Segregation in 1970

Just after the 1967 riots, there were still large parts of west and east Detroit that were nearly all white, the vestiges of housing patterns that were cemented by federal housing policy and local real estate rules. For decades blacks had been confined to small slices of the city, creating tension that was a precursor for the anger that erupted. In 1970, 8 Mile was a real racial boundary; Warren, which bordered Detroit along that iconic road, had more than 179,000 people in 1970 but just 132 blacks. Click on an area to see how the demography of that neighborhood — here defined by census tracts — compared with areas around it.

Source: Minnesota Population Center’s National Historical Geographic Information System.

Segregation in 2010

Although African Americans comprise 25 percent of the tri-county area, few people — black or white — live in neighborhoods that mirror the regional average. Instead, blacks are far more likely to live in majority black areas; whites in mostly white areas. Although some blacks live in almost every census tract, most are still concentrated in a handful of cities — Detroit, Southfield, Pontiac, River Rouge and Inkster. Click on an area to see how the demography of that neighborhood — here defined by census tracts — compares to areas around it.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Black flight follows white to suburbs

Hundreds of thousands of African Americans now live outside Detroit in the suburbs of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Still, many live in majority black communities or neighborhoods within their suburban town. This chart traces the growing black presence across metro Detroit