According to a new study, the influx of Black immigrants into a neighborhood can alter its racial and ethnic composition. The research, conducted by a researcher from The Ohio State University, found that when Black immigrants move into a neighborhood predominantly inhabited by native Black residents, there is a shift in the population dynamics with more white individuals moving in as native Black residents move out.
Nima Dahir, the author of the study and an assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State, emphasized the complexity within Black communities in the United States, especially with the increasing Black immigrant population.
The study, recently published in the journal RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of Social Sciences, utilized data from the 2000 U.S. Census and American Community Surveys from 2008-2012 and 2016-2020 to analyze how the presence of Black immigrants impacted the racial makeup of neighborhoods across the country.
By the end of the study period, it was found that 20% of Black individuals in the U.S. were either immigrants or had foreign-born parents. The study showed that neighborhoods with a significant native-born Black population experienced changes with the arrival of Black immigrants.
In neighborhoods where Black Americans were the majority in 2000, the study observed an increase in non-Hispanic white residents and a decrease in native-born Black residents as Black immigrants moved in.
One example highlighted in the study was a neighborhood in Minneapolis that saw a transformation in its demographic composition due to the influx of Black immigrants, resulting in a decrease in the native-born Black population and an increase in the non-Hispanic white and Asian populations.
The study suggested that the arrival of Black immigrants could lead to increased rents and home values, potentially displacing native Black residents. Additionally, the study indicated that Black immigrants played a role in fostering integration between Black and white residents, reducing the likelihood of white flight from neighborhoods.
Further research by Dahir will delve deeper into how businesses established by Black immigrants may influence the ethnic diversity of neighborhoods, signaling a change in the area’s character even if its racial composition remains the same.
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