Blacks are fleeing Democrat-controlled urban areas in the North, like Chicago, and the “seemingly intractable level of street violence,” reported Politico, as they face the possibility of being a minority in such cities with neither the economic or political clout they once dreamed of.
Previously the pattern of migration for blacks had been away from southern, rural areas, into northern, urban areas, away from what was perceived as the racism of the south. The migration promised jobs, escape from pre-civil rights racism, and perhaps a chance for blacks to exercise political power.
so happy to see @natalieymoore contribute to politico’s new series on Black flight from Chicago and other major cities — i highly recommend checking out this piece and the other articles today:https://t.co/tZTFqSz6dx
— marissa martinez (@mar1ssamart1nez) December 7, 2021
“But since the early 1970s, a reverse of that historic migration has been underway,” reported the Philadelphia Inquirer, “fueled by young people, college graduates and retirees in search of employment opportunities in growing economies, newer and more affordable housing and safer communities, social scientists say.”
It also has been fueled by the hopelessness that has seen blacks given only a small share of the political power in Chicago that they previously believed would signal success and equality– this despite the reign of legendary black mayor Harold Washington and the recent election of black, female, lesbian mayor Lori Lightfoot.
In 2018 the Globe and Mail called Chicago “the epicenter” of black flight.
“The Greater Chicago area has lost close to 46,000 black residents since 2010. Atlanta has replaced it as the metropolitan area with the second-largest black population in the U.S., after New York. Chicago now stands third,” said the Globe and Mail.
They are leaving behind largely depressed areas of the city, like the Englewood neighborhood on the city’s southwest side, which a local TV station once dubbed “one of the most dangerous” neighborhoods in Chicago and other black entrenched areas.
“It’s an American tragedy,” the Rev. Marshall Hatch, of Chicago’s West Garfield neighborhood which is also largely black, told the New York Times. “Look at the legacy that the African-American community had in national politics, in culture, with blues and gospel and jazz, and sports, from Michael Jordan to Ernie Banks. African-American Chicago is being destroyed.”
