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Drop in African American population blamed on racism

State Representative Byron Rushing says he believes that "lingering racism" in Boston is to blame for the loss of Black/African American residents in the city between 2000 and 2010.

Rushing, who represents the 9th Suffolk District, which includes parts of the South End, Roxbury, and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston as well as part of the city of Cambridge, expressed his opinion in an article appearing in this week's Boston Courant (not available online).

The 2010 US Census shows a drop of 1.6% in Black/African American population in Boston (140,305 to 138,073).

However, [the] city of Boston shows a loss of white people, too, by .4%, from 291,561 to 290,312.

Meanwhile, the Asian population increased 23.86%, to almost 55,000 residents while the Hispanic population increased 26.8%, from 85,089 to 107,917.

Almost all Northern cities lost Black/African American residents during the past decade, according to the New York Times.

So, what really happened?

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Comments

well put.

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Rep. Rushings a racist!!!! or im i the racist for calling him a racist. Remember the GREAT WHITE FLIGHT ?

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Just a thought. there are a lot of people out there that were never black to begin with. they were always biracial. like our president tiger woods and a lot of other folks who ancestors were never slaves ect. back in the 60s if you had a trace of black blood in you. you were totally black. the other part of heretage didnt exist. with facebook and other websites out there people are finding out where the bulk of thier genes are. so perhaps they are labeling them selves as multi racial or biracial because they dont want to offend anyone.or they had nothing in common and never fit in. not that they are better. multiracial people seem to identfy with each other more. hence the drop in the black population. people are folowing thier hearts and going with that they feel and they dont owe anyone nothing.be it black or white the 2 extremes.

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...and here's another: maybe the concept of race, as a discrete process of distinguishing between igneous and sedimentary rocks, is completely false. Maybe it's entirely a social construct created to justify the mistreatment of other human beings. Talking about being "post-racial" shouldn't imply, "we're not racist anymore," but that we've begun to realize that the concept of race is logically, biologically and ethically flawed and we should be recognizing the socio-economic structures that perpetuate this crap. Just a thought.

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I write my thoughts without spell checks and such. thats my thought process. when the words are flowing i say what i feel. perhaps i should invest in a dragon speaking. but as long as i am understood why dwell on such superfulouse things. agree or disagree get the thought process going. here is another one. from been there. king who threw lbj under the bus. couldnt carry thurgood marshalls jock strap. yet he gets all the glory for the civil rights. thurgood was so good no pun intented that the white landowners in africa pleaded with him to get thier rights. perhaps if he started out as a storefront preacher and hone his (his rap jivetalk ECT) he would be put in his rightful place. agree or disagree. its good to hear someone. who has a thought that has merit. king was told not to go to the garbage strike. but the talking head. wouldnt listen to his enablers handlers i cant remember.biggy small tupaq king. such a waste.

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Stop with the drugs. They make you stupid.

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Well, that's the thing. I just read that paragraph three times over and it's nothing but incoherent babble. However, the problem is that even if it were spelled and punctuated correctly (because as abysmal as your spelling is, your punctuation is even worse), it would still be nothing but incoherent babble.

Sorry, but we can't take your ideas -- such as they are -- seriously if you can't even be bothered to express them properly.

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is that all you have is insults anybody can google the truth. people are not stupid anymore.i was once a fool like you. dont listen too me stop getting your history out of newspapers, read books talk to people. the secret is out bro. we are no better than any one else. read some books study history so you wont keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again. i exspect more retorts with no facts to back them up. like Charles Barkley says look it up in the dictionary.

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i am not giving anyone ideas im over 60yrs old and i left that dog show 20 yrs ago dont listen to me. why dont you check out your mind its been with you all the time. i am done i got your small brain thinking which is a good thing. peace and stop hatin each other.over and out.

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We ALL came from Africa a long, long time ago, so in essence we are all black on the inside.

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Why is it supposed to rise from 2010?

The article said Rep Bryone Rushing found 2,000 less African Americans in Boston than there was in 2010 and it suggested this was because of racism.

Well, Rushing is a noted historian and can hold his own argument.

But, we think it depends on who is doing leaving, what ages they are, etc.

For example, when two black females aged about 21 with baby strollers walked into a drop in computer lab to use the internet in the Mall of Roxbury and asked "how do I pull up newspapers to look at nursing jobs available in Columbia, SC ?," they were looking to move out of Boston to live with relatives there, but they wanted a job when they got there.

Citing crime, men troubles and just being "tired" of Boston, these were two motivated females ready to leave. That's four African Americans moving out when you count their babies.

I don't think they were leaving due to racism in Boston.

- blackboston.com

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Are Bostonians currently in prison outside of Boston counted as being Boston residents? That could affect the numbers.

And what about more people living in Boston unofficially? For example, males staying in the apartments of single mothers.

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1) The politics suck

2) The weather sucks

3) Blacks aren't idiots

4) Blacks don't tolerate crap

That's why they peaced out.

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http://onepeoplesproject.com/index.php?option=com_...

North East White Pride (NEWP) is attempting to be a part of the fundraising efforts of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and the organization isn't sure if they want that kind of support.

