In the 1960s and 1970s, it was white families who moved from urban areas like Birmingham to the suburbs seeking better schools and in some cases hoping to avoid integration.
ALABASTER, Ala. (AP) — In the 1960s and 1970s, it was white families who moved from urban areas like Birmingham to the suburbs seeking better schools and in some cases hoping to avoid integration. An analysis by The Birmingham News published Sunday of the latest U.S. Census estimates shows that now black families are heading from the cities for the suburbs. The movement is causing large black churches to pop up in previously mostly white areas of St. Clair and Shelby counties and boosting the black populations in Alabama’s whitest areas. From 2000 to 2009, Shelby County’s black residents increased by 93 percent, or 9,863 people, far exceeding the county’s overall growth of 34 percent, according to Census estimates. In St. Clair County, black residents increased 46 percent, or 2,416 people, as the overall county grew 26 percent. The latest growth means that one in every 10 residents of both Shelby and St.Clair counties is now black. The effect is obvious at Liberty Missionary Baptist Church in Alabaster, one of the largest black churches in Shelby County. Senior Pastor Akeam Simmons said the congregation has quadrupled in eight years to more than 800. "Every Sunday we have new people," Simmons said of his congregation. "I’m thrilled. Most of them are coming from Birmingham. Their ages range from early 30s to 60s, with a lot of smaller kids. They’re young and vibrant." In the first decade of the 21st century, Shelby and St. Clair counties have been a magnet for black residents, according to Census Bureau population estimates. That’s why Liberty Missionary Baptist is spending $4.5 million to build a 21,000-square-foot family life center with a gym, walking track, classrooms and commercial kitchen. Many of Liberty’s church members are corporate and professional workers, including doctors, lawyers and engineers, Simmons said. "From what they tell me, they like the community out here, they like the atmosphere out here," he said. When the full 2010 Census numbers come out next year, they will likely show the city of Birmingham bearing the brunt of the loss of black citizens. Birmingham’s public schools have already suffered sharp losses. Between the 1999-2000 and the 2009-10 school years, the system lost nearly one-third of its students, a total decrease of 11,117, according to the Alabama Department of Education. Many of those students appear to have moved to other schools located in Jefferson County, but Shelby and St. Clair counties are also gaining. Black students in Shelby County schools increased 65 percent in that decade, to total 3,817. Hoover’s black student body more than tripled to reach 2,780. And black students in St. Clair County schools in those 10 years increased by 39 percent to reach 769. Fred and VonShelia Small and their two sons moved to Shelby County from Birmingham four years ago. "When the boys were about to approach school age, the city schools just weren’t where they needed to be," Fred Small said. "It would be either pay for private schools or pay a larger house note to get a better education." The Smalls first lived in Helena, and then moved to Alabaster this summer. Small said he has a number of neighbors in Shelby County who once lived in Birmingham. "If you can afford to move out and give yourself a better opportunity, that’s what you do," he said. "If we didn’t have kids, we probably would have stuck it out." More diverse suburban areas are a national trend, said Charles Ball, executive director of the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. It’s especially common around Atlanta and Washington, D.C., where the suburbs have seen large increases in minority populations. "If you have families looking for better schools, housing and job opportunities, this often leads them to the suburbs," Ball said. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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