Census and race: Detroit's Inner-ring suburbs gain diversity

BY TODD SPANGLER
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Detroit's loss in population in the last decade was the suburbs' gain, at least in terms of diversity.

While many inner-ring suburbs saw their own population decline as the automobile industry struggled, African Americans and Hispanics moved in, seeing a chance to get out of the city and away from its well-documented struggles.

Southfield's white population fell 12,500 since 2000, and its black population increased 8,000 -- to 7 of every 10 people in the city. Warren, a decade ago home to fewer than 4,000 blacks who made up less than 3% of the population, now has more than 18,000 -- or nearly 14% of the city's racial makeup.

The influx, along with a growing Hispanic and Asian population, almost made up for the 21,000 whites who left Warren in the last decade. Whites still account for 78% of the city -- down from 91%.

In Eastpointe, the number of whites dipped by 10,000 -- from 31,395 to 21,297. The number of African Americans more than quintupled from 1,601 to 9,575 and the number of Hispanics went from 453 to 1,643.


Continued at: http://www.freep.com/article/2011032...0440/1001/news

I don't think "diversity" means what the Free Press thinks it means. Just because a given city or county has more black people living in it than it did ten years ago doesn't mean that blacks and whites are living on the same blocks, attending the same schools, or shopping at the same stores.

And sometimes it does.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikeM

And sometimes it does.

---

If there's any actual evidence that such a thing is occurring, then it would behoove the Freep to cite it in their article, not just quote numbers of blacks moving into each municipality like that actually has something to do with diversity. When blacks move into a city neighborhood and whites move out, it's called "white flight." Why is the same phenomenon called "suburbs getting more diverse" when it happens in Southfield or Harper Woods?

Speaking of Detroit suburbs, it is nice to know that Motown headquarters is in the suburbs. Thanks Ryan Seacrest, at least I got some amusement from that.

Also how is Southfield's black population increasing to 70% an increase in diversity? Shouldn't that be considered a decrease in diversity?

" Warren, a decade ago home to fewer than 4,000 blacks who made up less than 3% of the population, now has more than 18,000 -- or nearly 14% of the city's racial makeup."

After reading that, I suddenly have a feeling many longtime residents are going to rush to call a Realtor and put their homes on the market.

My parents [[long time warren residents) have already been talking about headin north...its not really about race as it is about many many other factors...so theyre moving from warren to rochester hills or shelby twp.... me on the other hand, im moving in the opposite direction [[detroit) haha

Race won't make me put my house up for sale, My employment status will.But if my "Hood" becomes too crime ridden and "ghetto". I will leave.

I don't know what Augustiner considers the legitimate use of the word diversity but out here in Novi, the percentage of Asians increased to something like 20%, African-American to 8% and Hispanic to 3%. It's definitely not as lily-white a town as is used to be.

I don't know either, and I don't think the paper needs to document anecdotal stories of blacks & whites shopping at the same Kroger or attending the same school just to call a community diverse. Also, whites moving out of city or suburb in large numbers is white flight and a neighborhood or community becomming more diverse is just that; both can occur simultaneously.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Novine

I don't know what Augustiner considers the legitimate use of the word diversity but out here in Novi, the percentage of Asians increased to something like 20%, African-American to 8% and Hispanic to 3%. It's definitely not as lily-white a town as is used to be.

---

I think his point is that the demographics in the inner-rings appears to be in a period of transition. When I hear the word diversity applied to demographics I think of a stable mix of different races over an extended period of time. What seems to be happening in the inner-ring suburban neighborhoods is that the census caught a snap shot during a changeover from one predominant demographic to another. For instance, the 1960 census probably shows the Grandmont-Rosedale neighborhoods in Detroit to have been overwhelmingly white. The 1970 census probably showed that area to be racially mixed. And the 1980 census probably showed it to be overwhelmingly black.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I think his point is that the demographics in the inner-rings appears to be in a period of transition. When I hear the word diversity applied to demographics I think of a stable mix of different races over an extended period of time. What seems to be happening in the inner-ring suburban neighborhoods is that the census caught a snap shot during a changeover from one predominant demographic to another. For instance, the 1960 census probably shows the Grandmont-Rosedale neighborhoods in Detroit to have been overwhelmingly white. The 1970 census probably showed that area to be racially mixed. And the 1980 census probably showed it to be overwhelmingly black.

