The 2020 census shows that Black residents are moving out of urban centers. This isn’t a new trend either, as Black populations in major cities across the country have been shrinking for the past 20 years.
Brakkton Booker, a national political correspondent at Politico and author of the Recast newsletter, says that this trend extends to “Black meccas” — historic communities that shaped African American culture — like Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C.
Major changes to a city’s demographic can change its economy, politics and culture. Politico’s The Recast, a newsletter covering race, identity and politics, is investigating the growing trend in a series called “The Next Great Migration.”
This alludes to the Great Migration, where over six million Black Americans moved from the Jim Crow South to the North, escaping rampant racism and searching for new and better economic opportunities. Politico’s series begins in Chicago, where over 260,000 African Americans have left in the last 20 years, which has drastic implications for the city’s economic and political landscape.
Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke to Politico’s Brakkton Booker about the new series, the Black exodus from urban centers, and its economic and political implications. The following is an edited transcript of the conversation. (Continue Reading)
