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Best guesses... lower housing prices, and compared to SoCal, the South is much more africanized.
I'd say it's safe to say that the blacks have or will successfully taken over the south. It is in what demographers refer to as "the black belt". So given that white flight is the only acceptable response to africanization, eventually it'll probably be entirely like Detroit. At least in the cities. Most major southern cities I can think of of the top of my head are already or are approaching majority black.
So long story short, more affordable, more people of the same ethnicity, growing every day.
Just curious as to what you mean by africanized? I have never seen anywhere in the US that is africanized
<What is it about the South that attracts blacks and probably other Americans to the region?>
I've been wondered the same thing; my husband and I are getting ready to retire and have looked at various places in the south because of some of the reasons mentioned on this thread. On a trip to Nashville, however, I saw the Confederate flags flying on the way out of the city, and I was totally creeped out. I can't wrap my mind around how supposedly patriotic Americans still fly that symbol of treason and racism. I asked a friend who lives there how my husband and I would be perceived with our political views (we consider ourselves independent, progressives), and she jokingly said we would have no friends. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but, I wonder what it would be like to live among the fanatical religious extremists and bigots who yes, are all over, but seem particularly concentrated n the south?
Some very misinformed and ignorant posts in this thread already, most likely from folks that have spent very little time in the South. Your chances for peace and prosperity are as good or better in today's South than anywhere else.
The reason I say the Northeast is the best is because down south it is still segregated. The northeast is segregated too, however, not by race but by class. There are a lot more professional blacks in the Northeast. Well I don't want to generalize a whole region but I can speak on the DC/MD/VA sector because that is where I am from.
Racism down here is institutionalized. Many people down here hold the same close-minded views as JMadison, the troll I quoted in this post.
I honestly believe the Northeast is the worst place for blacks when it comes to integrating into the mainstream society and feeling truly accepted. As for the black professionals in the Washington area, remember that the DC area has a ton of government jobs that tend not to racially discriminate, alongside that the DC private sector economy is solid in general.
As for Northern Virginia, it is more segregated by class. As for most of DC and Maryland, race is as much a factor in segregation as class. Don't believe me, ask a professional black person to walk to bourgeoisie parts of DC and MD like Georgetown, Capitol Hill, College Park, and Potomac. Compared that to walking through class-segregated yet racially integrated places like Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, Loudoun, and Fairfax.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scalpy McScalperson
I'd say the best place for black people is the Northeast. Not the South. This is still the south, the only reason its getting more progressive down here is because more Northerners are moving here.
I have to call BS on that one. That would be a lot more credible if it was used to mention how transplant Westerners are making Texas more progressive, but I doubt that's the case for Northerners moving into places like NC and GA. As I stated, there's a stark difference between the uppity places in DC/MD and higher-end places in NoVA, and I honestly believe it's due to more Northeastern transplants going to more bourgeoisie places in DC and MD versus people from all over the country and world being attracted to NoVA. That's just my observation.
As for the OP, it seems like more blacks who move to places like Atlanta, Dallas, and DC are lemmings who want to self-segregate themselves into black communities, basically to live out the "separate but equal" concept that was pushed during the 20th century. Sorry, but from what I've heard, I don't buy Atlanta as some integrated melting pot. Now if I were to guess places in the South that people went to in order to find integration of the likes expected in more western states, I'd imagine places like Houston, Tampa, Charlotte, and the Hampton Roads are more in that category. You could throw in Austin, San Antonio, and Northern Virginia in there as well, but culturally, these cities are anything but Southern, with the first two being more Southwestern, and Northern VA being more Northeastern.
I'm a young black male living in Southern California. It seems like everyone I've known or grew up with has moved to the old school South. Now my views about the South isn't positive, just anywhere outside the West. It would be cool if all my old friends returned to LA. Be like old times.
What is it about the South that attracts blacks and probably other Americans to the region?
It's not about so much about attraction, as it is about origins. The vast majority of blacks in this country had ancestors who were brough here from Africa as slaves. Initially there were distributed throughout the thirteen colonies, but after the Missouri compromise and when slavery and tobacco/cotton production really picked up they were imported almost exclusively to the South. The Deep South especially, has extremely high African American proportions. Before the 1930's the majority of residents in Mississippi were black. Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana have the highest black populations.
