While Harlem has been an epicenter of black urban culture for nearly a century, in some parts of the neighborhood, African-Americans are no longer the majority. In fact, this population shift began a decade ago but went largely unnoticed, the New York Times reported. Since 2000 central Harlem’s population has grown more than in any decade since the 1940s, but the black population, at 77,000, is smaller than at any time since the 1920s. And although blacks make up six out of every 10 residents in central Harlem, U.S.-born African-Americans comprise less than half of all residents, while the proportion of whites living there has more than doubled in the last 10 years, reaching its highest levels since the 1940s. This shift in demographics underlies complex changes in the community, according to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. “It’s a mistake to see this only as a story of racial change,” Stringer said. “What’s interesting is that many African-Americans are living in Harlem by choice, not necessity.”
African-Americans not the majority in Harlem
New York /
Jan.January 06, 2010
09:38 AM
Related Articles
arrow_forward_ios

Council member calls 40% affordable project “slap in the face”

With Sharpton out, developer scrambles to save massive Harlem project

Harlem resi towers project heads to contentious Council vote

Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigns in real estate donor scandal

Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin arrested in scandal involving real estate investor

Harlem townhouse fetches neighborhood record price

Lam Group scores $168M for Apollo Theater residential project

Agent’s departure leaves rival with exclusive at Circa Central Park
arrow_forward_ios