New Great Migration

See also: Great Migration (African American)

The New Great Migration (African American) is the term for demographic changes from 1965 to the present which are a reversal of the previous 35-year trend of black migration within the United States. Since 1965, deindustrialization of cities in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, growth of jobs in the "New South", family and kinship ties, and improving racial relations have all acted to attract African Americans to the Southern United States in substantial numbers. As early as 1975-1980, seven southern states were net black migration gainers. African-American populations continue to drop throughout much of the Northeast, particularly with black emigration out of the state of New York^[1] as well as out of Northern New Jersey^[2], as they rise in the Southern United States.

College graduates and middle-class migrants make up a major portion of the new migration. For instance, from 1965–2000, the states of Georgia, and Texas attracted the most black college graduates. The only state outside the former Confederacy that attracted a sizeable migration of black college graduates was Maryland, the majority of the population growth being in the counties surrounding Washington D.C. In that same period, California was a net loser of black migration for the first time in three decades. While the migration is still in progress, much data is from this 35-year period.^[3]

The New Great Migration appears to be concentrated in Southern states that have the most growth in jobs, such as Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas. Other states, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, have seen little net black in-migration.

References

1. ^ Dan Bilefsky (2011-06-21). "For New Life, Blacks in City Head to South". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/nyregion/many-black-new-yorkers-are-moving-to-the-south.html?scp=1&sq=blacks%20south&st=cse. Retrieved 2011-07-16. 
2. ^ Dave Sheingold (2011-02-20). "North Jersey black families leaving for lure of new South". © 2011 North Jersey Media Group. http://www.northjersey.com/news/116554018_Black_families_leaving_for_lure_of_new_South.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-16. 
3. ^ William H. Frey, "The New Great Migration: Black Americans' Return to the South, 1965-2000", May 2004, pp.1-4, accessed 19 Mar 2008, The Brookings Institution

See also

African American portal

• Black Belt