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But I'm curious to know if that "diversity" is simply Hispanics and African Americans. The odds that Asians, Indians, or any other ethnic group would start moving into Cherokee are probably pretty far fetched. Maybe 40 years from now, but definitely not in the foreseeable future.
Hispanics made up 10.1% and African-Americans made up 6.6% of Cherokee's population as of 2014, so most of that increased diversity does currently consist of Hispanics and African-Americans at this point in time.
Though the fact that Asians make up about 2% of the population is still very significant for a county like Cherokee where minorities as a whole only made up about 3% of the county's entire population 20-30 years ago.
It is not necessarily all that far-fetched that Asians and/or any other minority racial/ethnic group would start moving into an outer-suburban county like Cherokee with good schools and a high quality-of-life in large numbers.
Minorities have moved into formerly overwhelmingly predominantly-white outer-suburban/exurban areas like Cobb, North Fulton and (especially) Gwinnett in large numbers because of the highly-elevated reputation of the schools and the high quality-of-life in those areas.
The stats seem to indicate that minorities are moving into overwhelmingly predominantly white Forsyth County (where the Asian population has shot to nearly 10% in a county that until recently was 99% white) in larger numbers, so it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility that minorities would continue to move into Cherokee County in larger numbers like has been the case in Gwinnett, North Fulton and Cobb and like is currently going on in Forsyth County.
If you are wondering why Cherokee County (and much of Northwest metro Atlanta) seems not to attract as many Asians as Northeast metro Atlanta (North Fulton, Gwinnett and South Forsyth counties, the GA 141 and I-85 Northeast corridors, etc), the reason appears to be that there is a larger base of development (commercial and residential) that has attracted many more Asians to the relatively very large and fast-growing Asian community that has already been attracted to that area over the last 20-25 years or so.....A population growth trend in Northeast metro Atlanta that originated from along the Buford Highway corridor in North DeKalb County and seemed to spillover into neighboring Gwinnett and North Fulton (and now South Forsyth) counties.
Northwest metro Atlanta (the I-75/I-575 Northwest corridor, Cobb and Cherokee counties) seems to have some potential to attract more Asian families, particularly because of the schools, the employment opportunities, the amenities in the area and the presence of fast-growing Kennesaw State University.
But because of the relatively well-entrenched Asian community and because of the area's reputation as being a strong attraction for Asian families (particularly because of the combination of some of the strongest academic public schools in the Southeast, and the presence of strong employment opportunities and many amenities in the area), Northeast metro Atlanta will likely continue to be a much stronger draw for Asian families than Northwest metro Atlanta.
It goes back to some of the points that were made earlier that because of differing variables (uneven development patterns, the pre-existing presence of an ethnic/racial community in a given area, the presence of many more amenities, the reputation of the schools, affordability of housing, etc) it is impossible to have an even spread of diversity throughout the entire metro area.
But even without an Asian population that is as big as in Northeast metro Atlanta, an area like Cherokee County and Northwest metro Atlanta (including Cobb and Paulding counties) still has much more diverse populations than they had in the not-too-distant past when their county populations were well over 90% white.
You think in Gwinnett County Schools there Hispanic and Black there. In Cobb County Schools, there is lots of black in South Cobb. Clayton Schools is still same diverse. I have to submit there lots of diverse in Atlanta Metro. But overall Atlanta Metro, has lots of black students due to suburb. Clayton County Schools, Atlanta Public School, Fulton County Schools, Douglas County Schools, Rockdale County Schools, Newton County Schools, maybe Henry County Schools.
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One thing that is being missed in this conversation is that diversity is only being looked at from the perspective of how many Black, White, Asian, and Latino residents an area has. It is not, no pun intended, not as black and white as that.
For example, the non-Hispanic White and Black populations in this town are also diverse themselves.
As of the latest Census estimates, there are 81,413 native Africans and 65,727 native Europeans living in Metro Atlanta. Those two groups alone make up 20% of the foreign born population in this city, and both groups are growing quickly.
