Surprising, minority populations in the United States (cities, places)

[illadelph73]

Originally Posted by Count David

Just heard about this place.
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-M...roke-Illinois/

Sounds like Deep South/Appalachia poverty.

[ckhthankgod]

Another Illinois small town with a high black percentage(about 70%): https://www.google.com/maps/@37.1143...6!9m2!1b1!2i37

and a nearby small town that is about 50% black or so: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0840...6!9m2!1b1!2i37

[Count David]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Another Illinois small town with a high black percentage(about 70%): https://www.google.com/maps/@37.1143...6!9m2!1b1!2i37

and a nearby small town that is about 50% black or so: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0840...6!9m2!1b1!2i37

Yes, those are down by Cairo. Beautiful area, and a decent sized black population in Southern IL.

[semiurbanite]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

A good number of Black Americans in tiny Pittsfield Massachusetts , deep inthe Berkshires. In a state where so many of the black residents are Carribean or African its honeslty weird to find a nearly all Black American population in a rural northern county that is 90% white, in a city not anywhere near any major interstates or highways. Pittfield is nestled deep into the woods its this half urban/half rural city. The two local high schools are 10-15% black and the town is 5% black. I've always known the community is there-it just seems odd. Seems to attract ex-New Yorkers an I know some Bostonians have family out there. But the city is at least 2.5 hours from Boston and 3 hours from NYC.

My theory is people initially migrated there from NY State when the General Electric Plant was up and running. GE shut, but not before polluting the local waterways. The city declined and the Downtown is a legitimate ghetto now with many folks sort of stranded there. Tiny slice of the Rust Belt in "Americas premier cultural destination"?

I believe there was a significant black population in Pittsfield long before GE left.

[Mightyqueen801]

Surprised no one mentioned the Sikh community in Yuba City, CA, which has been there since the late 19th Century. W. Kamau Bell covered the culture and its history in the USA on his United Shades Of America show.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

I believe there was a significant black population in Pittsfield long before GE left.

My research has indicated such. Blacks in the Berkshires dating back to the earliest days ..In fact the second black astronaut ever in outer space was a black woman from Pittsfield.

My question is how and why did they settle in Pittsfield in measurable numbers? They didn’t do so in NW CT Vermont NH or Maine. No such long-standing black populations in Torrington Rutland Nashua or Lewiston..

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

My research has indicated such. Blacks in the Berkshires dating back to the earliest days ..In fact the second black astronaut ever in outer space was a black woman from Pittsfield.

My question is how and why did they settle in Pittsfield in measurable numbers? They didn’t do so in NW CT Vermont NH or Maine. No such long-standing black populations in Torrington Rutland Nashua or Lewiston..

Well, the nearby parts of NY have always had visible black populations due to enslavement. So, some may have come from NY. For instance, I believe a part of W.E.B. DuBois' family came from the Hudson Valley area of NY. A nearby town in NY, Chatham, has had a visible black population for well over a century and even has an African Methodist Episcopal Church. https://www.facebook.com/PayneAMEChu...19061628418075

So, some of the black residents probably have roots in the area for centuries. This website likely provides some good insight into the history there: https://www.africanamericantrail.org/

This man was born in Lenox, outside of Pittsfield: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Van_Der_Zee (given the Dutch surname, his family likely had been in the area for a while)

This early baseball player was born in Pittsfield: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Grant (it looks like his parents were from the area too: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/frank-grant/)

[wanderer34]

Originally Posted by projectmaximus

Lebanese and Syrians in Jacksonville, FL (well, overall Arab community in general is surprising)
Filipinos in Jacksonville
Vietnamese in LA/MS

I'd wager that there are more Arabs and people of Arab descent in South Florida than in Jacksonville.

[Vincent_Adultman]

Originally Posted by dozener

Somalis in Minnesota and Seattle. The Dems really did a fine job of resettling refugees in areas that really wouldn’t have them otherwise. They’ve had a great impact on the surrounding area

Seattle also has the third highest number of Ethiopian immigrants among all US cities. (DC is one and I think Minneapolis is two.)

[YIMBY]

Originally Posted by dozener

Somalis in Minnesota and Seattle. The Dems really did a fine job of resettling refugees in areas that really wouldn’t have them otherwise. They’ve had a great impact on the surrounding area

Not just Somalis.


Somali Top Ten by MSA
1. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA
8. St. Cloud MSA
9. Rochester MSA


Hmong Top Ten by MSA
1. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Burmese Top Ten by MSA
1. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Liberian Top Ten by MSA
2. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Ethiopian Top Ten by MSA
3. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Kenyan Top Ten by MSA
5. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Laotian Top Ten by MSA
6. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Ugandan Top Ten by MSA
6. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Ecuadorian Top Ten by MSA
8. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Guyanese Top Ten by MSA
9. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Zimbabwean Top Ten by MSA
9. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA

Cambodian Top Ten by MSA
10. Minneapolis - St Paul MSA