In the 1975, Parliament released the album “Chocolate City” as a tribute to Washington D.C., the first city to have a majority Black population in the wake of race riots and unrest during the proceeding decades.
For years after, the Chocolate City moniker was a symbol of pride and power as Detroit, Newark, Chicago, Oakland and Atlanta saw gains not just in their populations of African Americans increase, but in their Black voting power as well.
But now D.C. is no longer considered a “Chocolate City,” and other cities like it may be next to lose their Black majorities.
According to William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, the Black population probably slipped under 50 percent sometime in February. The city once had a Black population of greater than 70 percent.
Additionally, a more detailed Census study revealed that the city was not only becoming whiter but younger as well, with white residents between 25 and 29 years of age making up 51 percent of the city’s 70,000 residents, compared to 30 percent of Blacks of similar ages.
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