Diversity in origin can also be applied to this country as well. As an author once said, "America is like 13 countries pretending to be one", so this topic can also be applied to the local traditions people bring with them from other areas of the country and throw in to our melting pot.
As of the latest estimates, there are 2,060,017 people in this State born somewhere other than Georgia in the United States. Here is the break down by region.
Northeast 462,745
Midwest 447,092
South 968,368
West 181,812
Puerto Rico 15,873
U.S. Island Areas 7,804
Born abroad of American parent(s) 52,618
The above is highlighted due to the common criticism of Atlanta's growth is that it is mostly coming from people moving from other parts of the South (as if that's a bad thing), when in reality that is not true. All combined, 1,167,944 residents of Metro Atlanta were born outside the South in other parts of the country and U.S. territories versus 968,368 coming from other Southern States. When combined with the foreign born population of 727,285, 1,895,229 Atlantans were born outside the South.
To put that in perspective, the non-native Southern population of Metro Atlanta on it's own would be the 36th largest metropolitan area in the country. Roughly the size of San Jose and larger than Nashville, Providence, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans (by 600,000 residents), Birmingham (by almost 1 million) and the 338 other Census designated MSAs I haven't named. Crazy!
Hispanics made up 10.1% and African-Americans made up 6.6% of Cherokee's population as of 2014, so most of that increased diversity does currently consist of Hispanics and African-Americans at this point in time.
Though the fact that Asians make up about 2% of the population is still very significant for a county like Cherokee where minorities as a whole only made up about 3% of the county's entire population 20-30 years ago.
It is not necessarily all that far-fetched that Asians and/or any other minority racial/ethnic group would start moving into an outer-suburban county like Cherokee with good schools and a high quality-of-life in large numbers.
Minorities have moved into formerly overwhelmingly predominantly-white outer-suburban/exurban areas like Cobb, North Fulton and (especially) Gwinnett in large numbers because of the highly-elevated reputation of the schools and the high quality-of-life in those areas.
The stats seem to indicate that minorities are moving into overwhelmingly predominantly white Forsyth County (where the Asian population has shot to nearly 10% in a county that until recently was 99% white) in larger numbers, so it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility that minorities would continue to move into Cherokee County in larger numbers like has been the case in Gwinnett, North Fulton and Cobb and like is currently going on in Forsyth County.
If you are wondering why Cherokee County (and much of Northwest metro Atlanta) seems not to attract as many Asians as Northeast metro Atlanta (North Fulton, Gwinnett and South Forsyth counties, the GA 141 and I-85 Northeast corridors, etc), the reason appears to be that there is a larger base of development (commercial and residential) that has attracted many more Asians to the relatively very large and fast-growing Asian community that has already been attracted to that area over the last 20-25 years or so.....A population growth trend in Northeast metro Atlanta that originated from along the Buford Highway corridor in North DeKalb County and seemed to spillover into neighboring Gwinnett and North Fulton (and now South Forsyth) counties.
Northwest metro Atlanta (the I-75/I-575 Northwest corridor, Cobb and Cherokee counties) seems to have some potential to attract more Asian families, particularly because of the schools, the employment opportunities, the amenities in the area and the presence of fast-growing Kennesaw State University.
But because of the relatively well-entrenched Asian community and because of the area's reputation as being a strong attraction for Asian families (particularly because of the combination of some of the strongest academic public schools in the Southeast, and the presence of strong employment opportunities and many amenities in the area), Northeast metro Atlanta will likely continue to be a much stronger draw for Asian families than Northwest metro Atlanta.
It goes back to some of the points that were made earlier that because of differing variables (uneven development patterns, the pre-existing presence of an ethnic/racial community in a given area, the presence of many more amenities, the reputation of the schools, affordability of housing, etc) it is impossible to have an even spread of diversity throughout the entire metro area.
