Columbia and African American domestic migration

[krazeeboi]

I think we may have touched on this from time to time in this subforum, but I just thought I'd start an official thread for it.

One article in the New York Times (if prompted to register, use BugMeNot) talks about how New York City's Black population is in decline for the first time since the draft riots during the Civil War. Approximately half of the city's former Black population and a fifth of the White population relocated to the South from 1995-2000. According to this graphic, while Columbia isn't reeling them in like Atlanta and Miami (that one was a surprise to me), it is definitely getting some share of the migration (along with Charleston):

Also, a report from the Brookings Institute, [url=http://www.brookings.edu/urban/pubs/20040524_Frey.pdf]The New Great Migration: Black Americans

[sonofaque86]

Wow...We're #10 on the list out of all of those metro areas! In 1990-2000 Richland County grew 34,957 people....25,121 of them were Black....My family was from the south...Then they all moved up North and my grandparents and and most of my family moved back from NY to Columbia area and SC...Conditions are better in the south than they were 50 years ago...

[803metlife]

That's believeable.... Most of the major and mid sothern cities gained in african american population.I wouldn't just say that it's just african americans that are moving down south. A lot of different races are flocking down south right now. But from the diagram Columbia,Charleston,Charlotte,Raleigh and Atlanta all gained in african american population.

[The_sandlapper]

Wow...We're #10 on the list out of all of those metro areas! In 1990-2000 Richland County grew 34,957 people....25,121 of them were Black....My family was from the south...Then they all moved up North and my grandparents and and most of my family moved back from NY to Columbia area and SC...Conditions are better in the south than they were 50 years ago...

That's the same migration pattern my family took. Both my parents families started out in SC my grandparents and great grandparents moved north to NYC, Philly, DC, & Pittsburgh. So eventhough I'm southern I have a strong identification with those northeast, and mid-atlantic cities. There are several places in Columbia where it feels as fast as some of those towns, and I guess for good reason though.

[waccamatt]

That is some great information; I've always said that Richland County is like a Northeastern U.S. county plopped down in the middle of South Carolina and this exemplifies that theory. I was born in NJ and moved to Columbia in the 70's. Both of my parents grew up in the City.

[The_sandlapper]

Is that NYC, or Cola?

My pop's dad lived in "bed sty" (Brooklyn for those who may not be familiar), and my mom's dad lived in Pitt. Both left SC for better job opps. and sent money to their families back home in Walterboro, and Spartanburg.

That wasn't uncommon at all. In Columbia there are several people in the black community who have family up north and the same for many african americans in the northeast which is evidenced by the migration patterns presented in the map. My fam seemed to be on one of the earlier waves of migration as we moved to Columbia in the early 80's.