It used to be “white flight” to the Memphis suburbs, but now it’s blacks who are moving.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — It used to be "white flight" to the Memphis suburbs, but now it’s blacks who are moving. According to The Commercial Appeal, census data show that the first decade of the 21st century witnessed a wave of "black flight" that made many suburban areas more diverse than several older parts of the city, including Midtown. An analysis of statistics from the Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey data shows that in 66 suburban census tracts in Shelby County, the estimated number of black residents has increased 56 percent, from 83,019 in 2000 to 129,443 in 2010. African-Americans now account for fully one-third of all residents in the tracts, up from less than one-quarter a decade ago. "White flight" was the Memphis area’s dominant population pattern in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The black flight is hardly surprising, said John Gnuschke, director of the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis. It reflects the common desire of residents to escape poor conditions and improve their situations. "Those with money tend to move to the suburbs," Gnuschke said. "The suburbanization goes on no matter what race you are." Of the 66 Shelby County census tracts mostly or entirely outside Memphis city limits, 21 are now majority African-American. In fact, the suburban tracts generally are better integrated than most older areas inside Memphis. The census tract encompassing nearly 11,000 residents in the Fisherville area, for instance, now has a much higher proportion of African-Americans (29.4 percent) than that of the tract covering Central Gardens, where only 4.2 percent of the residents are black. Among those who moved were Thelmon and Barbara Butler, who relocated to get away from drug dealers. Six years ago they went on a drive looking for a new place to live. "We drove from street to street," said Thelmon Butler, 57, pastor of a church in Southeast Shelby County. "We went everywhere." Butler is much happier at his new location, especially after the crime and turmoil he saw near his previous home. "I was looking for something peaceful and quiet," he said. "Everybody gets along. Everybody’s watchful for everyone." Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
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