Black Detroiters Are Still Leaving City

[ABetterDetroit]

NBC Nightly News shined a light on this issue last night. Clearly there are enough problems in many neighborhoods to drive people out. With Covid abating and budget surpluses existing, the city needs to regain the initiative on blight and gun crimes. Detroit’s reputation as a comeback city seems to have stalled the last few years. Thoughts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...s-134088773653

[Danny]

Blacks in Detroit and especially in cities in the U.S. are part of the second Great black migration to the South or other suburban areas. Blacks want what white folks and other ethnic folks want.

1. good jobs
2. better homes
3. excellent schools

You see what happen to those "close to Detroit" bedroom suburbs of Harper Woods, Eastpointe, Southfield, Royal Oak TWP. Oak Park, River Rouge, Ecorse and even Redford TWP.

St. Clair Shores, And Warren is next in their moving list.

At least fewer white folks are moving back to Detroit for these reasons:

1. Corporate job base are moving to gentrified areas that was used to ghetto to blighted inner city areas.
2. Excellent businesses and more entertainment venues.
3. Great homes in the once black and blighted ghetto hoods.

You should see what happen to Brush Park, South Cass Corridor, Lafayette Park, Riverfront. And yes, even Corktown and North Corktown areas.

When Coleman Young told all the crooks, thugs and hoodlums to hit 8 Mile Rd. THEY DID! This is not a racial code issue. It's a shift of racial demographics no thanks to sloppy politicians, poor police force, uneducated schools, a flow of drugs and gangs and an improving economic regionalism and housing gentrification.

If you all want to better city, fix it. If you all want a worse city, leave it a ghost town.

[Richard]

Pamala Turner in that video needs to run for city council,I like her attitude.

Not sure what else is expected,just because they are black it means they do not want a different life then those who want to double down in policies that clearly are not working.

In a majority black city I guess it would be the majority that are migrating,are black.

The last two years are understandable,the previous 4 was no excuse to throw yourself under the bus just because you did not like somebody,what you are seeing is people saying they have had enough of that and silenty walking away with their feet.

Outside of that,the city has not really stalled,it has made leaps and bounds on the financial side of things and is in a better position in that aspect then a lot of cities that falsely appear to be more desirable.

Got a ways to go,but it did not lose ground like in the past,that’s progress.

Why do we keep doing this anyways,it does not matter what their race is,they are residents of cities beating feet,there should be no distinction.

Thats like saying,look the cities have become so bad,even the black people are leaving.

The article refers to cities countrywide,democrat controlled cities,but there are a lot of democrat controlled cities that function at the top of the list,the mayor in California,once again in the most liberal cities,flat out said and in her words - Enough of the bullshit,all of this stops now.

Narrow it down back to Detroit,and as an outsider,being constantly reminded,you got an excellent mayor,but a mayor can only do so much,the majority in the city council and your elected representatives that you sent to Washington are so wrapped up in their own little agendas and narratives they forgot about the people they represent,so the people said screw this we are out of here,it should really be no surprise.

You can claim you are the representative of the people all you want,but when the people are beating feet,you are clearly out of touch of the real needs of the people you are supposed to be representing.

Party has zero to do with it.

[313WX]

NBC Nightly News shined a light on this issue last night. Clearly there are enough problems in many neighborhoods to drive people out. With Covid abating and budget surpluses existing, the city needs to regain the initiative on blight and gun crimes. Detroit’s reputation as a comeback city seems to have stalled the last few years. Thoughts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...s-134088773653

I'm surprised to see Houston on that list of cities losing black people.

Laat decade, behind Atlanta and Dallas, the Greater Houston area saw the greatest inward migration of black people in the country.

The other cities on their list check out though.

[Richard]

^ 234,000 left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina,in a matter of weeks,a majority African Americans,a majority to those 3 cities,forced migration in that case,without doing a lot of interviews it would be hard to determine motive,a lot of it could be they were just not comfortable and decided it did not feel like home,because it was a forced migration it was not like they moved there because they wanted to.

Economics may have a lot to do with it also,maybe not Detroit but a lot of cities even lower middle class are finding it hard to survive and grow.

[ShadowSoarer]

Was looking at 2010 to 2020 census numbers and Detroit lost 93,361 Black residents, gained 5165 White residents, gained 2590 Hispanic residents, and gained 2649 residents.

Looked at Cleveland, St. Louis, Memphis, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Buffalo 2010 to 2020 census and all these cities lost population in 2020 except for Cincinnati and Buffalo [[both of which lost population between 2000 and 2010).

Baltimore lost the 2nd largest [[in this group of cities) Black residents after Detroit at 57,313 residents. All those cities mentioned lost Black residents for 2020 with exception of Buffalo which actually gained 1,862 Black residents [[but lost 14,986 White residents). Cincinnati lost the least Black residents [[after Buffalo) losing 7,596 Black residents.

Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati were the only cities that gained White residents.

Buffalo gained the most Asian residents at 12,879 residents. Memphis and Baltimore gained the most Hispanic residents at 20,173 and 19,967 respectively [[not enough to offset the decline in Black and White population).

For 2030 predicting Detroit to have a population decline, but not as much at 2020 at 10.5%, but make like 5%. The gain in White, Asian, and Hispanic residents aren't going to be enough to offset the Black residents leaving the city [[even if the national trend is that Asian and Hispanic population have the highest growth rate), but there may be a chance to slow the amount of Black residents leaving the city.

Sorry the wall of text and numbers, but it was fun to look into.

[Satiricalivory]

The huge increase in occupied homes says otherwise.

So that is all bullshit. There is no significant "black flight" anymore.

[Satiricalivory]

Detroit’s reputation as a comeback city seems to have stalled the last few years. Thoughts?

Stalled? You mean the whole world has been preoccupied with a global pandemic and riots?

If anything the city has proven itself more than ever these last 2 years. The city will be fully recovered from the covid economic downturn next year. And it has some of the best employment bounce back anywhere in the country. https://cdn.wallethub.com/wallethub/...t-city_v14.png

[Satiricalivory]

For 2030 predicting Detroit to have a population decline, but not as much at 2020 at 10.5%, but make like 5%. The gain in White, Asian, and Hispanic residents aren't going to be enough to offset the Black residents leaving the city [[even if the national trend is that Asian and Hispanic population have the highest growth rate), but there may be a chance to slow the amount of Black residents leaving the city.

Sorry the wall of text and numbers, but it was fun to look into.

First of all Detroit did not have a 10% decline last decade. That is false information. The census count was wrong and research from the best university in the state says so.

Second of all there is no way in hell the city is going to have anywhere near a 5% decline in the next decade, if a decline at all. There is nothing driving population down in Detroit anymore. There are no more tax foreclosures and there is billions in investment and huge job creation from manufacturing to high tech. Also immigration is going pretty well in the city [[we just got hundreds of Afghans).

[renf]

Crain's Business, this week, posted a story that used US postal service listing to report that several thousand Detroit residential units that were
vacant in early 2020 are now getting mail delivery meaning that they are occupied. Land Bank officials report the recent brisk sale of vacant properties in the city. This suggest that the population of the city may be stabalizing and may soon begin to increase. We regularly read about new
employment opportunities in the city, new residential construction and he conversion of older buildings into condos or apartments.
While Census 2020 undercounted the city's population; demographic
data make it clear that the rate of loss of the African American populatiion slowed quite a bit in the 2010 to 2020 interval while there was a modest increase in the White and Latino populations. Detroit - and its suburban ring - are becoming more diverse locations.

[softailrider]

Obviously, a big problem is the schools. Most parents don't want to spend 10,000.00 per kid, per year for private education. Most parents want decent schools to go along with the property taxes they're paying. Also, owning a house in the city isn't as user friendly as it is in the inner ring suburbs. Just getting property insurance is more difficult and more costly. City services can also be more of a struggle. Crime can also be a huge consideration. Living in the city can be great but it can also be complicated.

[313WX]

Obviously, a big problem is the schools. Most parents don't want to spend 10,000.00 per kid, per year for private education. Most parents want decent schools to go along with the property taxes they're paying. Also, owning a house in the city isn't as user friendly as it is in the inner ring suburbs. Just getting property insurance is more difficult and more costly. City services can also be more of a struggle. Crime can also be a huge consideration. Living in the city can be great but it can also be complicated.

If you watch the video, the lady they featured left because she perceives the violent crime rate is still way too high, as there were multiple shootings on her block in a 2 week time span. Furthermore, she has an adult son who's *NOT* in school and actually moved halfway across the country to Savannah [[which doesn't exactly have the best schools either).

This isn't the downplay the problems with Detroit's schools, but for black Detroiters who've fled in the past 2 decades, I don't think it was the dealbreaker [[rather, crime, lack of jobs and lack of city services were) given DPS has been crap for much longer than the past 2 decades.

[401don]

Obviously, a big problem is the schools. Most parents don't want to spend 10,000.00 per kid, per year for private education. Most parents want decent schools to go along with the property taxes they're paying. Also, owning a house in the city isn't as user friendly as it is in the inner ring suburbs. Just getting property insurance is more difficult and more costly. City services can also be more of a struggle. Crime can also be a huge consideration. Living in the city can be great but it can also be complicated.

It's certainly a lot easier for those without children to make the decision to stay. As unemployment drops and incomes rise it obviously benefits both individuals and the city as a whole. One side effect may be that it affords some families the opportunity to move out to inner suburbs.

[Danny]

The huge increase in occupied homes says otherwise.

So that is all bullshit. There is no significant "black flight" anymore.

