African American Communities in New England

African American Communities in New England

With the creation and expansion of the Black Lives Matter over the past three years, it has been a leading topic of discussion in the daily lives of people across the United States, most importantly the recent presidential election. As protests begin frequently in African American communities in the Midwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic states, we rarely hear of any in New England. There have been events in Massachusetts, but not many in the rest of New England. I was curious to see why and just how many African American communities  New England has as a whole. 

Using a base of a population of 3,000, I found that Massachusetts had the highest population, with communities located in eight counties. Six of Connecticut's counties had populations of 3,000 or more, and Rhode Island only had three. The three remaining New England states (New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont) contain one or less county with populations of 3,000 or greater. These states have been known to have mostly white populations, even 96% in some places. Looking at data from the U.S. Census, we can see that even though these areas have populations of several races, the dominant is white.

Maine

 With almost 95% of the population being white in most places, it's clear that the issues of the Black Lives Matter movement and community are not as relevant and don't make as much of an impact in those areas. The people in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont show support for the cause through rallies and Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont is a major supporter. However, since the population is not as significant in these areas, the cause is not seen as relevant as others that are more regionally significant. Those African Americans who do move to the area are seen by some as "pioneers", and are "trying to pave the way for growing diversity", according to John Tucker, who lives in Burlington, VT and was interviewed by ABC News. These are the same words used throughout the world for the men and women of the Black Lives Matter movement, who strive for diversity and equality.

New Hampshire

http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/33
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93608&page=1

Vermont