only named cities instead of CDPs but you're right, many other places could be named...
Hyphy was a local trend that never caught on anywhere outside California like that, definitely not here to the East Coast. I would liken it to LA's "crumping", except crumping was more popular nationwide than people "going dumb"...
Anything else related to Black music is going to be a landslide in favor of Los Angeles...
The Panthers were a big deal!
East Bay compared to LA is just smaller in scope, reach, and influence. When you're in these areas, I find it difficult to believe that East Bay cities, including Oakland, give off a larger culturally black presence than LA. As others have pointed out, the black spread in both areas is mostly relegated to one area each metro (Oakland and adjacent East Bay of the Bay Area; South LA and the surrounding "South Bay" suburbs around South Central). I think the size differential is what tips the scales. South Los Angeles alone is twice the size of Oakland City (well over 800,000 now), and is still at least 33-35% black--thats roughly ~265,000 blacks still in South Central, which is 2.75 times the amount in the city if Oakland--->plus South Central is directly bordered by Compton to the east and Inglewood to the west, both of which are blacker than anything in the Bay Area....
So, South Central is 51-square miles land, with nearly three times the black population as Oakland city limits in four fewer square miles of land. This is a landslide, to me...
No doubt, Oakland and surroundings is the second-most influential and "culturally black" place in the Western states, but LA is on another level here. Nobody could spend time in that 51m2 South Los Angeles, and feel the cultural impacts and presence of blacks there is to a lesser degree than in Oakland. Of course the presence in both cities is lesser than it was in yesteryear, and yet, South LA STILL has a higher percentage of blacks, as well as Latinos, which is all anybody wants to talk about in relation to LA, without pointing out that SCxLA still has a larger black population by percentage and raw numbers...
Very true and you could really say that the South LA effect in that regard spills over into those adjacent cities like Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, etc. So, it isn't contained to just one city and it includes a range of people in terms of economic status as well. Not saying that Oakland doesn't have the latter, but I think people may have a skewed image of that area of LA.
The LA black has largely moved to the Inland Empire. Black population has exploded in cities like Rancho Cucamonga, Corona, and Moreno Valley. Many of the transplants are still connected to LA life and many still work there.
California Black Demographics
LA: 1,230,023 Oakland area: 471,566
Using the percentage logic, that means that Memphis must be more of a Black capital than Atlanta or NYC is. In the real world though, when I think of a Black Californian, I think of Los Angeles.
That's also because Oakland is a considerably smaller city than LA. Draw a 400 square mile area around Oakland and you tell me if the whole area is "black" and it most likely will not be.
I don't know why these is some obsession on City Data on making Northern California as relevant as Southern California when the real world evidence proves that the former is nowhere near as relevant as the latter in any sphere except maybe technology. Is it political correctness?
Are you kidding me. Oakland is 10x more prevalent and popular in the AfricanAmerican communities than L.A. los angeles is a giant slow paced suburb with very little insignificant African American culture. L.A. is nothing without hollywood but a suburb eith a beach. And as for socal vs norcal i lived in both. Oakland is way blacker and the bay area is way better than l.a. in every category almost. SF is a real city and L.a. is not. L.A. has a hand in mainstream media thus giving it more fame than it deserves. It's more famous in usa than it is abroad. sf is much more treasured by the world and much higher rankings than L.A. on almost every category on every magazine and website. So stop deceiving yourself. Oakland is blacker and more important and introduced the black panther party, and the bay area is a real city that is much more intelligent, productive, beloved, bold, progressive, higher quality of life, more culture, and more beautiful than anywhere in socal. L.A. is a glorified Sacramento and built the same. Not a real city just a suburband slow paced and country
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