Who is leaving Detroit in droves? white people, Hispanic People or Asian People? They did that a long time ago.

Today out of 639,000 to possibly 713,000 Detroit residents remain.


There are over 510,000 Blacks, about 115,000 whites, 53,000 Hispanics and about 1100 East Asians.

I see slow growth of diversify coming to Detroit. And it continues to do so as along as Dan Gilbert, Ford Family and Illitch's have their way of regional development.

Today I see these 'close to Detroit' bedroom suburbs are getting some African American attention. As long those suburbs have good schools, good leaders and a strong police force that don't beat them up, Black flight from Detroit to the suburbs will be ongoing. And trying to make their return to Detroit about 50 years in the future will be almost impossible once another race and high property values takes over.

[casscorridor]

Obviously, a big problem is the schools. Most parents don't want to spend 10,000.00 per kid, per year for private education. Most parents want decent schools to go along with the property taxes they're paying. Also, owning a house in the city isn't as user friendly as it is in the inner ring suburbs. Just getting property insurance is more difficult and more costly. City services can also be more of a struggle. Crime can also be a huge consideration. Living in the city can be great but it can also be complicated.

This should be obvious, but for whatever reason it isn't. For many people who move to the City, there is typically a strong desire to live "in the city" that can overcome these challenges. For most people, however, practical considerations override any potential novelty. Cost of living, access to services, schools and safety are all hugely important. Until the City of Detroit makes living there a "no brainer" for ordinary people, it's going to have a very difficult time maintaining and increasing its population in the long run. There are larger forces at play when it comes to the region at-large losing population to the south/west, but when it comes to City versus suburb, quality of life is all that matters.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I'm surprised to see Houston on that list of cities losing black people.

Laat decade, behind Atlanta and Dallas, the Greater Houston area saw the greatest inward migration of black people in the country.

The other cities on their list check out though.

I tend to agree with you. Hard to believe Houston is on the list. I have quite a few close friends that moved there in the last few years and they love it. Atlanta, Dallas, and Charlotte are where a lot of blacks are moving to.

[K-slice]

Black flight has been fueling Detroit's population loss for a long time, but that doesn't matter. Flight is flight and they are running from what scared off everyone else as well.

The media loves to focus on skin color in all aspects of life but, as has been said, most people want the same thing no matter what they look like. Safe streets, good schools, community pride, working infrastructure, and the list goes on. Fix these and you will see PEOPLE stay in the city, and PEOPLE move into the city. Skin color is irrelevant despite the narrative pushed by media elites.

To OPs question, the comeback has certainly not stalled. There are more construction cranes in downtown than ever, in recent memory. MCS is going to be a boon for the area west of downtown. The future of transportation will be developed in Detroit in the next decade as it fully melds with tech. The pandemic was a speed bump on the road to recovery, not a 180 degree turn.

[401don]

I tend to agree with you. Hard to believe Houston is on the list. I have quite a few close friends that moved there in the last few years and they love it. Atlanta, Dallas, and Charlotte are where a lot of blacks are moving to.

Did your friends move into the city? Do they have a kids? Just wondering if it's a similar situation of people moving to the burbs. Houston still has problems with crime and schools.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Did your friends move into the city? Do they have a kids? Just wondering if it's a similar situation of people moving to the burbs. Houston still has problems with crime and schools.

Houston is the 4th largest city in the country. It's a vast city area wise. Some moved to Sugarland, others to Katy and Missouri City. These cities are listed as being in Houston city limits, even though I view them as suburbs like Warren, and Oak Park here. Some have school age children, some have no children. At this point, none have experienced any problems with crime or the schools.

[313WX]

Did your friends move into the city? Do they have a kids? Just wondering if it's a similar situation of people moving to the burbs. Houston still has problems with crime and schools.

It's not exactly a similar situation.

Putting aside my skepticism of Houston proper losing a ton of black residents, Greater Houston saw the 4th largest growth of black people in the US from 2010 to 2019 [[with a gain of +181,273). If any black people fleed the city proper, they just moved to the suburbs.

Conversely, Metro Detroit saw the 4th largest decline of black people in the US from 2010 to 2019 [[with a loss of -34,349). In Detroit's case, they're not just moving to the suburbs, but leaving the state entirely in droves.

[Zacha341]

I'd have to concur. My family represents from the original migration of black people [several siblings together] from the near and far south at the latter end - late fifties - to Detroit. Contrast that with younger family members, cousins, etc who left; relocating in Virginia, Georgia, Cali and Texas mid 2000's.

There's a saying in Atlanta now: 'Please don't send NO more Detroiter's here!'

Heck! It's now so expensive to live in the ATL now - people move to other parts of Georgia - south and north!

...Conversely, Metro Detroit saw the 4th largest decline of black people in the US from 2010 to 2019 [[with a loss of -34,349). In Detroit's case, they're not just moving to the suburbs, but leaving the state entirely in droves.