Black progressives flee to conservative suburbs
OPINION - More black liberals wish to flee the high crime rates and bad public school systems of America's major cities for suburban bliss.
For almost two decades, blacks have contributed to the growth of America’s suburbs. In the 1990s, blacks accounted for 12.4% of the population growth in suburbs. However, that number has jumped to 16.6% and higher since 2000. The majority of America’s blacks now live in suburbs, not central cities.
As black America continues its socioeconomic diversification, more black liberals understandably wish to flee the high crime rates and bad public school systems of America’s major cities – the vast majority of which are controlled by liberal Democratic mayors and Democratic operatives – for suburban bliss. Voting with their feet ironically often results in black liberal suburbanites (especially in the South, where most blacks live) moving in next door to their perceived ideological adversary: white conservatives in Republican strongholds or areas that were until recently, Republican strongholds.
Constructive Feedback, a fellow black center-right blogger, has developed a term for such individuals: “black flight progressives.” With his hometown of Atlanta metro in mind, Constructive Feedback defines black flight progressives as such:
“The black flight progressives are black Democrats who voted to change their home county into the Democratic dominated fortress that it finally became once they won the ‘racial and ideological’ fight. The white folks moved to a place where their values were promoted. Upon achieving control of this county and ‘the struggle’, the black flight progressives begin to look around, get lonely that there are no more ‘enemies’ around to blame the conditions upon but also notice that the problems did not get better [but] they only changed in their dynamics.”
He continues:
“After typing in these characteristics [quality schools, low crime rates, good home values, and quality environment] into their computer, they find that where their conservative enemies have moved to is most attractive to them! They end up moving right next door to their ideological adversary!! But get this – and I say this based on the authority of seeing this last election – despite the fact that they had to distance themselves from the place where the ideology and party that they favor had dominant control, their ideological bigotry has them still voting for them”
The black flight progressives’ contradiction leads to cognitive dissonance, or tensions, resulting from simultaneously holding contradictory ideas. The individual must either abandon their old belief, or try to rationalize the dissonance. Like everyone else, black flight progressives want safe streets, quality schools, and a stable environment for themselves and their families. However, instead of holding the liberal Democratic operatives (often black themselves) who control the central city’s school board, police department, mayor’s office, and other institutions accountable and making adjustments in their vote to secure more desirable outcomes, the black flight progressives flee.
They do this all while still zeroing in on white conservatives (and not their abandonment of the central city’s black neighborhoods, and the government-can-heal-all and anti-business policies of the city that they left) as the primary cause of black people’s problems.
Black flight progressives shouldn’t apologize for wanting a better life for themselves and their family. I also believe that blacks shouldn’t be beholden to either major political party. However, black flight progressives need to be more honest with themselves. Black flight progressives remain tethered to an ideology that conflicts with their own life choices. They give short shrift to implementation of more desirable conditions – which they live under in the suburbs – while they continue to preach “well, our heart is in the right place” intentions of promoting liberal policies that they’ve fled in their personal lives.
At some point, black flight progressives will get tired of fleeing. They will have to stand their ground and hold politicians more accountable to better manage the institutions servicing black areas toward producing the more desirable outcomes that they seek in the suburbs.
