Jan 9 - Census Reports Savannah Has One of Highest Percentage of African American Populations of Major U.S. Cities

Written by Lou Phelps Sunday, 08 January 2012 23:13

SDN Staff Report

Jan 9, 2012 - As Black History Month approaches in February, the U.S. Census Dept. has released figures on the U.S. cities that have the largest percentages of African American residents a percentage of total population.

Black History Months was established by American historian Carter G. Woodson to commemorate and celebrate the contributions to the U.S. made by people of African descent, initially establishing Black History Week on Feb. 12, 1926.

For many years, the second week of February was set aside for this celebration to coincide with the birthdays of abolitionist/editor Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

In 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial, the week was expanded into Black History Month. Each year, U.S. presidents proclaim February as National African-American History Month.

In total, there are 42 million people in the U.S. identified as African American - the number of people who identified as black, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, in the 2010 Census. They make up 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population. The black population grew by 15.4 percent from 2000 to 2010.

The projected black population of the United States (including those of more than one race) for July 1, 2050, is projected to hold at 15 percent of the nation's total population.

The black population in New York led all states in 2010. The other nine states in the top 10 were Florida, Texas, Georgia, California, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio.

Mississippi (36 percent) led the nation in this category followed by Louisiana (33 percent), Georgia (32 percent), Maryland (31 percent), South Carolina (29 percent) and Alabama (27 percent).

The city of Detroit had the highest percentage of people who identified as black, which is the highest percentage nationally among places with populations of 100,000 or more. It was followed by Jackson, Miss. (80.1 percent), Miami Gardens, Fla. (77.9 percent), Birmingham, Ala. (74.0 percent), Baltimore, (65.1 percent), Memphis, Tenn. (64.1 percent), New Orleans (61.2 percent), Flint, Mich. (59.5), Montgomery Ala. (57.4 percent) and Savannah, Ga. (56.7 percent).