Distribution of Ethnicities in the US

2010 US Census Interactive Map CLUSTERING An ethnicity may cluster within certain areas of a country or the area it inhabits may closely match the boundaries of a country. The most populous ethnicities in the United States are: Hispanic/Latino 16% African American 13% Asian 5% American Indian 1% 2010 US Census Interactive Map Within the US, Ethnicities cluster in two ways: Within regions of the country In particular neighborhoods within cities

REGIONAL CLUSTERING Hispanic/Latino Hispanics represent 16% of the US population They are clustered in the Southwest and comprise over 1/3 of the population of AZ, TX and NM and ¼ of CA. The term hispanic refers to any person who descends from a Spanish-speaking country, however some prefer the term latino/latina. Approximately 2/3 of US Hispanics are of Mexican descent.

REGIONAL CLUSTERING African American African Americans represent 13% of the US population. They are clustered in the Southeast and comprise at least ¼ of the populations of AL, GA, LA, MD and SC and more than 1/3 of MS. Concentrations in selected counties are even higher in some areas. At the same time, NINE states in New England and the West have less than 1% African American populations.

REGIONAL CLUSTERING Asian American Asian Americans represent 5% of the US population. They are clustered in the West and constitute over 40% of the population of HI. 50% of all Asian Americans live in CA (12% of CA population).

REGIONAL CLUSTERING American Indian American Indians and Alaskan Natives represent 1% of the US population. American Indians are concentrates in the Southwest and Plains states and are often highly clustered on reservations.

CLUSTERING WITHIN CITIES African Americans and Hispanics are highly clustered within urban areas. Whereas 75% of the general US population lives in metropolitan areas, 90% of African Americans and Hispanics do. The concentrations are particularly pronounced when comparing scales, for example, percentage African American: Detroit (85%) Rest of Michigan (7%) Chicago (33%) Illinois (8%) The pattern of Hispanic distribution is much the same, for example, percentage Hispanic: New York City (25%) NY State (6%) Hispanics are especially clustered in LA in California and El Paso and San Antonio in Texas.

Ethnic Clustering in LA IN NEIGHBORHOODS The clustering of ethnicities is especially pronounced at the scale of neighborhoods within US cities. In the early 20th century, Midwestern cities attracted Southern and Eastern European immigrants during the third peak of immigration as immigrants came to work in the growing steel and auto industries. Ethnic groups often clustered in newly neighborhoods built for the expanding population, and many of these neighborhoods were named for the group occupying them. During the mid and late 20th century, descendants of these initial immigrants suburbanized. Today, ethnic concentrations in US cities increasingly consist of African American, Hispanic and Asian American groups. Ethnic Clustering in LA

Flow 1: Forced Migration from Africa AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION PATTERNS The clustering if ethnic groups is often a factor of migration patterns. For African Americans, this has been especially true. Three major migration flows have shaped the current distribution of African Americans in the United States. Flow 1: Forced Migration from Africa Most African Americans are descended from Africans forced to migrate to the US as slaves. The first slaves arrived in Jamestown, VA in 1619 on Dutch slave ships. The British shipped 400,000 Africans to the US before 1808 (when the slave trade was offically banned) and an additional 250,000 after. While slavery had been replaced in Europe by the feudal system, Europeans diffused the practice to the Americas when they used slaves as an abundant, cheap and permanent labor source on large plantations in the Southern states. While only about 5% of Africans taken as slaves ended up in the US as a part of the triangular slave trade, nearly all of the slaves ended up in the Southern colonies on cotton and tobacco plantations. Slaves in the US were officially freed in 1865 with the 13th amendment. After emancipation, most African Americans remained in the southern states as sharecroppers.

Flow 2: Immigration to the North AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION PATTERNS The clustering of ethnic groups is often a factor of migration patterns. For African Americans, this has been especially true. Three major migration flows have shaped the current distribution of African Americans in the United States. Flow 2: Immigration to the North As the industrial revolution brought farm machinery to the US, the demand for farm labor reduced. At the same time, industrial machinery arriving in northern, midwestern and western cities increased demand for factory workers in those areas. African Americans migrated out of the South and headed for major, industrial urban areas along four primary routes: I-95 from the Carolinas and other southern Atlantic states to Baltimore, Philly, New York and other northern cities I-75 and 77 from AL and TN to Detroit and Cleveland I-55 from MS and TN to St. Louis and Chicago I-10 and 20 from Texas to cities in CA African Americans from the South migrated to the North in two main waves: in the 1910’s and 20s (before and after WWI) and in the 1940s and 50s (before and after WWII) During these times, factories in industrial cities expanded to produce equipment for the wars and labor supply dropped (soldiers gone to war).

Flow 3: Expansion of the Ghettos AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION PATTERNS The clustering of ethnic groups is often a factor of migration patterns. For African Americans, this has been especially true. Three major migration flows have shaped the current distribution of African Americans in the United States. Flow 3: Expansion of the Ghettos When they urban areas, African Americans clustered in the one or two neighborhoods where others had already settled (chain migration) or where they were permitted to live (de facto segregation). These neighborhoods became known as ghettos (after the areas in European cities where Jews were forced to live). In New York, for example, in 1950, most of the citiy’s 250,000 African Americans were clustered in the Harlem and Uptown neighborhoods, northwest of downtown. Densities in ghettos were as much as 100,000 per square mile (versus 5,000 in the typical suburb). In the 1950s and 60s, many African Americans moved out of the ghettos and into the immediately adjacent neighborhoods. White Flight in Detroit