Differences between African-Americans and Whites in migration to the United States South, 1955--2000

In my dissertation, I examine the extent to which African-Americans and whites in the United States have, over the period 1955 through 2000, become more or less similar to each other in terms of the selectivities and spatial patterns of interstate migration. By focusing on the U.S. South - a historically lagging region - as a potential destination, and by comparing African-Americans - a historically oppressed population - with whites, I am able to examine issues of spatial and social assimilation with respect to the South. I extend previous research in three ways. First, many previous comparisons of the migration of whites and African-Americans focus on relationships at one point in time. I explicitly examine trends in migration patterns by using IPUMS data and published data from five United States decennial censuses. Second, I use a relatively novel approach - the nested logit model - in order to model migration as a choice process for the years 1970, 1990 and 2000, focusing on working-age men. Third, I investigate race differences in the relative attraction of the South over time - a region of singular historical importance for the African-American population. Overall, the results of my study paint a picture of broad convergence in interstate and interregional migration patterns of whites and African-Americans since 1955. Net of individual, origin and destination factors, migration has become more similar for men of both race groups with respect to both overall rates and the selection of southern destinations.