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That's actually a very poor way to view a black mecca because a lot of MOSTLY black cities are actually unhealthy. I dont consider Baltimore to be more BLACK MECCA than DC or Atlanta because its more "MOSTLY" black. I also do not consider Detroit or St. Louis to be more BLACK MECCA than Chicago because they are both more black than Chicago. Black populations in world class cities will never ever be a majority in their respective city because world class cities tend to be very diverse. There is no world class city in America that has ever had a black population that surpassed 50% of the population.
For example. Chicago probably had the highest percentage of blacks in a world class city and the percentage of black people in Chicago never exceeded 40% or reached 50% for that matter. There is a lot of other reasons why being a majority black city has nothing to do with being a Black Mecca that I can get into.
Agreed, but using gentrification as a reasoning to eliminate a city is absurd since DC and Atlanta are going through the exact same thing. KodeBlue mentioned that some black communities in NYC are unrecognizable. I am very familiar with DC and can say the same for many black communities in DC. Many black parts of the district are "unrecognizable" compared to the Chocolate City days.
For me personally I view a top tier city that offers positive amenities to black people. The reason why NYC's black population hasn't decreased further is because black single people are coming here while black families are leaving, and the city still attracts a lot of black immigrants. There are also more black middle class neighborhoods today then there was back in the 70,s and 80,s. Very beautiful black communities such as Rosedale, Canarsie, Mill Basin were heavily Italian and racist just in the 1990s.
I meet an African Americans from various cities living in NYC everyday.
Washington DC is actually a funny case, its tiny compared to the cities I mentioned. The district was largely avoided and losing population overall when it was mostly black, but as soon as the district was put in a position to succeed, the black population percentages took a dip accordingly. We can agree to disagree here. While you are right about DC, I do think the percentages of black people being lowered because of what DC is today sort of proves my point that it is very difficult for the black population to be more than half the population in a world class city.
World class cities tend to attract all races and ethnic groups. Well at least in America and Canada. Even in Atlanta, diversity is increasing as it grows into another level.
Last edited by iLoveFashion; 09-21-2018 at 08:57 AM..
and new york city is def a global city eventhough its not a black mecca.
most major metropolises have some amenities that cater to black persons; however, most resources are designed with the majority demograpic in mind.
I wasn't going by what the OP said. I was going by what you said. You said you cant consider a city that isn't mostly black as a black mecca. I fully disagree. There are many cities with populations of black people below 50% that have healthier black communities than cities that are majority black. There are also many black cities that are losing population yearly because of the conditions of the city. For example I consider the city of Houston to be a more healthier option for a black man or black family over St. Louis or Baltimore.
Now going back to what the OP said, NYC is actually a black mecca since it actually passes just about all the criteria's mentioned by the OP. NYC only has one drawback which is cost of living but as I mentioned earlier, cost of living is no longer just a NYC phenomenon.
Washington DC is actually a funny case, its tiny compared to the cities I mentioned. The district was largely avoided and losing population overall when it was mostly black, but as soon as the district was put in a position to succeed, the black population percentages took a dip accordingly. We can agree to disagree here. While you are right about DC, I do think the percentages of black people being lowered because of what DC is today sort of proves my point that it is very difficult for the black population to be more than half the population in a world class city.
World class cities tend to attract all races and ethnic groups. Well at least in America and Canada. Even in Atlanta, diversity is increasing as it grows into another level.
That's a fair point, although for unfortunate reasons.
In This City, 80% of African-American Children Live in High-Poverty Neighborhoods!
"For generations, Atlanta, Georgia has been considered the "Black Mecca" because so many local African-Americans are succeeding in politics and business. But that reputation has seemingly gone now that it is actually ranked by a recent analysis as the number one worst city with the greatest income disparity which greatly affects minorities.
A recent analysis by Bloomberg ranked large cities with at least 250,000 residents according to the distribution of household income among individuals to see which has the worst income inequality. From being number two in three consecutive years, Atlanta took the top spot this year, surpassing the two-year number one Miami.
Atlanta, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, is a home to many Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola and Delta. Despite that, the income gap has been widened by the number of low-wage retail and hospitality jobs. About one out of four of its residents are low-income, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.
Moreover, affordable housing seems to be lacking in the area as luxury apartment buildings with expensive rents replaced what used to be Black neighborhoods. About 22% of renters in Atlanta proper's Fulton County received eviction notices in 2015, resulting in a "crisis" as the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta calls it.
