In a reversal, more blacks are making their way South

The nation’s black population grew by roughly 1.7 million over the last decade. About 75 percent of that growth occurred in the South — primarily metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s up from 65 percent in the 1990s, according to the latest census estimates.

The gains came primarily at the expense of Northern metro areas such as New York and Chicago, which posted their first declines in black population since at least 1980.

Illinois had its first decline in the black population in the state’s history, with the number of African Americans decreasing by 1.3 percent since 2000, according to official 2010 census figures released Feb. 15.

In all, about 57 percent of U.S. blacks now live in the South, a jump from the 53 percent share in the 1970s, according to an analysis of census data by William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

It was the surest sign yet of a sustained reverse migration to the South following the exodus of millions of blacks to the Midwest, Northeast and West in the Great Migration from 1910 to 1970.

The converts include Shelton Haynes, 33, a housing manager in Atlanta. He grew up in New York City and lived in Harlem for many years with his wife and two children before growing weary of the cost of living and hectic pace. After considering other places in the South such as Charlotte, the two settled on Atlanta, where Haynes’ brother, sister-in-law and parents now also live.

“We have a great support network of family and friends here and there is good community involvement, with our kids involved in swimming, tennis and basketball,” Haynes said. “In Atlanta, I also see a lot of African Americans do very well in a variety of professions, so it was good to see things changing.”

The findings, based on 2009 data, are expected to be highlighted in official 2010 results that show changes in non-Hispanic black populations in states such as Texas, New York, Georgia and Florida. The recent census figures for blacks refer to non-Hispanic blacks, which the Census Bureau began calculating separately in 1980.

Historically, the South was home to roughly 90 percent of the nation’s blacks from 1790 until 1910, when African Americans began to migrate northward to escape racism and seek jobs in industrial centers such as Detroit, New York and Chicago during World War I.

After the decades-long Great Migration, the share of blacks in the South hit a low of about 53 percent in the 1970s, before civil rights legislation and the passage of time began to improve the social climate in the region. The current 57 percent share of blacks living in the South is the highest level since 1960. The latest estimates show that the Atlanta metropolitan area increased by more than half a million blacks over the last decade to about 1.7 million, making it the metro area with the second-largest black population. Despite losing blacks, the New York metro area continued to be home to the largest black population, at roughly 3.2 million.

The Chicago metropolitan area, which previously was ranked No. 2 in black population, slipped to No. 3.

Broken down by state, Georgia was tops in the total number of African Americans, edging out New York state. It was followed by Texas, Florida and California. California in recent decades has seen its black population slip or remain largely unchanged.

In December, the Census Bureau reported the nation’s population was 308.7 million, up from 281.4 million a decade ago. Most of the population growth occurred in the South and West, where some states stand to gain seats in Congress to reflect their increases in population. Florida will gain two.