The Great Migration & Black Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

The Great Migration was the movement of roughly six million Black people from the South to the North, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970, making it one of the largest internal migrations in U.S. history. However, many contemporary historians overlook the fact that this migration was largely sparked by a series of events rooted in Black Jacksonville’s local resistance to Jim Crow-era segregation. In honor of Black History Month, here are six key facts that highlight Jacksonville’s pivotal role in reshaping the cultural demographics of the entire country.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-great-migration-black-jacksonville/

[Jones518]

Great read, but i find it interesting because many black folks and Americans in general are trying to get back to the south especially after Covid-19.


Cities all across the south and the sunbelt have seen an influx of new residents… Hopefully Jax can continue to capitalize on this growth and population shift..

[thelakelander]

African Americans started the trend of moving back south in the 1970s. This movement is now known as the "Reverse Migration." Jacksonville has benefitted and grown significantly in recent decades from this demographic shift, as well as growth from other ethnic populations. It's cool to see it play out in real time. I hope that downtown will find away to benefit.

[jaxlongtimer]

Cities all across the south and the sunbelt have seen an influx of new residents… Hopefully Jax can continue to capitalize on this growth and population shift..

Be careful what we ask for... more people means more traffic, less green spaces, water shortages, coastal high rises, polluted waterways, more asphalt, stretched infrastructure and services, crowds everywhere, disappearing agriculture, urban sprawl, higher cost of living...  I am not anti-growth but unmanaged growth is what rules in Florida so growth brings its own problems in this state. 

We are losing everyday what made Florida special in the past due to unbridled growth.  Nothing is sacred in this State anymore... just look at DeSantis wanting to "develop" our State parks with hotels and golf courses to see an example of the mentality among our politicians making our laws and regulations.  Or using radioactive materials for road beds, allowing Orlando's sludge to runoff into our waterways, dredging the river allowing more saltwater intrusion that is ruining its ecosystem, pulling down the aquifer that is killing our natural springs, destroying our wetlands that protect against flooding and storms and purify our waterways, clearing acres of forest everyday, destroying native animal habitats and species... you get the idea.

One day we will wake up and Florida will not be Florida anymore... it will be Anywhere, USA.  We may be closer than we think.

[Jones518]

I agree!! I’m more pro-urban core development than unmanaged growth… I have it in my gut that downtown will soon pick up speed with development…. It’s playing out slowly, but certainly…..the southside of town (gate parkway), e-town, oak leaf, pecan park areas are growing like invasive weeds…




 

Cities all across the south and the sunbelt have seen an influx of new residents… Hopefully Jax can continue to capitalize on this growth and population shift..

Be careful what we ask for... more people means more traffic, less green spaces, water shortages, coastal high rises, polluted waterways, more asphalt, stretched infrastructure and services, crowds everywhere, disappearing agriculture, urban sprawl, higher cost of living...  I am not anti-growth but unmanaged growth is what rules in Florida so growth brings its own problems in this state. 

We are losing everyday what made Florida special in the past due to unbridled growth.  Nothing is sacred in this State anymore... just look at DeSantis wanting to "develop" our State parks with hotels and golf courses to see an example of the mentality among our politicians making our laws and regulations.  Or using radioactive materials for road beds, allowing Orlando's sludge to runoff into our waterways, dredging the river allowing more saltwater intrusion that is ruining its ecosystem, pulling down the aquifer that is killing our natural springs, destroying our wetlands that protect against flooding and storms and purify our waterways, clearing acres of forest everyday, destroying native animal habitats and species... you get the idea.

One day we will wake up and Florida will not be Florida anymore... it will be Anywhere, USA.  We may be closer than we think.

[marcuscnelson]

Cities all across the south and the sunbelt have seen an influx of new residents… Hopefully Jax can continue to capitalize on this growth and population shift..

Be careful what we ask for... more people means more traffic, less green spaces, water shortages, coastal high rises, polluted waterways, more asphalt, stretched infrastructure and services, crowds everywhere, disappearing agriculture, urban sprawl, higher cost of living...  I am not anti-growth but unmanaged growth is what rules in Florida so growth brings its own problems in this state. 

We are losing everyday what made Florida special in the past due to unbridled growth.  Nothing is sacred in this State anymore... just look at DeSantis wanting to "develop" our State parks with hotels and golf courses to see an example of the mentality among our politicians making our laws and regulations.  Or using radioactive materials for road beds, allowing Orlando's sludge to runoff into our waterways, dredging the river allowing more saltwater intrusion that is ruining its ecosystem, pulling down the aquifer that is killing our natural springs, destroying our wetlands that protect against flooding and storms and purify our waterways, clearing acres of forest everyday, destroying native animal habitats and species... you get the idea.

One day we will wake up and Florida will not be Florida anymore... it will be Anywhere, USA.  We may be closer than we think.

It doesn't have to. Those are all policy choices and aesthetic preferences. I agree that we can do a lot better than the status quo, and finding a sustainable way to grow is paramount to not creating future problems, but at the same time assuming we can (or should) try to slam the door on people who want to live here because of bad policy choices or aesthetic preferences doesn't seem like a reasonable way forward. For a state that talks a big game about not copying the path of places that have made poor choices, it sure seems interested in copying those choices with ideas like the recent talk about eliminating or sharply cutting property taxes akin to California's Prop 13, or the continuing chaos in the property insurance market (again, akin to California). These are choices we make and they can have repercussions, an unwillingness to recognize that won't fix them.

