Due Sunday 11/19

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Assignment 2 - New York: A Tale of Demographic Transformation

The diversity of New York's people profoundly impacts the city's history. The state's black and white populations have seen different demographic changes, which depict a rich tapestry of historical occurrences, migrations, and societal changes. New York kept census records from the first official U.S. Census in 1790. The U.S. Census Bureau first divided people into three racial categories during this first count: Free White Males, Free White Females, and All Other Free Persons, including enslaved people. The crude racial classifications were mainly used to keep track of the population's slave presence(Kasinitz, 2023).

The severe racial gap in New York was evident in the census taken at this time. Particularly in the southern regions, slavery played a large role in the state's economy. About 21% of New York's population was enslaved Africans, according to the 1790 Census. The population of enslaved people gradually decreased due to events like the Emancipation Act of 1817 and its eventual abolition(Jung, 2002). The demographics of New York underwent a tremendous transformation with the abolition of slavery and emancipation. Now free, the black population began to increase. An era of industrialization that followed the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery resulted in more people emigrating from Europe, especially among white populations(England, 2023). The Great Migration, a large-scale movement of African Americans from the South to the North, including New York, began in the early 20th century. Job opportunities, fleeing racial violence, and the desire for more civil rights were some of the factors that contributed to this population shift. Particularly in New York City, the black population increased significantly during this time.

Midway through the 20th century, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and other Hispanic communities continued to migrate to New York. The Civil Rights Movement and legislative developments in the 1960s increased racial equality and civil rights protections, further changing the demographic environment(Shi et al., 2023). White people continued to make up the majority in the state, but their percentage dropped as other racial and ethnic groups expanded. New York has embraced its diversity in recent decades, with an increase in the number of Asian and Hispanic residents. While the city's proportional proportion of white residents has fallen, the black population has been stable. With statistics reflecting shifts in cultural attitudes and patterns of immigration, the 2020 Census represented another watershed.

White and Black remain the two basic categories of race, but the U.S. Census Bureau has changed how it records demographic data. To better reflect the population's evolving variety, new racial categories have been added to the census over time. For instance, the census started identifying specific racial groups among the Asian population in the late 19th century, mirroring the wave of Asian immigration(Pasque et al., 2023). The 2000 Census acknowledged the multicultural makeup of the American population by allowing respondents to select from various racial classifications. This shift reflected the variety of black and white populations and the rising proportion of people who identify as multiracial. Numerous historical occurrences in New York occurred simultaneously with rapid population growth. Many Europeans immigrated to Europe during the 19th century, especially from Italy and Ireland, in search of better economic possibilities. The number of white people significantly increased as a result. Millions of African Americans relocated to the North, notably New York, between 1916 and 1970. During this time, the black population in New York City rose significantly(Pales Espinosa et al., 2023). New York continued to draw immigrants from all origins throughout the 20th century, particularly Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. These waves influenced the demographic growth and variety of the state.

References

England, S. (2023). Afro Central Americans in New York City: Garifuna tales of transnational movements in racialized space. University Press of Florida.

Jung, C. G. K. (2002). HISTORICAL CENSUS STATISTICS ON POPULATION TOTALS

BY RACE, 1790 TO 1990, AND BY HISPANIC ORIGIN, 1970 TO 1990,

FOR THE UNITED STATES, REGIONS, DIVISIONS, AND STATES Population

Division https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-79725687-dt-content-rid-502111768_1/xid-502111768_1

Kasinitz, P. (2023). Global commerce, immigration, and diversity: a New York story. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1-22.

Pales Espinosa, E., Bouallegui, Y., Grouzdev, D., Brianik, C., Czaja, R., Geraci-Yee, S., Kristmundsson, A., Muehl, M., Schwaner, C., & Tettelbach, S. T. (2023). An apicomplexan parasite drives the collapse of the bay scallop population in New York. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 6655.

Pasque, P. A., Ortega, N., Ting, M. P., & Burkhardt, J. C. (2023). Transforming understandings of diversity in higher education: Demography, democracy, and discourse. Taylor & Francis.

Shi, Q., Liu, T., Zhuo, Y., & Peng, R. (2023). People and Places in the 2020 Census: New Geographies of Population Growth in China? The Professional Geographer, 75(2), 233-247.