BLACK FLIGHT FROM AUSTIN LINKED TO MISSING SENSE OF BELONGING, AFFORDABILITY, SURVEY FINDS
(Luz Moreno-Lozano, AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN) Dewi Smith moved to Austin in 2011 from Baltimore for a new job. She was making the transition from educational research to tech, and that was exciting. But for the majority of the time she's been in Austin she said she felt a little lonely.
“I was not sure where to find other Black professionals,” Smith said. “I was not running into people in my regular course of activity – the gym, dance classes or work. I just couldn’t seem to find Black people, and that was a lonely feeling. I always felt like an outsider even though I lived here.”
Smith is not alone. Although for many Austin residents, particularly African Americans, high housing costs remain a primary factor for leaving the city, survey data confirm what Smith has been feeling: A missing sense of belonging also keeps Black residents from staying.
“We found that eye-opening because it's not a solution that higher wages, better jobs and combating racism could fix alone,” said Deanna Cureton, an educator with Austin-based Measure. “Because what people want is a connection within the community.”
Measure, a group that uses data and technology to pursue community-defined goals, surveyed more than 300 Black residents across a variety of industries and groups earlier this year to get a better understanding of why Austin’s Black population has declined, and help figure out how to address it.
Since 2010, Austin’s total population has grown about 21%, according to census data from the American Community Survey.
In the 1960 census, the percentages of Austin's population that were Black and Hispanic were about equal. Since then, the percentage of African Americans has declined to less than 10% of Austin's total population and, for the first time in 60 years, it has fallen below the percentage of Asians, according to demographic data from the city.
Of the 965,872 people in Austin, census data show the Black population to be 71,430, growing about 15.5% since 2010, while the Asian population, which has grown by about 59%, is 73,875.
The survey
Tiffanie Harrison, a researcher with Measure, said this survey helps put quantitative and qualitative data behind what was previously anecdotal and just a feeling of why African Americans were leaving Austin.
Among the 336 people surveyed, about 65% were aware of Austin’s Black population declining and 67% said they were concerned about the decline.
The survey also shows:
88% of people said the unaffordable cost of living was a factor for why they left
80% of people said they felt a lack of belonging.
47% said they had experienced racism in Austin, and 29% said it was job-related.
“It's important to keep belonging in mind as the city continues to grow and in how we address this matter,” Harrison said. “We are moving and building so fast and wide that it's easy to forget about the foundational things, and this need for connection. You need to feel the need to belong in order to thrive.”
Of the surveyed participants, 84% said it is important to them to stay engaged with the community, but only 57% said they are engaged with the community. In finding out where the Black population is, more than half said they know where to connect with other Black people in Austin. However, after mentioning several organizations to respondents, they said they tend to see the same people engaging.
“In our Black community, sometimes there is some gatekeeping, and oftentimes in Austin when we think about winning awards, it's the same people, and they are not the only people in the community doing work,” Harrison said. “Sometimes I think we can be classist even among ourselves, and that is something we can continue to work on.”
In 2021, the American-Statesman reported that as Austin’s Black community shrinks and moves to the suburbs, many community leaders and others continued to push for change.
Nelson Linder, president of Austin’s NAACP chapter, previously told the Statesman that to reverse the decline in Austin's Black population, the city needs to invest in affordable housing, make sure jobs pay high enough wages for people of color, and put money back into the community and programs that foster Black culture.
BiNi Coleman, Founder, and CEO of 212 Catalysts, said it's up to the community to figure out what that looks like.
Her organization, 212 Catalysts, provides operational and strategic assistance to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations to identify and meet targeted goals.
She said conversations are the first steps, and the group plans to present Measure's survey report in spaces — like the Chamber of Commerce, real estate firms, or large companies — that can begin sparking these conversations and subsequently start to implement change.
“Especially employers, because they get people here,” Coleman said. “If someone leaves my workplace to get paid more, then go get it, but we don’t want them to leave because they feel like they don’t belong.”
The solution, she said, can take on many forms, and that is where the community can step in.
“For one, we don’t own anything or have a sense of ownership that benefits us directly, so there has been a discussion of buying property and establishing Black entertainment districts, including food and shopping, that can be a place that when family comes into town that is where you go,” Coleman said. “That is something that is missing from Austin.”
She said it will be up to local organizations, companies, and young people who can become part of the solution.
“The next step is to figure out what might be the solution and where to start having those conversations, and doing that at all levels of the community will be important,” Coleman said. “I look forward to that as a next step.”
An investment in Austin
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many moved to working remotely but found the experience to be isolating.
For Dewi Smith, who had been seeking connections in Austin, she said she was about ready to throw in the towel. Then she became aware of the African American Leadership Institute.
“Learning through the African American Leadership Institute creates empathy and passion for trying to help learn more or do something about what you are seeing,” Smith said. “You learn there are opportunities to participate as both a Black and Austin community member.”
Co-founded by BiNi Coleman, the African American Leadership Institute's mission is to be a hub where Black professionals can enhance their civic awareness and find leadership opportunities to improve Central Texas communities. That translates into joining commissions, boards and zoning committees that help implement changes across Austin, and giving back to neighbors in need.
“For me, it expanded my desire to lead different, to listen, to learn, and just gave me more assignments,” Smith said. “It feels like an investment in the Austin community and the Austin Black community. So, I'm not just taking but giving back.”
Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup, who moved to Austin in 2008 from Boston, said she also struggled to find that sense of belonging in Austin, outside of work or church. She moved to Leander with her family, where it was more affordable to live, and where her children had access to good schools, but she commuted to Austin for work every day.
“This is a true issue that many newcomers face when they move here,” Sturrup said.
When Sturrup got the chance to lead the African American Quality of Life initiative, which assessed the conditions and sentiments of Austin’s Black community, and later the city’s public health department, she hoped to be able to address the racial inequities in mental and physical health and the systemic issues behind them, she said.
That work has been ongoing and is something the city is intentionally working toward.
“Belonging seems like an intangible thing, but people defined that as a large issue for them,” Harrison said. “But I think there are a lot of opportunities for advancement, mentorship and entrepreneurship, because even when people can't afford to live in Austin or don’t feel a sense of belonging, they still come back here to engage. That just shows how important belonging is.”