In February, North East White Pride was in the news when it was learned that they were going to hold a meeting at the main library in Worcester, MA at the same time, and across the hall from a Black History movie event. They were asked to postpone, and the meeting will be held sometime in April. On March 26, a handful of NEWP associates participated in a flash mob-styled rally in Boston, MA. Along with the white nationalist group Youth for Western Civilization's activities in Providence, RI, such as bringing conservative propagandist James O'Keefe to Providence College, it has been part of a series of activity by racist groups in the New England area over the past two months.

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Huh?

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I read somewhere that there's been a noticeable black flight back to the south and southern cities.. I think. Might have read the blogger wrong on that though, so don't hold me to it.

Plus, just look at the other low income group leaving the state in droves; highly educated college graduates!

In other words, as prices go up, the state is becoming more affluent, but older. That's a long term problem, especially with the boomer bulge coming down the pipe.

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Boston isn't the only northeast city African-Americans are abandoning:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/us/25south.html?...

I'd be curious to know how the demographics of Rep. Rushing's district have changed. Perhaps, he's afraid his base is leaving him.

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It has been widely documented that abortion on demand has disproportionately affected the African American community with 14.5 million black kids "terminated" since Roe. Is Rushing factoring in those numbers or are they contrary to his agenda?

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IMAGE(http://www.myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/sisko-facepalm.gif)

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Did you really just do that?

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Rep. Moore Tells Anti-Choice GOP Where to Shove Black Genocide Lie

It's always heartwarming to see conservatives race-bait black Americans, in particular. They are so good at it. GOP's Black Genocide Lie combines two of the GOPs favorite issues to arouse their base; race and abortion. They like it becuase they blame the racism on blacks to conceal their own.

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but don't let that stop you from making your completely irrelevant point.

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Boston isn't the only northeast city African-Americans are abandoning:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/us/25south.html?...

I'd be curious to know how the demographics of Rep. Rushing's district have changed. Perhaps, he's afraid his base is leaving him.

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The cost of living is cheaper in the south and the weather is nicer. The opposite of what Rep. Rushing suggests is going on; since racism in the south has been fading, more blacks are moving there.

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You think the weather is nicer. I personally think it's awful.

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Black flight.

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Byron Rushing's comments are inflammatory. No surprise coming from an old-school minority urban pol, most of whom use divisive politics to win races. See Jeffrey Sanchez of JP who wraps himself in the hispamic community but lives on tony Moss Hill.

Blacks moved out of most northen cities because they climbed the economic social ladder. They had a choice of living in neighborhoods with crime, lousy schools and pols like Byron Rushing or the suburbs. It seems like the suburbs might have offered a better deal. The Economist ran a very interesting article on this trend a few weeks ago.

As neighborhoods in Boston continue this reverse migration / gentrification pattern, expect fools like Rushing and Sanchez to go extinct and post-racial pols like Tito Jackson rise.

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http://www.datapointed.net/2011/04/maps-us-populat...

In urban areas, deep blue indicates that the population doubled (or more), pure red means that everyone left, grey denotes no change, and the intermediate tones represent the spectrum of increases and decreases in-between.

The new tract developments appear to be sucking the life out the older neighborhoods, which bear the scarlet tints of waning population... Ah, the classic flight to the suburbs, but with a twist! Click through and look closely, and at the very center of the biggest cities – within a stone’s throw of downtown – you’ll see a tiny, resurgent dot of blue. Apparently, at some point in recent history, a home address amongst the skyscrapers became desirable again. Even in the City of Detroit, which dropped a full quarter of its citizens in the last decade, downtown is flashing the signs of a comeback.

So, poor and middle class flight from ghetto's because of violence (and the better part of the cities because of a good cash in on property value); while the rich and well to do are increasingly seeing the city and urban areas as attractive because of the density and availability of everything right around the corner.

Seems about right to me. It's true that some neighborhoods are seeing pressures to cash in or move out, but they're the ones that seem to be staying the same, or increasing their populations overall. The true "flight" are people sick of the ghetto's and moving out for better opportunities, which further ghettoizes that community.

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The biggest problem we have in Boston is elitism and the growing economic divides beween the poor & the middleclass and those who frequent or need public institutions like libraries or schools and the very affluent who do not. There is racism that is operating in both directions between the races and I would like to hear all our leaders address that. I think the loss of Black residents has to do with housing cost, crime, the poor management of Boston government, the weather.
and opportunities that exist elsewhere.

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The biggest problem we have in Boston is elitism and the growing economic divides beween the poor & the middleclass and those who frequent or need public institutions like libraries or schools and the very affluent who do not.

Elitism, like hoping that the thinking behind that sentence isn't as muddled as the grammar?

I also want to ask what is the evidence for "growing economic divides beween the poor & the middleclass" in Boston, but one thing at a time.

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Since the poor aren't getting any poorer, the middle class must be getting more middler.

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... to the suburbs. Look at randolph, brockton... and I'm sure many other suburbs have seen increases in not only blacks but likely other minorities as well. We now are beginning to experience the reverse of white flight fueled by expensive gas and other generational shifts.

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is just a Boston version of Al/Jesse. Not too fond of white people himself (speaking from personal experience).

If you've lived here long enough, you know that Boston has made tremendous strides in the area of race (if you're snickering to yourself, you haven't been here that long).

Still racists? Of course---they're everywhere. But the level of tolerance and acceptance has increased vastly in the last 25 years.

Boston "racism" is still a walk in the part compared to racism down South. A lot of Boston whites were antagonized into racist feelings because of gov't forces whereas a good chunk of the South still thinks it's half-time of the Civil War.

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