Relocating from Atlanta

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

LA has one of the largest black populations of any major city or metro area in the U.S. with approximately 1 million blacks in LA County alone. I wouldn't call that small or insignificant. There are 3 blacks on the 9 member LA City Council (a full third of the council) and 1 black on the 5 member County Board of Supervisors. Also, the head of the LA Police Commission is black, the head of the LA City Fire Department is black, and the superintendent of the LA Unified School District is also black. A black woman ran LAX until she stepped down this past spring. I could point to other examples. But I say this to dispel the myth that's being perpetuated on this forum that blacks are this radically shrinking group of people in LA when they are not. The radical shift or change is the increase in the Latino population and less so the decrease in the white and black populations.

Also the Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, and Baldwins Hills areas have the greatest contiguous concentration of affluent black families in the United States.

The LA County Black population might not have the rapid growth in population, but the Black influence that's in Los Angeles Country is still there and still thriving. Los Angeles had the 2nd black Mayor of a major city & the longest tenured in the history of Los Angeles (The esteemed Tom Bradley (politician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and the airport is aptly named after him because of his politics to push the growth and further development of LAX to where it is today. Like Angelion said there are too many examples to name with regards to Black influence in Los Angeles. But to make this relevant to the original poster; the areas of Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, and Baldwins Hills is where many of the Black movers and shakers with influence in Los Angeles & worldwide have historically called home.

[straight outta camden]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

LA has one of the largest black populations of any major city or metro area in the U.S. with approximately 1 million blacks in LA County alone. I wouldn't call that small or insignificant. There are 3 blacks on the 9 member LA City Council (a full third of the council) and 1 black on the 5 member County Board of Supervisors. Also, the head of the LA Police Commission is black, the head of the LA City Fire Department is black, and the superintendent of the LA Unified School District is also black. A black woman ran LAX until she stepped down this past spring. I could point to other examples. But I say this to dispel the myth that's being perpetuated on this forum that blacks are this radically shrinking group of people in LA when they are not. The radical shift or change is the increase in the Latino population and less so the decrease in the white and black populations.

Also the Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, and Baldwins Hills areas have the greatest contiguous concentration of affluent black families in the United States.

Well, of course the LA metro has a fairly large black population. It is, after all, the second-largest metro area in America. I was making the point that its black population is proportionately small (sorry, but 8-9% just isn't much) and its affluent black population is smaller still as a result. Also, the black population may not be "radically shrinking"--but it is shrinking, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the overall population. That is clear from the census.

There are, of course, plenty of talented, powerful African-Americans in the county. But let's remember one reason for this. Latinos have surprisingly little political power given their enormous numbers, partly because so many are young, partly because so many are illegal. As the population of American-born Latinos increases in size and age, this will change--fast. Unless Latinos can be persuaded to vote for black over Latino candidates, this will mean blacks losing political power. For an example of what is likely to happen in much of the county, look at Lynwood. I would bet the farm on Latinos seizing control of Compton within 10 years. Whites will lose power too, of course, but not so dramatically. Latinos are growing faster in black areas than in white areas.

I'm not gloating over this. It just seems to me unavoidable that blacks will decline as a political force in the city and county.

[TheRealAngelion]

Originally Posted by straight outta camden

Well, of course the LA metro has a fairly large black population. It is, after all, the second-largest metro area in America. I was making the point that its black population is proportionately small (sorry, but 8-9% just isn't much) and its affluent black population is smaller still as a result. Also, the black population may not be "radically shrinking"--but it is shrinking, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the overall population. That is clear from the census.

There are, of course, plenty of talented, powerful African-Americans in the county. But let's remember one reason for this. Latinos have surprisingly little political power given their enormous numbers, partly because so many are young, partly because so many are illegal. As the population of American-born Latinos increases in size and age, this will change--fast. Unless Latinos can be persuaded to vote for black over Latino candidates, this will mean blacks losing political power. For an example of what is likely to happen in much of the county, look at Lynwood. I would bet the farm on Latinos seizing control of Compton within 10 years. Whites will lose power too, of course, but not so dramatically. Latinos are growing faster in black areas than in white areas.

I'm not gloating over this. It just seems to me unavoidable that blacks will decline as a political force in the city and county.

Okay, I understand that in proportion to the overall population of LA County and City that the black population is small. That has always been the case. Nothing new there.

What I was responding to was your implying that the actual number of blacks was "small" in comparison to Atlanta and to other major U.S. cities and that the black population in LA did not reflect the proportional representation of blacks in the US population overall. Here’s what you said:

Originally Posted by straight outta camden

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is just how small the African-American population of Los Angeles is. Blacks are 10% of the city population and 9% of the county population (and falling) which makes LA less black than America as a whole.

I felt this statement was a bit misleading. Although I do better understand now what you were trying to say. However, the fact is the black population of LA dwarfs that of Atlanta in actual numbers.

Black Population
LA County: 964,965
LA City: 427,835

Fulton County: 411,845
Atlanta: 259,735

As you can see, not even counting LA County, the black population in the city of LA alone exceeds that of the entire county of Fulton, GA.

And to the second point you made in your OP that I felt was misleading, the black population of LA County is about 10 percent and LA City is 11 percent. Therefore, LA’s black population does in fact closely resemble the overall black population of the U.S. which is 12 percent.

As far as black political power in LA goes, blacks have never relied solely on black voter support to gain political power. Obviously, some on the city council have represented black majority districts, but Tom Bradley presided over Los Angeles as mayor for nearly a quarter century mostly as a result of white voters. He couldn’t have accomplished that with just the black vote alone. Also, all of the current black political appointees were appointed by our Latino mayor. Why? Because it would be an enormous mistake to ignore one of the oldest, largest, most established, and most reliable voting blocks in LA—no matter how many Latinos there are. Jim Hahn made that mistake and it cost him his political career, literally.