The border states (slave states in the North) of Maryland and Delaware also have relatively high black populations, mainly because of double migration. During the Great Migration of blacks from South to North (mainly because of racism and the seeking out of better opportunies in the North), MD and DE gained a large number of blacks, and during the second (current) migration of blacks from North to South (mostly because of reduced racism, more favorable weather, and increased opportunities in rapidly growing cities such as Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte) those states also gained a large number of blacks.
I'd say the best place for black people is the Northeast. Not the South. This is still the south, the only reason its getting more progressive down here is because more Northeners are moving here.
No way, in Georgia. While there are many people from up north moving into Atlanta, my part of the state gets very little emmigration from up north. It really is time for everyone to drop those old ideas about the south. The races get along probably better here than anywhere these days. We have the highest population percentages of blacks in the nation. We interact daily, live in the same nieghborhoods, shop at the same places, send our kids to the same schools, etc... The reason that black, white, or any people are moving here is because it is a nice place to live. These forums have really shown me what people think about the south. It's incredible. And mostly from people who claim to be accepting of all, no matter what.
It's not about so much about attraction, as it is about origins. The vast majority of blacks in this country had ancestors who were brough here from Africa as slaves. Initially there were distributed throughout the thirteen colonies, but after the Missouri compromise and when slavery and tobacco/cotton production really picked up they were imported almost exclusively to the South. The Deep South especially, has extremely high African American proportions. Before the 1930's the majority of residents in Mississippi were black. Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana have the highest black populations.
The border states (slave states in the North) of Maryland and Delaware also have relatively high black populations, mainly because of double migration. During the Great Migration of blacks from South to North (mainly because of racism and the seeking out of better opportunies in the North), MD and DE gained a large number of blacks, and during the second (current) migration of blacks from North to South (mostly because of reduced racism, more favorable weather, and increased opportunities in rapidly growing cities such as Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte) those states also gained a large number of blacks.
Bingo! I was wondering when someone would mention this obvious fact. In 1900, 90% of Blacks lived in the South and that percentage never went below 50%. So, it is more about origins(or includes that) like cterp stated. For example, my parents are from Mississippi and South Carolina, the two biggest slave states as Charleston and Vicksburg where the two biggest ports of entry for slaves and historically the "Blackest" states in the US, as both were predominately Black well into the 20th century. They came to Syracuse in the 60's when that city had the second fastest growing Black community in the US at the time and there were more manufacturing jobs in the area. Many of those jobs are gone and now, I have a sister that lives in Charlotte and a brother in Virginia Beach.
Also, that is a great point cterp about states like MD and DE getting a double dose in a sense of Black migration, on top of the fact they both were slaves states. Many Blacks from the South moved to Baltimore, Wilmington, and other smaller cities and towns in both of those states for jobs opportunities.
Then, people have to think about the institutional structure of the South. meaning, that historically Black colleges attracted many Blacks from other regions and also set up a social infrastructure for Blacks to advanced, even during segregation to some degree. This allowed for some Black owned companies to flourish during that period of American history. Here's an example of this: Black Banks: Segregation's Gift to the Black Community
Although I do agree on racism in some parts of the rural South. Rural Southerners over 60 I think do tend to be racist in a way that's less common in the North. Also some parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, and my home state of Arkansas are maybe still a tad racist judging by election poll statements in 2008. However defining the current South by elderly rural people seems more than a little unfair, bordering on ridiculous.
I'm white, but I grew up in Socal, not far from Encino, and I now live in Atlanta. I can see how Atlanta and other urban parts of the South appeal to black people. Racism down here is in some ways more pronounced than it is in the West, but in some ways less. It seems like you run into more white (and black) racists out here, but there are also more political and business leadership opportunities for black people out here because of their numbers. There are good predominantly black schools, neighborhoods, cities, precincts, businesses, etc. out here.
Most of the larger cities in the South are becoming more progressive, which is a positive. I think that African-Americans probably come to the South for the same reasons as anyone else--it's cheaper to live here, and I personally know quite a few African-American retirees who moved here (KY) because they did not want to deal with the snow.
The area I live in (Bowling Green, KY) has a pretty diverse population, and there is actually much LESS racial issues than I saw when I lived around Detroit, MI. In Detroit, the neighborhoods are seriously segregated. That's not the case here...my neighborhood is pretty typical of Bowling Green, KY and my neighbors are Asian Indian, Hmong, Vietnamese, Chinese, Hispanic, and African American. Of course, this is a college town so people are more liberal.
It's also very common to see interracial friendships and marriages here, so I guess that at least in my area, we don't really have an issue with race.
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