[Florida Power And Light]

The Great Jacksonville Black Migration well underway. 2025.
Nobody askin’…… where the white folks go?!
Good for them.

[Jones518]

Many white folks are still around…… some have moved out of Duval to surrounding counties like St John’s, Clay, and Nassau, but we are seeing more transplants than folks moving out, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing this population growth coupled with residential demand… apartments filling up shortly after being built. We have a healthy and steady flow of new residents moving in. There’s a reason why urban core neighborhoods like Springfield are seeing a resurgence…so I’m not sure what you are implying by your post.

[Florida Power And Light]

Overpopulation and Demographic Shift drives all sorts of Events.
Folks have been moving out of Duval County and avoiding Duval county for decades.
Jacksonville belatedly joined White Flight trend.
For decades, Clay and St John held a Militant Anti Jax position.
Fast forward to Orange Park Mall. Et Al.
What is the official Duval white/ black population ratio?
Soon, if not now, predominantly black.
The point is….. the black population has flourished, Expanded.
Yes, Whites remain.
Too bad blacks simply inherited the expansion land area. Imagine if in fact the black population that flocked to Jacksonville upon Freedom would have been able to command rights to more Duval land area back then.

[Jones518]

Overpopulation and Demographic Shift drives all sorts of Events.
Folks have been moving out of Duval County and avoiding Duval county for decades.
Jacksonville belatedly joined White Flight trend.
For decades, Clay and St John held a Militant Anti Jax position.
Fast forward to Orange Park Mall. Et Al.
What is the official Duval white/ black population ratio?
Soon, if not now, predominantly black.
The point is….. the black population has flourished, Expanded.
Yes, Whites remain.
Too bad blacks simply inherited the expansion land area. Imagine if in fact the black population that flocked to Jacksonville upon Freedom would have been able to command rights to more Duval land area back then.

First, Jax is far from overpopulated… Jax is probably one of the least densely populated large/major cities in the U.S….. we have a long way to go before we are overcrowded…. You might have had a point if you said growth is unmanaged, untamed, and sporadic….look at the density of Jax compared to other large cities and you will see we are no where near overcrowded…



Also, you have to stop looking at Duval as a only black and white town… it’s a melting pot of people from all over… we have a steady growing Latin population, Asian population, and other ethnicities. I doubt Jax will be a majority black population soon… while the white population may be shrinking (which i disagree because the newcomers outset this phenomenon), other ethnicities are steadily growing.


Many folks are moving up from South Florida for more affordability, many folks are moving down from New York/New Jersey for more affordability and warmer weather, many folks are moving from the Midwest for more favorable tax laws and better weather….. Jax’s crime is not as bad as you are implying….. There are far worst cities….

[Zac T]

Overpopulation and Demographic Shift drives all sorts of Events.
Folks have been moving out of Duval County and avoiding Duval county for decades.
Jacksonville belatedly joined White Flight trend.
For decades, Clay and St John held a Militant Anti Jax position.
Fast forward to Orange Park Mall. Et Al.
What is the official Duval white/ black population ratio?
Soon, if not now, predominantly black.
The point is….. the black population has flourished, Expanded.
Yes, Whites remain.
Too bad blacks simply inherited the expansion land area. Imagine if in fact the black population that flocked to Jacksonville upon Freedom would have been able to command rights to more Duval land area back then.

First, Jax is far from overpopulated… Jax is probably one of the least densely populated large/major cities in the U.S….. we have a long way to go before we are overcrowded…. You might have had a point if you said growth is unmanaged, untamed, and sporadic….look at the density of Jax compared to other large cities and you will see we are no where near overcrowded…



Also, you have to stop looking at Duval as a only black and white town… it’s a melting pot of people from all over… we have a steady growing Latin population, Asian population, and other ethnicities. I doubt Jax will be a majority black population soon… while the white population may be shrinking (which i disagree because the newcomers outset this phenomenon), other ethnicities are steadily growing.


Many folks are moving up from South Florida for more affordability, many folks are moving down from New York/New Jersey for more affordability and warmer weather, many folks are moving from the Midwest for more favorable tax laws and better weather….. Jax’s crime is not as bad as you are implying….. There are far worst cities….

To further this point, here are the population increases for each of the major demographic groups in Duval County between 2010-2020:

White: +26,000
Black: +48,000
Latino: +47,000
Asian: +18,000

The age of white flight is over and there's no black "takeover" as his comment implies. Jax is an increasingly diverse city that attracts people from all walks of life which is what makes it attractive to so many people. I think that it's nice that I can walk down the street or go to a coffee shop and interact with people from so many different backgrounds. Anyone who views that as a negative probably shouldn't be living in a major city to begin with

[thelakelander]

Jax is an increasingly diverse city that attracts people from all walks of life which is what makes it attractive to so many people. I think that it's nice that I can walk down the street or go to a coffee shop and interact with people from so many different backgrounds.

^This is a huge asset that only Jax can take advantage of in NE Florida. We definitely should embrace our cultural diversity.