The Final Call

Black flight from big cities could dilute, shift political power

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(NNPA) - Black residents are increasingly departing large U.S. cities, a shift that could affect African-American political power, according to data from the first results of the U.S. Census Bureau's population survey.

The population of the nation's capital now exceeds 600,000 residents, 53 percent of whom are Black, and there has been a gain of nearly 30,000 new Washingtonians since a decade ago. But, according to Census Bureau data released Dec. 21 and cited by The Washington Post, much of the increase is due to an ongoing influx of Hispanics and Whites moving into the city—a change brought on by a gentrification process that has forced many Blacks out of city neighborhoods.

According to the Post, Blacks in D.C. face the prospect of being a population minority in the city by the time of the next census in 2020.

In New York, the number of Blacks leaving the city has exceeded the departure of Whites since 2000, and as a result, that city has now suffered an overall decline in Black population for the first time in history, according to GBM News.

The Post also reported that, according to census data, Los Angeles has seen its Black population shrink from around 18 percent in 1970 to 9.9 percent four years ago.

Though a growing number of people are seeking out warmer climates, census results show that Blacks appear to be returning to family roots in the South or relocating to suburbs near cities they are leaving.

The population shift could dilute Black political power, which first grew from the concentration of Blacks in major urban jurisdictions, according to GBM News.

“African-Americans are a large part of the population in several of the states that are losing representatives,” said Margaret Simms, a fellow at The Urban Institute in D.C. “But they are also a large part of the population in several states that will gain seats.”

The results of this year's U.S. Census reveal that, as of this past spring, the United States is a nation of more than 308 million people. At the same time, America's once staggering population growth also dipped to its lowest point in seven decades.

But not to worry, according to a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Population Reference Bureau. “We have a youthful population that will create population momentum through a large number of births, relative to deaths, for years to come,” bureau spokesman Mark Mather told MSNBC.com.

An updated, specific count of the country's Black population will not be available until February, when the Census Bureau will release demographic data by states on a rolling basis so their governments can start the local redistricting process, according to a Census spokeswoman.

“The figures we released on Dec. 21 were only state and national population numbers. We haven't released any other information and it won't be released until next year,” said spokeswoman Malkia McLeod. “We don't have numbers yet for any one group specifically, we just have an overall population number. The rest of that information will be rolling out throughout next year.”