---

What happens now that inner ring houses aren't worth shit, is my question? Say someone wants to pick-up and white flight, as I'm sure many do, but they are underwater with their houses or can't get enough to buy a mobile home if they sell? This may be de-facto forced-integration due to economics.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

What happens now that inner ring houses aren't worth shit, is my question? Say someone wants to pick-up and white flight, as I'm sure many do, but they are underwater with their houses or can't get enough to buy a mobile home if they sell? This may be de-facto forced-integration due to economics.

---

That is a factor and now that the end of government subsidized mortgages are in sight... I think we're going into uncharted territory regarding our housing patterns [[or at least into something this country hasn't seen in the better part of a century). But I'm not so sure that this will be the end of segregation. I think people are far more likely to walk away from real estate if they become dissatisfied than they are to stick around. And once they walk away they will most likely follow the same pattern that they did before. So middle class whites who are used to living amongst middle class whites will probably seek out the next predominantly white middle class neighborhood [[even if they have to rent initially).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I think his point is that the demographics in the inner-rings appears to be in a period of transition. When I hear the word diversity applied to demographics I think of a stable mix of different races over an extended period of time. What seems to be happening in the inner-ring suburban neighborhoods is that the census caught a snap shot during a changeover from one predominant demographic to another. For instance, the 1960 census probably shows the Grandmont-Rosedale neighborhoods in Detroit to have been overwhelmingly white. The 1970 census probably showed that area to be racially mixed. And the 1980 census probably showed it to be overwhelmingly black.

---

That is precisely my point. Very well stated.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Detroitej72

" Warren, a decade ago home to fewer than 4,000 blacks who made up less than 3% of the population, now has more than 18,000 -- or nearly 14% of the city's racial makeup."

After reading that, I suddenly have a feeling many longtime residents are going to rush to call a Realtor and put their homes on the market.

---

Yes, most of them will after reading that article in the FREEP or saw it on the news. This is out of RACIAL FEAR that most white families don't want to see 10 to 100 blacks and ethnic families living next door them. Invicible segregation is now spreading at the cookie cutter ticky tacky little boxes we called suburbia.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET


Even Levittown PA and NY are getting some more blacks and ethnic folks, too. So much for keeping up with the Joneses or living the Beaver Cleaver way!

Neda, I miss you so.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by reddog289

Race won't make me put my house up for sale, My employment status will.But if my "Hood" becomes too crime ridden and "ghetto". I will leave.

---

Just like in Detroit [[ if you are still living there!)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Johnnny5

Also how is Southfield's black population increasing to 70% an increase in diversity? Shouldn't that be considered a decrease in diversity?

---

Southfield's diversity has shruken over the past 30 years. They are still some Orthodox and Hasidic Jews living over there as long they have their synagogue to walk to during Shabbot. There are some Chaldeans in the northeast corner of Southfield and Lathrup Village. There are some white folks who are living and near the Farmington Hills, Franklin, Beverly Hills and Bingham Farms border. How diverse Southfield is when it begin to look like Detroit/Highland Park/ Inkster hybrid.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET!

As the urban donut gets bigger.

Neda, I miss you so.

my in-laws are one of the few holdouts on their block in roseville. neighborhood is solid, but starter tract homes built in the 80's. most are original though theirs has been completely redone and kept up, other not so much. they're clearly stuck now cause they'd never get their money out of it. public schools were bad then[[white trash) and my wife attended private school throughout the 90's. macomb mall and eastland were their malls-now they don't even shop at lakeside. funny how it only took a generation for the neighborhood to turn over. and why is this? i'd have to say a big part was due to the homogeneous nature of suburbia-tract homes and strip malls. nothing to claim as uniquely home because everything's lifecycle is 15-30 years.

I live in DC and am seeing this place go the opposite way:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...c-census-2010/

The number of African Americans residing in the District plummeted by more than 11 percent during the past decade, with blacks on the verge of losing their majority status in the city for the first time in half a century.

