The Liberal Majority White Cities and their Appeal to African Americans (map, downtown)
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This title caught my interest! I think a better title may have been least black cities, though I'm white and not black so I'm not sure what the particular preference of most black people are.
For instance, San Francisco isn't majority white, but has a miniscule black % at only 5% while Pittsburgh, which has miniscule Hispanic and Asian populations is majority white, but has a much higher black % than San Francisco at 23%, and has a substantially higher total Black population as well 50,000 to 70,000, even though San Francisco has 3 times as many people.
Nashville wouldn’t qualify as “least black” but no j really think this thread had a clear intention so the liberal and attracting whites part is important
Ironically, in terms of this topic, smaller cities/college towns seem to be more likely to attract black residents or at least have some degree of transience. This can even be the case if the percentage isn't that high. I only mention that because an example near me that comes to mind is Ithaca. While its percentage isn't that high(about 7-9%), it is actually a "liberal" city that currently has a black mayor, a black superintendent of schools; has in the recent past had black and Asian police chiefs, black city council members; currently has a school board that has 4 black members and 5 white members(4 of which are women), a black woman director of athletics for the school district, has/had black head coaches for its high school Football and Basketball teams and a black woman that is the chairperson of the county legislature(which also has another black member that represents the city of Ithaca). It also has an elementary school named after a black native, is the birthplace of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, a park pool named after Alex Haley(born in the city) and its oldest continuously functioning church is an AME Zion church.
There are other college towns that attract black people that come for their education or to work at the institution and other area companies and stay. Some have had black residents that were/are mayors or in other leadership positions. So, some of this may come down to what Sharif stated earlier in terms of having a specific reason for moving to said cities/areas.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-10-2020 at 07:37 AM..
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Originally Posted by Redlionjr
The master plan of 1928 really impacted the growth of the Black population in Austin. Followed by the construction of Interstate 35 further separating an already displaced community of East Austin just destroyed any chance of Austin's Black populace looking similar to Texas cities in the Eastern half of the state.
And while Austin has made some slight progress it still continues the tradition of alienating Black people to really build something beyond minimal spaces in the city.
Say this louder for Gaylord Focker. I brought up the Austin Master Plan of 1928 in another thread and he thought I was being crazy.
But I think that mindset highlights a lot of what this nation is going through right now. "That happened so long ago, why would it still impact anything today?", but in reality like the institution of policing that was initially kept to keep the black and the poor in check, when crap rolls downhill it takes a LOT to stop it from being a manifestation of what it formerly was.
Say this louder for Gaylord Focker. I brought up the Austin Master Plan of 1928 in another thread and he thought I was being crazy.
But I think that mindset highlights a lot of what this nation is going through right now. "That happened so long ago, why would it still impact anything today?", but in reality like the institution of policing that was initially kept to keep the black and the poor in check, when crap rolls downhill it takes a LOT to stop it from being a manifestation of what it formerly was.
I thought you were crazy for bringing up something from before when our grandparents were born. But clearly you have an agenda. Austin is not keeping black people down, just like SLC isn't. Maybe blacks just prefer more urbanized areas or southern areas? Could that be the truth?
Ironically, in terms of this topic, smaller cities/college towns seem to be more likely to attract black residents or at least have some degree of transience. This can even be the case if the percentage isn't that high. I only mention that because an example near me that comes to mind is Ithaca. While its percentage isn't that high(about 7-9%), it is actually a "liberal" city that currently has a black mayor, a black superintendent of schools; has in the recent past had black and Asian police chiefs, black city council members; currently has a school board that has 4 black members and 5 white members(4 of which are women), a black woman director of athletics for the school district, has/had black head coaches for its high school Football and Basketball teams and a black woman that is the chairperson of the county legislature(which also has another black member that represents the city of Ithaca). It also has an elementary school named after a black native, is the birthplace of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, a park pool named after Alex Haley(born in the city) and its oldest continuously functioning church is an AME Zion church.
There are other college towns that attract black people that come for their education or to work at the institution and other area companies and stay. Some have had black residents that were/are mayors or in other leadership positions. So, some of this may come down to what Sharif stated earlier in terms of having a specific reason for moving to said cities/areas.
