As population shifts in Harlem, blacks lose their majority

For nearly a century, Harlem has been synonymous with black urban America. But the neighborhood is in the midst of a profound and accelerating shift...

From NYTimes.com

For nearly a century, Harlem has been synonymous with black urban America. Given its magnetic and growing appeal to younger black professionals and its historic residential enclaves and cultural institutions, the neighborhood’s reputation as the capital of black America seems unlikely to change soon.

But the neighborhood is in the midst of a profound and accelerating shift. In greater Harlem, which runs river to river, and from East 96th Street and West 106th Street to West 155th Street, blacks are no longer a majority of the population — a shift that actually occurred a decade ago, but was largely overlooked.

By 2008, their share had declined to 4 in 10 residents…

Continued at NYTimes.com

SHARE THIS ARTICLE