Quote:

---

According to census statistics released Thursday, barely 50 percent of the District’s population was African American in 2010 — a remarkable shift in a place once nicknamed “Chocolate City.”
The black population dropped by more than 39,000 over the decade, down to 301,000 of the city’s 601,700 residents. At the same time, the non-Hispanic white population skyrocketed by more than 50,000 to 209,000 residents, almost a third higher than a decade earlier.
The census statistics showed a steeper change for both blacks and whites than had been estimated. With the city ‘s black population dropping by about 1 percent a year, African Americans might already be below the 50 percent mark in the city.
In a city that prides itself on being a hub of black culture and politics, a majority of residents have been black since whites began moving to the suburbs en masse at the end of World War II. By 1970, seven out of 10 Washingtonians were black

---

.

DC actually is getting more diverse; used to be blacks and whites, now there are lots of immigrants and Hispanics and Asians. However the prices are starting to drive out the poorer folks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mwilbert

DC actually is getting more diverse; used to be blacks and whites, now there are lots of immigrants and Hispanics and Asians. However the prices are starting to drive out the poorer folks.

---

Right while Southfield is actually getting less diverse, which I probably should have qualified. DC will be probably 30 percent black by 2025 as most of the families are moving to PG County or even to places like Richmond. This shift has created some circumstances in PG County that are familiar to Detroit: white flight. But I went to look at places in Bowie and they were a lot like Palmer Park, rich black professionals living on or near a golf course. There is a shift from PG county east and north, a shift from DC east and north. Those living in NOVA are trying to move to DC so they don't have to commute, while those in DC who want backyards are doing as they always have done and move to NOVA.

This place is very diverse though, and DC is a strange mix of San Francisco, NYC and Honduras all rolled up into a nice little ball of gentrification [[I don't think this word has a negative connotation if it means reviving dead areas).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by iheartthed

That is a factor and now that the end of government subsidized mortgages are in sight... I think we're going into uncharted territory regarding our housing patterns [[or at least into something this country hasn't seen in the better part of a century). But I'm not so sure that this will be the end of segregation. I think people are far more likely to walk away from real estate if they become dissatisfied than they are to stick around. And once they walk away they will most likely follow the same pattern that they did before. So middle class whites who are used to living amongst middle class whites will probably seek out the next predominantly white middle class neighborhood [[even if they have to rent initially).

---

Even whites under 30-35? That's my age bracket, and our views are different than the generations that came before us. I think that a profound shift is happening among the younger set, analogous to when whites began to marry outside their ethnic or religious group. You're not necessarily going to engage in white flight when you, or your sibling, or a couple of your good friends are married to Blacks or Latinos. [[The conversation about D.C. is a case in point.)

I think that there's an end to white flight in sight. Cheap oil won't be here forever, and not everyone wants to move to one of the "square-shaped states." Eventually, socioeconomic class will be the 21st century answer to race in residential segregation.

Racial attitudes are complex, but one simple fact is that there are a lot more households without children. It is my belief that a lot of the issues with integration come from the issues related to schooling, and people without a direct interest in those issues are likely to be more relaxed about their neighbors.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mwilbert

Racial attitudes are complex, but one simple fact is that there are a lot more households without children. It is my belief that a lot of the issues with integration come from the issues related to schooling, and people without a direct interest in those issues are likely to be more relaxed about their neighbors.

---

Oh, I don't know, I think having children helps make some people unhealthily paranoid. People [[some on this board) have been utterly flabbergasted at my lack of fear towards different groups and areas. Some [[on this very board) have even gone so far as to tell us that we need to end our "science experiment". I have always been utterly fascinated with those comments and people, mainly because I do not understand them.

• Are they telling me that living as a minority is a science experiment? Does that apply to all people, or have something to do with me being white?
• Or are they telling me that living in a low income area is a science experiment? That is, as they ignore the countless low income families with children who have lived in these places for years.
• Or, are they implying that living in a inner city isn't for a middle class white family? Because, you know, cities were meant to be specifically for poor people.
• Or, are they referring to us specifically in a derogatory manner? This is as if some factor makes us wh... less than low class members of society. In a land that prides itself as being a melting pot, it is amazing what isn't tolerated.

Hmmm, maybe we are part of a science experiment, a science experiment called Ameri[[edited)a. LOL, God bless the USA!