How Black Immigrants Transform the Urban Demographic Landscape

A new study from Nima Dahir, assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University, has found an influx of Black immigrants moving into Black neighborhoods is associated with increases in the area’s White population and decreases in the native African American population. Using data from the United States Census and the American Community Survey, Dr. Dahir found that, by 2020, the majority of Black immigrants in the United States lived in neighborhoods where at least one fifth of the population were native-born Black Americans. Among communities in which Black Americans represented the majority population in the year 2000, there was a relative increase of 110 White residents and a decrease of 94 native-born Black residents for every relative increase of 100 Black immigrants. Furthermore, Dr. Dahir found that when a neighborhood experienced an influx of Black immigrants from 2000 to 2020, rent prices and home values in the area tended to increase. In contrast, Dr. Dahir found that when Black immigrants move into predominately White neighborhoods, the likelihood of “White flight” reduces and the neighborhood experiences an increase in native-born Black residents. She believes this suggests Black immigrants can act as a “buffer” for Black-White integration, preceding the arrival of...