Racial Segregation in Small North Carolina Cities

RACIAL SEGREGATION IN SMALL NORTH CAROLINA CITIES* Howard J. Sumka The extent of racial segregation in American cities has been well documented in a number of empirical studies. (1) Virtually all existing knowledge, however, relates to metropolitan areas; little is known about segregation in small cities, largely because the census does not routinely provide block data. This study examined patterns of racial segregation and neighborhood racial change over a 30 year period in nonmetropolitan cities in the southeastern United States. Socioeconomic causes of racial separation were examined, as were the attitudes and mobility patterns of households and discrimination by landlords. METHODS. Four nonmetropolitan cities in North Carolina (Greenville , Kinston, Lexington and Statesville) were selected for study using a stratified random sampling technique. (2) Although some notable differences existed among the cities in 1970, they possessed similar population, housing, and racial segregation characteristics (Table 1). Greenville and Kinston are located in the eastern part of the state, where blacks have historically been more concentrated, although in Greenville this was masked by a predominantly white university population. Median family incomes ranged from about $6,900 to $8,500, but incomes of black families were considerably lower. The cities had similar median rents and house values with the exception of Greenville, where prices were higher as a result of the university influence . Indexes of dissimilarity ranged from about 65 to 91, which Dr. Sumka is Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Urban Planning and Research Associate at the Institute for Social and Environmental Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence KS 66045. * The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Richard Goodwin, who collected and mapped the racial location data, the critical comments of Professor Michael A. Stegman, and the technical assistance of the staff at the Institute for Social and Environmental Studies. The work was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant No. GI-33649. The author assumes full responsibility for the analyses, opinions, and conclusions contained in the paper. Vol. XVII, No. 1 59 TABLE 1 SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF NORTH CAROLINA STUDY CITIES Greenville Kinston Lexington Statesville Population: 1920* Total Percent Black Population: 1970** Total Percent Black Median Family Income: 1970** 5,772 49.0 9,711 41.3 5,254 17.9 7,895 17.5 29,06323,02017,20519,996 24.942.018.623.4 Total Black Housing Characteristics: 1970t Percent Renter Occupied Median Rent/Month Median Value Percent Lacking Complete Plumbing Racial Segregation: 1970+ Index of Dissimilarity $ 7,595 $ 3,753 53.5 f 64 618,000 6,913 3,725 51.4 $ 46 $14,000 6.3 78.7 13.7 90.5 8,457 5,268 41.4 & 55 P 11,000 9.7 69.1 $ 7,915 $ 4,226 38.2 $ 51 $11,880 8.5 65.4 * U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population: 1920, Population Characteristics, North Carolina, Vol. 33. ** U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population: 1970, General Social and Economic Characteristics, Final Report PC (1)-C35, North Carolina. f U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of Housing: 1970, General Housing Characteristics , Final Report HC (1)-A35, North Carolina. t Derived from enumeration district data. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Census of Housing and Population: 1970, First Count Summary Tapes, North Carolina. indicated moderate to high levels of racial segregation. These indexes, however, were derived from census enumeration district data which lacked the precision of block data. A major purpose of this paper was to examine segregation using information that was disaggregated and more precise than census data. Despite the differences noted above, analysis of variance tests revealed no statistically significant differences between the housing market characteristics of the four cities as a group and the 25 nonmetropolitan cities in North Carolina which they represented. The four cities were, therefore, treated as a single city in order to generalize the results. 60 Southeastern Geographer TABLE 2 PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF BLACK-OCCUPIED BLOCK FACES BY SIZE OF NEIGHBORHOOD IN NORTH CAROLINA STUDY CITIES: 1927-57* Size of neighborhood (no. block faces ) Percent of Block Faces 1927 1937 1947 1957 Percentage increase in no. blocks 1927-57 125+ 100-124 50- 99 9- 49 1- 8 TOTAL 19.9 33.3...