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Originally Posted by ckhthankgod
When we say city, are we speaking strictly about the city proper or the metro as a whole? I ask because a lot of black Americans that leave NYC just move to the suburbs, but a good portion of the city’s black population is still black American.
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Yeah but there's a large percentage of Black Americans that leave NYC for more affordable sunbelt cities as well. We can't just say there moving to the suburbs. You won't see the same amount of Atlanta or Houston natives living in other cities in significant numbers like you will see NYers living in cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, insert random Florida city. There's no shortage of NY transplants in those particular cities.
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Originally Posted by cdw1084
I say NYC has a solid hold at #3 because the city still contains a large amount of black people (nearly 2 million) and has/have played a major role in the black culture for some time. For me personally, I think Houston and Dallas completes out the top 5. However, if someone wants to discuss Philadelphia and Detroit, I think they have solid roots to make a claim, as well. I am not so sure that I'd rank Charlotte over Dallas either. Dallas is the most similar to Atlanta because many black people continue to move there because of it's economic diversity. I think Charlotte is right there but more so along the lines of top 10.
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I'm not gonna disagree with your stance on NYC because the area still ranks high on my list for Black Americans. Not so much in livability but it's strong as far as relevancy and popularity. But I do disagree w/ the comment that Dallas is the most similar to Atlanta when it comes to Black people.
Yes Atlanta and Dallas has had the biggest growth among Black Americans than any other metro in the country and their diverse economy has created a corporate culture for both cities that feel similar(not particularly with Black Americans but just the residents of both cities in general) but imo that's where the comparisons stop.
Dallas Black population growth is mostly tied to economic opportunities and "affordability".
Atlanta Black population growth is tied by economic opportunities, entertainment opportunities, decades worth of hype, "affordability".
Atlanta has 4 HBCU's in the heart of the city and the schools and their alumni's are still very influential in the city.
Dallas has 1 small HBCU that was originally in Waco,Texas but later moved to Dallas in 1990. However there are HBCU alumni and grad from surrounding HBCU'S most notably in the SWAC that have some influence in the Black community of DFW just not even close to the level of Atlanta.
Atlanta has a long history with civil rights and black activism that has pretty much help shape the entire city of Atlanta to what it is today.
Dallas for having such a large Black population doesn't have a long storied history of civil rights or black activism that helped define the city as it is today. And that goes for Fort Worth too. The White Status quo really did a number on the Black community in DFW prior to integration so DFW never really got to experience a large scale civil rights movement which creates a Black cultural hub that becomes apart of the cities identity.
I would say Atlanta Black population is more socially and culturally diverse and I would say more liberal (not politically but just in attitude)
DFW Black population is more socially and culturally divided. You don't see the cohesion of Black people from different backgrounds quite on the level of Atlanta anywhere in DFW. Also it's a more conservative family centric populace than Atlanta.
Dallas also doesn't have a Black cultural epicenter in the heart of the city like certain cities in this country. There's no West End or Castleberry Hill equivalent in Dallas. There's no Third Ward like in Houston or Leimert Park like in Los Angeles. Yes Dallas has predominately traditional black neighborhoods in the actual city limits but there's not a neighborhood with a microcosm of the larger Black community in Dallas or Fort Worth.
Also the layout of DFW Black population is very different in comparison to Atlanta. The large concentration of Black populations in the city limits of Dallas and Fort Worth happen to be largely working class, poor and neglected from the bulk of the city. The large concentrations of Black middle class and affluent communities are in predominately Black suburbs south of I-30 like Desoto/ Cedar Hill/ Duncanville. Then there's diverse suburbs south of I-20 with a sizable Black community like Grand Prairie/ Arlington/Mansfield. Then you have suburbs north of I-20 with spread out Black communities. Not as heavily concentrated as areas south of I-20. There are sizable communities like in Irving, H-E-B, Addison and Richardson but not to the extent of south of I-30. And the growing suburbs of Plano, Mckinney, Frisco etc. probably experiences the most Black growth in the region but the Black percentages are pretty low in the more popular and economic hubs in DFW. It's why you have some Black transplants in DFW complain about a "lack of Black culture" even though DFW has over 1.2 million Black residents.
Charlotte on the other hand is smaller but Black people tend to have a more visible and influential presence in the fabric of the city in comparison to DFW. Events like the CIAA tournament helped establish Charlotte's reputation among Black people nationally.
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Originally Posted by BrooklynJo
Putting DC as number 2 is sort of a contradiction to why you did not put NYC on the list.
DC is very expensive and mainly attracts professional black American similar to NYC. The average black American cannot afford to simply just move to DC and a lot of DC natives have always been moving to Maryland and the south for more affordable housing just like NY residents. Nobody cites DC as a place to live to buy a reasonable priced large home to raise an entire family on a middle-income salary.
The differences between DC and NY that favor DC.
- DC is gaining blacks by population but lowering percentages (due to DC becoming more diverse). NYC overall losing numbers.
The differences between NY and DC that favor NY.
- NY black culture is more known and more popular than DC black culture. A lot of you guys would be shocked to know the number of black people outside the internet who do not know much about DC culture. I wouldn't even put DC culture as top 5 (NY,LA,Houston,Miami,Atl, Oakland, Chicago all have more popular cultures).
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When I say DC I'm also including the DMV. DC/DMV as a whole is definitely one of the most relevant and popular cities/metros for Black Americans. PG County has a nationally known reputation for being the richest Black county in America. That appeals to a lot of Black folks even if the average Black American can't afford it.
Not to mention the amount of good press DC/DMV has when it comes to relocation and entrepreneurship within the Black community. D.C. is definitely praised in Black professionals circles as well. Also it's one of the more popular destinations for Black LGBTQ in the nation. D.C. is also home to one of the most popular HBCU's in the nation(Howard Univesrity).
I'd also disagree w/ D.C. Black culture being less popular than Miami and even Oakland in 2023. Maybe you're referring to these cities being more popular when it comes to Hip-hop but we know there's way more to Black culture than just Hip-Hop. That doesn't define Black culture that's just apart of it. Not to mention I've been to every city you mentioned and D.C.'s Black culture is way more visible in modern times than Miami and LA. LA imo does have a pretty strong Black cultural presence especially considering it's percentage is WAY below the national average but I think LA's Black culture is still benefiting from it's past and in reality it's definitely not as visible as what you'll run into in D.C. As far as Miami, Caribbean's and Afro Hispanics seemed more visible than Black Americans but even with that Miami seemed overly represented with Cubans and more specifically White Cubans. I just left Orlando and definitely felt a more visible Black presence there than what I ran into in Miami.
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