The income gap is very well seen between whites and Blacks. While white residents of Atlanta make $80,000 yearly, Blacks in the city only make $30,000. Even worse, 80% of African-American children in Atlanta live in high-poverty neighborhoods compared to only 6% in their white peers.
Because of the lack of affordable housing, wage inequity, and poverty rates, there were higher crime rates, lower educational outcomes, and Black residents were forced to leave. As a matter of fact, the city's Black population dropped from 61 percent to 53 percent, while White residents in the city rose from 33 percent to 40 percent from 2000 to 2015.
Atlanta's new Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is trying to close the gap through an affordability plan. She told The Grio, "Part of it is an education process, we just aren't dealing with people who are minimum wage employees, we're dealing with people who are school teachers, police officers, postal workers, every day working folk who just cannot afford to live in our city."
"There's a path to home ownership. Through a partnership with a local company that builds homes, police officers moved in, there's a 15-year path from leasing to owning," continued Bottoms. "We'd be making sure that people can own their homes and that in 15 years you aren't being kicked out because the subsidies have run out. So really, it would be a generational change and teaching new homeowners how to care for their homes."
In This City, 80% of African-American Children Live in High-Poverty Neighborhoods!
"For generations, Atlanta, Georgia has been considered the "Black Mecca" because so many local African-Americans are succeeding in politics and business. But that reputation has seemingly gone now that it is actually ranked by a recent analysis as the number one worst city with the greatest income disparity which greatly affects minorities.
A recent analysis by Bloomberg ranked large cities with at least 250,000 residents according to the distribution of household income among individuals to see which has the worst income inequality. From being number two in three consecutive years, Atlanta took the top spot this year, surpassing the two-year number one Miami.
Atlanta, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, is a home to many Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola and Delta. Despite that, the income gap has been widened by the number of low-wage retail and hospitality jobs. About one out of four of its residents are low-income, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.
Moreover, affordable housing seems to be lacking in the area as luxury apartment buildings with expensive rents replaced what used to be Black neighborhoods. About 22% of renters in Atlanta proper's Fulton County received eviction notices in 2015, resulting in a "crisis" as the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta calls it.
The income gap is very well seen between whites and Blacks. While white residents of Atlanta make $80,000 yearly, Blacks in the city only make $30,000. Even worse, 80% of African-American children in Atlanta live in high-poverty neighborhoods compared to only 6% in their white peers.
Because of the lack of affordable housing, wage inequity, and poverty rates, there were higher crime rates, lower educational outcomes, and Black residents were forced to leave. As a matter of fact, the city's Black population dropped from 61 percent to 53 percent, while White residents in the city rose from 33 percent to 40 percent from 2000 to 2015.
Atlanta's new Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is trying to close the gap through an affordability plan. She told The Grio, "Part of it is an education process, we just aren't dealing with people who are minimum wage employees, we're dealing with people who are school teachers, police officers, postal workers, every day working folk who just cannot afford to live in our city."
"There's a path to home ownership. Through a partnership with a local company that builds homes, police officers moved in, there's a 15-year path from leasing to owning," continued Bottoms. "We'd be making sure that people can own their homes and that in 15 years you aren't being kicked out because the subsidies have run out. So really, it would be a generational change and teaching new homeowners how to care for their homes."
The reputation is still there since Black people started moving to the suburbs as opposed to the actual city a long time ago. This is still a rather unfortunate situation and you see similar gaps in major cities all across the country.
I wasn't going by what the OP said. I was going by what you said. You said you cant consider a city that isn't mostly black as a black mecca. I fully disagree. There are many cities with populations of black people below 50% that have healthier black communities than cities that are majority black. There are also many black cities that are losing population yearly because of the conditions of the city. For example I consider the city of Houston to be a more healthier option for a black man or black family over St. Louis or Baltimore.
Now going back to what the OP said, NYC is actually a black mecca since it actually passes just about all the criteria's mentioned by the OP. NYC only has one drawback which is cost of living but as I mentioned earlier, cost of living is no longer just a NYC phenomenon.
Washington DC is actually a funny case, its tiny compared to the cities I mentioned. The district was largely avoided and losing population overall when it was mostly black, but as soon as the district was put in a position to succeed, the black population percentages took a dip accordingly. We can agree to disagree here. While you are right about DC, I do think the percentages of black people being lowered because of what DC is today sort of proves my point that it is very difficult for the black population to be more than half the population in a world class city.
World class cities tend to attract all races and ethnic groups. Well at least in America and Canada. Even in Atlanta, diversity is increasing as it grows into another level.
2010-2017 DC Population (White vs. Black) Difference
Black = +19,446 people
White = +66,092 people
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