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I'm having the strangest twitter conversation right now with a NY attorney who thinks Durham is not welcoming to African-American transplants, and this person has never been here - absolutely does not believe me.
I sent link to city of Durham's stats but they are 10 years old. Not sure City Data is an official source.
I think City Data stats are based on census stats, and there aren't going to be new census stats until the 2010 numbers are released.
Durham has a history as the "capital of the black middle class" (google the phrase and you'll find a lot). This is a good article on some of the history: Black Wallstreet - Durham - SoulOfAmerica
Perhaps the person you are talking to thinks the existing population is insular, but plenty of people on this board can tell you there are newcomers to Durham, and any history book can tell you that Durham has a large middle-class African American population.
Thanks! Just sent it to him. There was a post in the Above the Law blog regarding Duke's failure to recruit African American prospective law students and the feeling was that the city isn't welcoming. It kind of blew my mind; I had no idea that perception about the city was out there - but I think it speaks to Duke's continuing issues of separation with the surrounding community.
I'm having the strangest twitter conversation right now with a NY attorney who thinks Durham is not welcoming to African-American transplants, and this person has never been here - absolutely does not believe me.
Durham has one of the strongest black communities in the state! You might check at the county level if the city level is hard to find. NC Central, a "Historically Black" university, is there, and NC Mutual was one of the first black-owned insurance companies, I believe.
Frankly, I'd let this person find their own statistics, but it sounds like he (?) is going to believe what he wants, stats or not. One thing that cones up quickly is this (http://www.durham-nc.com/resources/pdf/tourmap_aah.pdf - broken link), the Durham AA Heritage guide.
Durham has one of the strongest black communities in the state! You might check at the county level if the city level is hard to find. NC Central, a "Historically Black" university, is there, and NC Mutual was one of the first black-owned insurance companies, I believe.
Frankly, I'd let this person find their own statistics, but it sounds like he (?) is going to believe what he wants, stats or not. One thing that cones up quickly is this (http://www.durham-nc.com/resources/pdf/tourmap_aah.pdf - broken link), the Durham AA Heritage guide.
Isn't that something? The county census data had the countywide black population at something like 37%, but that doesn't reflect the city's racial makeup.
Thanks! Just sent it to him. There was a post in the Above the Law blog regarding Duke's failure to recruit African American prospective law students and the feeling was that the city isn't welcoming. It kind of blew my mind; I had no idea that perception about the city was out there - but I think it speaks to Duke's continuing issues of separation with the surrounding community.
I don't know what to say to your twitter friend. He is really off base and trying to correct sombody in 140 characters on twitter will be tought.
FWIW, I am not a law student but I have several friends who attended law schools in other states and I never heard of law schools "recruiting" anybody. They all just applied to where they wanted to go and either got in or got rejected.
What does the actions of a private University have to do with a City anyway? Durham not welcoming? Now I've heard it all!
Isn't that something? The county census data had the countywide black population at something like 37%, but that doesn't reflect the city's racial makeup.
37.2% black for the county; 43.8% black for the city (both as of 2000) - some difference, but not a huge disparity. The county number may be lower for 2010 as south Durham county has developed so much.
I had always heard that the rule of thumb for Durham was 45% Black, 45% White and the 10% balance split among Hispanics and Asians. I'm sure that's oversimplified. I am guessing that both Hispanics and Asians are gaining ground at the expense of the others' percentages.
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