It is said that people perish where there is no vision.
Wondering: What Will The Future Hold for Blacks in Arizona?
Advanced data analysis is at stake in confirming new immigration patterns that could leave the Phoenix area susceptible to the kinds of problems that have plagued black communities in big cities across the country. there is no need.
Arizona’s black population is growing
Maricopa County has been found to have the fastest growing population since the country began to recover from the Great Recession. About 800,000 people have flooded the valley since 2010, and the pandemic has not stopped its spread.
“If you follow the census numbers, you can see that it has grown rapidly during that time,” Fields Moseley, director of communications for Maricopa County, said in a recent phone interview. “I think he was around 2016 when we became the fastest growing county in the country.
This growth is affecting everything from schools and homes to water supplies and roads.
Growing issues:Why the solution to the housing shortage is being contested
Most of the boom in Maricopa County is Black people like me.
about 70,000 Coming to the region between 2010 and 2020 represents more than 10% of the growth over that period, Arizona black population Only about 5%.
We don’t have much data on where we all came from, but the numbers show it’s a migration.
Young people are leaving LA and Chicago
The latest growth comes amid pandemic-induced declines in eight of the 10 largest US cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. led by young adults They seek affordable housing and employment opportunities that do not exist in their hometowns.
Also, the weather. Summers can be hot, but you don’t have to shovel the sun out of your driveway.
We can only assume that people in Los Angeles looked around and realized that $10 a gallon of gas and a $5,000 two-bedroom apartment were an insult to common sense like pineapple to pizza.
It’s easy to imagine them pulling in Reverse’s Jed Clampett, loading up their trucks, driving them until they can pay their bills, and finally stopping at Buckeye, El Mirage, and Surprise.
“In terms of county assets, the West Valley is the fastest developing,” Moseley says. “There’s not much (county property) left in the east.”
Possibility of Chicagoans and New Yorkers? Both cities have terrible pizza and weather, so who can blame the transplants that lured them to Pizzeria Bianco in December?
It is unknown where they are settling in Metro Phoenix
But there is no centralized information about where blacks are settling.
In South Phoenix, black woman Kesha Hodge Washington is competing with Latino Carlos Garcia for the city council seat.
Tempe has a black mayor, black police chief until recently.
East Valley cities such as Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert have seen significant increases in black residents.
But are they being directed to certain less desirable neighborhoods? Chicago has seen the negative effects of redlining.
Do Black Residents Find Suitable Housing with Stable Fees, Good Schools and Effective Police? Are they being stopped for disproportionate prices?
How welcoming are we to black residents?
Will blacks and Latinos be politically opposed? Or will leaders in those communities recognize common problems and find ways to come together to improve outcomes for their community members? do you want?
how about the church? Are black people welcome to their neighborhood homes of faith? Do Latter-day Saints welcome black visitors? Is it still too deep-rooted to ask?
Ultimately, should black worshipers travel downtown to visit the Pilgrim Rest or First Institutional Baptiste to feel at home?
Who is the new black leader? We know that the Arizona Legislature has only one black legislator, Republican David Marshall. How could he start defending all black residents of the state, especially from Snowflake in Navajo County? Especially as a Republican?
Will the new legislative district empower black voters, or will conservative bullying tactics drown out minority voices in the next election cycle?
Arizona Wins If Community Has Vision
What about community organizers? What do they think black people need?
“There is an acronym I use: PEACE. Politics, Education, Arts, Community, Economy,” said poet and activist Christopher “Truth B. Told” Owens. “Societies, groups and neighborhoods that have strengths in these dimensions have the resources needed for progress.”
Created by Owens culture hubis the state’s first Black-owned co-working space, operating in the Eastlake Park neighborhood of downtown Phoenix.
“This is a very exciting time for black people in Arizona,” he said. “There has been debate among community activists and leaders that we are in the early stages of a renaissance. …Blacks in Arizona recognize the opportunity there.”
Sounds like a vision. This is the kind of thing that gives life and prevents the problems blacks have fled in other parts of the country from continuing to Phoenix.
Such a vision sets Arizona and Maricopa County, home to approximately two-thirds of Arizona’s population, as a role model for other regions of the country on how to integrate and assimilate Black residents as full members of society. It may help to become
The black population will likely continue to grow, so it’s important to consider now.
Going forward, we will need better planning data, especially at the county level.
It is said that people perish due to lack of knowledge.
reach the moor gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @Saying Moore.
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