College towns are different, mostly because they’re full of dedicated liberals and black undergrads and postgrads. Amherst MA is like that. People find a non hostile environment, have developed ties over 4 years and stay. Sometimes generationally. I don’t think it’s all that relevant to this conversation of major cities though.
I thought you were crazy for bringing up something from before when our grandparents were born. But clearly you have an agenda. Austin is not keeping black people down, just like SLC isn't. Maybe blacks just prefer more urbanized areas or southern areas? Could that be the truth?
Reputations and first impressions are hard to shake especially if there’s not well-known evidence of black success coming from that area.
You are also failing to accept that stuff from 1928 1000% impacts black success and life today. Of course. Why wouldn’t it?
There are reasons black people prefer urbanized and southern areas, it’s not random.
College towns are different, mostly because they’re full of dedicated liberals and black undergrads and postgrads. Amherst MA is like that. People find a non hostile environment, have developed ties over 4 years and stay. Sometimes generationally. I don’t think it’s all that relevant to this conversation of major cities though.
To me as a black outsider? A white Party place and center of the offbeat ironic white liberal culture That I’m sure had been corporatized and monetized into cliché oblivion. .
The black Texans can speak more on it. That being said I don’t think Austin is quite the same as Portland and Seattle.
Trust me-I’m from Boston-I know very well reputation doesn’t necessarily reflect reality in the ground. As I said earlier my brother really likes ATX.
I like Austin, it's a chill place, and folks are generally nice, my perspective isn't wholly AA, but I will say their's so few black people in Austin that I often stumble into African refugees for the black folks that do live there, a high African refugee/Foreign black presence typically means you have a low black population i.e places like Minneapolis and Portland Maine and Oregon.
One thing that will always separate Austin from other part's of Texas do to how wholly not affordable it is, not only is the only historic black community becoming gentrified but the entirety of West Austin and the core is very expensive, Blacks in Austin in the next 20 years will be relegated to Austin East of Springdale and the suburbs, and i'm not even saying black majority neighborhoods, but where Blacks are a plurality or the 2nd largest group.
Blacks in Austin, and to some extent minorities in Austin are like a 1. European city or 2. Hispanics in the South. The most prosperous parts of Austin is the core of the city, minorities can be found in the East, A bit in the South and in the far North, similar to how many European cities have their poorer minorities at the edges of the city in the cities suburbs.
Hispanics are at roughly the national average in the South, no one intrinsically knows this, and that's because both Texas and Florida are in the South albeit the edges, so throughout the South you don't fee the Hispanic presence except in a few large cities then you get to the edges of the South like Florida and Texas and like wham your hit with a massive Hispanic presence you would have never thought was there.
As a result, if Austin had the exact same demographics today but blacks had a historically black area West of 35, for example just north of Downtown it would have a better perception.
As it stands right now, Asians/Blacks/Hispanics are relatively relegated to the fringes of Austin, and Austin comes like a Neopolitan icecream.
East of I-35, is very diverse(I mean this in actually diverse way it's probably 25% White, 25% Black 45% Hispanic and 5% Other), West of I-35 is equivalent to stereotypical suburban America (60% White, 30% Hispanic, 5% Black, 5% Other), West of MoPac and even a bit East of MoPac you can start counting the Black/Asians on your hands and as long as you don't go far South or far North you can do it with Hispanic folk as well (85% White, 10% Hispanic, 5% Other).
I do think as Austin continues to grow significantly it will get more and more minorities, and it will also likely get blacker and more Asian, as a good economy is a good economy, which I think Black people could and would definitely benefit from.
The main issue killing Austin is infrastructure which leads to it being not to affordable. If their was a major East to West highway in the city or even something like 969 after 183 being converted to a 3 by 3 lane limited-access highway (would be very expensive), or maybe that could be replaced with commuter rail going East to West a lot more affordable housing could be constructed in Eastern Travis County which is physically much shorter distance Downtown than all of Williamson County.
Places like Manor, Hornsby Bend, Webberville even heading towards Lockhart it's way to empty.
Basically as long as Growth moves East and South of Austin to some extent, which both have high minority populations, especially Kyle/Buda/San Marcos heading towards San Antonio which is the are that seems to be picking up the most in recent years, you'll probably see a lot more minority growth. I don't have much hope for West of I-35 because Hill Country and already established wealthy areas, but NE, SE and East of Austin with proper infrastructure would probably be more heavily minority areas.
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