Black populations in the United States — and Georgia — are diversifying due to immigration flows from different parts of the world, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.
Why it matters: As of late 2019, Metro Atlanta was home to most of the state’s estimated 200,000 black residents who were born in other countries, the report said.
Details: According to Pew, Metro Atlanta has the fourth-highest number of black immigrants (190,000), behind Washington, DC (260,000), Miami (490,000), and New York (1.1 million).
- From 2010 to 2019, the number of black immigrants living in the Atlanta area grew by 165%, many originally from the Caribbean and Africa.
Zoom out: More than 40% of the country’s black immigrants live in the South, according to Pew’s research — Georgia has 200,000.
- 42% of African immigrants and 47% of Caribbean-born black immigrants in 2019 called the South home.
About 1 in 10 black residents of America are immigrants, the report said, and the population of about 4.6 million people is expected to double by 2060.
The Impact: After decades of moving here for work, school, relationships or in search of a safer and happier life, immigrants have created strong communities and helped create networks to welcome others.
What you say: Women Watch Africa’s Glory Kilanko says she based her social justice organization in Clarkston in part because of its well-known diversity.
- What reminds her most of her home in Nigeria are large Nigerian, Somali, Ethiopian and Cameroonian club meetings, where friends share their favorite dishes, often cooked with ingredients from the two African grocery stores in their adopted country.
“We have to do it Home wherever we found each other,” Kilanko tells Axios.
The big picture: An important part of Metro Atlanta’s success and development is a diverse population that nurtures communities, opens businesses and participates in civic life.