But even without an Asian population that is as big as in Northeast metro Atlanta, an area like Cherokee County and Northwest metro Atlanta (including Cobb and Paulding counties) still has much more diverse populations than they had in the not-too-distant past when their county populations were well over 90% white.
Excellent post. Actually makes a lot of sense. Hopefully the widening of 575 is a good sign that the area is booming, and hopefully will attract businesses and companies, in turn attracting a diverse population!
I'll chime in..
I do have a child and diversity is actually very high on my list of requirements when looking for a public school. I grew up in several different neighborhoods/environments/towns (moved around a lot) so I've experience it all. My absolutely worst experience was being a minority kid in a school that was nearly 100% white in suburban Wisconsin. The school did not just lack racial diversity; it lacked diversity of any kind. Everyone assumed I was poor. The racism and bullying was unbearable.
Precisely why I want my white kids to go to a majority white school. No racism or bullying then.
Precisely why I want my white kids to go to a majority white school. No racism or bullying then.
So you think only racial bullying applies?Why would you think you have to be in a majority racial district to not have bullying?
Why would it not be a racially diverse school which most people on here are advocating.Im black but I would never put ,y kid (if I had one) in a majority black school.
However I would consider and all white school oNLY because I could expose him to enough of his black culture so he would have a good balance like how I grew up.
I find that a person of whatever race as a minority is better suited to deal with others when he he /she is immersed in an environment that is different from his racially and culturally.
Some of the coolest white people I have ever met have lived or grew up around minorities
Excellent post. Actually makes a lot of sense. Hopefully the widening of 575 is a good sign that the area is booming, and hopefully will attract businesses and companies, in turn attracting a diverse population!
That is an excellent point that the addition of toll managed lanes (variable toll lanes) to the I-575 right-of-way is a good sign that Southern Cherokee County is booming.
That is also an excellent inference that the expansion of I-575 will likely help to attract more development to Southern Cherokee County.
That is because I-575 was built as a developmental highway of sorts as a tool to help open up Cherokee County and the North Georgia Mountains region to increased development opportunities (by way of the GA 515 corridor which is a northern extension of I-575 into the North Georgia Mountains region).
I-575 has definitely served its purpose as a developmental tool as Cherokee County's population grew by more than 356% between 1980 and 2015 (from 51,699 in 1980 to 235,900 in 2015).
An issue has been that Cherokee County and the I-75/I-575 Northwest metro Atlanta corridor don't necessarily seem to have seen quite as much heavy commercial development (office and industrial development) as the Georgia 400 North and I-85 Northeast metro Atlanta corridors.
While the I-575 roadway has brought some significant retail commercial development to Southern Cherokee County (most notably to the GA 92, Towne Lake and GA 20/I-575 areas), most of the significant office and industrial development in the I-75/I-575 Northwest corridor seems to stretch only up to North Cobb County.
The lack of the kind of significant office and industrial development in Cherokee County that stretches up the GA 400 and I-85 Northeast corridors (into South Forsyth along GA 400 North and into Hall County along the I-85/I-985 Northeast corridor) means that Cherokee County seems to be much more of a bedroom community of sorts to Cobb and North Fulton counties than Forsyth is to North Fulton and Gwinnett counties or Hall is to Gwinnett.
(...Because of Gainesville's status as a major center of business and industry for Northeast Georgia, along with the presence of Lake Lanier (which is much larger than Northwest metro Atlanta's Lake Allatoona) and the presence of I-985 as a critically important connector road to Atlanta, Hall County has an abnormally large base of industrial development for an exurban county....A major factor which has contributed heavily to Hall County's very large Hispanic population as well as Hall County's stunning rise to the very top of the Georgia and Southeastern U.S. political scenes.)
The lack of significant office and industrial development along the I-575 corridor through Cherokee County compared to the GA 400 and I-85 NE corridors also means that it will likely be slightly more challenging for Cherokee County to attract new Asian residents at the levels that neighboring outer-suburban Forsyth County seems to be attracting new Asian residents as growth and development spills over into Forsyth from North Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
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