Census estimates show more blacks moving to South

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Hope Yen, Associated Press – Tue Feb 15, 6:29 pm ET
WASHINGTON – American blacks who a century ago began leaving the South to escape segregation and racism are returning, lured by better jobs and quality of life and perhaps by something more intangible — a sense of home.

The Southern U.S. region — primarily metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami and Charlotte, N.C. — accounted for roughly 75 percent of the population gains among blacks since 2000, up from 65 percent in the 1990s, according to the latest census estimates. The gains came primarily at the expense of Northern metro areas such as New York and Chicago, which posted their first declines in black population since at least 1980. Read More