Oakland rapidly losing its African American population

[KamaAina]

This one definitely caught me on the hop.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/11/MNO91I8F86.DTL&tsp=1

Oakland, whose thriving African American community for decades shaped black identity for the nation, lost nearly a quarter of its black population in the past decade, U.S. Census data shows....

African Americans have been moving in large numbers from urban areas to the suburbs and beyond for the past two decades in California. But the migration has particular significance in Oakland.

Oakland was where the Black Panther Party was founded, the place that produced iconic black politicians, athletes and entertainers. Hall of Fame athletes Joe Morgan, Bill Russell and Rickey Henderson all grew up in Oakland. So did entertainers like the R&B group the Pointer Sisters. Black congressional leaders Ron Dellums and Barbara Lee are both from Oakland.

Oakland's black community "brought African American identity into the mainstream, instead of the margins," said Ishmael Reed, author of "Blues City: a Walk in Oakland" and a longtime resident. "I just hate to see the decline."

On the positive side, the numbers of African Americans, Latinos and whites are now nearly equal, with Asian-Americans not far behind. This could well make Oakland the most diverse city in the nation (diversity being defined as these four numbers being as close to equal as possible) -- a model for California's, and the nation's, future. Proof of this: in the recent mayoral election, there wasn't really a serious AA candidate; the top three vote getters were new Mayor Jean Quan, who is of Chinese descent, and two white candidates.

[mackerel]

1. A lot of the African-Americans have moved to Vallejo.

[Xithras]

2. Many are moving to the Central Valley.

I grew up in and around Modesto, and African Americans were fairly uncommon in that area at that time (less than 1% of the population, if I remember correctly). While the numbers are still low, I was recently reading that the actual African American population size has increase eightfold over the past 30 years. Most of those are new residents looking to raise their kids in an area with fewer crime and drug problems (though, why they'd choose MODESTO escapes me, if that's their goal).