The Social Science Journal 51 (2014) 6–11

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The Social Science Journal

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The Great Migration to the North and the “Black Metropolis”of the early twentieth century: A reevaluation of the role ofBlack community size

Robert L. Boyd ∗

Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, 207 Bowen Hall, 456 Hardy Road, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5503, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 18 March 2013Received in revised form 5 August 2013Accepted 5 August 2013Available online 29 August 2013

a b s t r a c t

By some accounts, large Black populations in northern cities aided Blacks’ employment inoccupations of the “Black Metropolis” at the start of the Great Migration. Yet, the presentstudy, analyzing Census data, refutes these accounts. Blacks’ odds of employment in suchoccupations – for example, mass media and cultural expression – were often greatest inmajor northern cities with the smallest Black populations, consistent with the propositionthat small and stable minority communities avoid intense discrimination. Overall, however,

Keywords:Black migrationOccupational attainmentBlack MetropolisEarly twentieth century

there is little evidence that Black population size substantially affected Blacks’ employmentin Black Metropolis occupations.

© 2013 Western Social Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Social scientists have a longstanding interest in how aminority group’s migration and population growth affectits labor market prospects. This interest has producedtwo lines of scholarship. One is the view that a minor-ity group’s population growth improves its labor marketprospects. According to this view, an ethnic economy ariseswhen the group’s population increases through migration,enhancing group members’ employment opportunities.In particular, the view suggests, group size and growthsignificantly bolster group members’ employment oppor-tunities in professional and entrepreneurial pursuits thatserve consumers from the group (e.g., physicians and retail

merchants). The other view is that a minority group’spopulation growth reduces its labor market prospects.This view proposes that group members’ employment

∗ Tel.: +1 662 325 7875.E-mail address: boyd@soc.msstate.edu

0362-3319/$ – see front matter © 2013 Western Social Science Association. Publihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2013.08.002

opportunities decrease when (1) labor markets are satu-rated by the group’s population increase and (2) prejudiceand discrimination are intensified because the group’senlarged visibility creates the perception that it is a com-petitive threat to the majority group. Owing to thesenegative outcomes, the view further implies, large andgrowing minority groups find it difficult to acquire mate-rial and human capital resources needed for professionaland entrepreneurial pursuits.

Social scientific interest in these two views is nowfocusing on the consequences of the “Great Migration”of southern Blacks to northern cities during the twenti-eth century. Sociologists (Eichenlaub, Tolnay, & Alexander,2010) and economists (Boustan, 2009), as well as journal-ists (Wilkerson, 2010), are reconsidering the conventionalwisdom that the urban North is a “Promised Land” ofemployment opportunities for Blacks. In doing so, these

scholars are casting doubt on the once popular belief thatnorthern Blacks realized a substantial economic payofffrom the migration. The present study advances this litera-ture by exploring how the first wave of the Great Migration

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circa 1915–1930) affected Blacks’ employment in occupa-ions linked to the “Dream of Black Metropolis,” applyinghe views discussed above.

. Literature review

Inspired by Black leaders’ exhortations for self-helphrough racial solidarity, the Dream of Black Metropolis ishe idea that in northern urban centers, Blacks can collec-ively build communities that function independently ofhe larger society (Meier & Rudwick, 1976, p. 252). Sizableumbers of Black customers, voters, and patrons, accord-

ng to this belief, are the basis of a Black “city within aity” in which Blacks pursue economic gain, social auton-my, and political influence (Massey & Denton, 1993, pp.15–116). Specifically, the belief is that large Black commu-ities arising from the massive influx from the South in theconomically prosperous 1920s allow Blacks in northernrban centers to establish and operate their own economicnd social institutions. The latter include the practices oflack professionals who serve a Black clientele in medicine,entistry, and law. They include the businesses of Blackntrepreneurs who, in banking, insurance, and retailing,mong other lines of commerce, sell goods and serviceso Black consumers. And they include churches, newspa-ers, art galleries, theaters, and nightclubs of confidentnd assertive artists and performers who produce andisseminate innovative and unique forms of Black cul-ural expression for Black and, occasionally, racially mixedudiences. In addition, the Dream of Black Metropolis sti-ulates hope that in northern urban centers, large Black

ommunities will generate robust Black activist groupsnd voting blocs that compel the local power structure tonclude Blacks in positions of municipal government andublic service.

The belief that large Black populations in major north-rn cities are mainsprings of vibrant Black communities islausible. Building on historical literature (Osofsky, 1966;pear, 1967), one account of the Black Metropolis calls theremendous number of Blacks in these cities “an enor-

ous new resource,” not only for Black professionalsnd entrepreneurs but also for Black artists, musicians,nd writers who form an influential “cultural apparatus”Gregory, 2005, p. 124). In line with this account, a crit-cal mass of Blacks bolsters Blacks’ employment in showusiness and music in northern cities (Boyd, 2005). Thisccount, furthermore, tallies with the sociological propo-ition that a large migrant community forms an ethnicconomy or enclave that benefits group members, par-icularly in occupations supplying goods and services too-ethnics (Portes & Grosfoguel, 1994). A large ethnic com-unity “is likely to develop certain internal strengths thatill support some occupational activities even if outsiders

re totally against their holding the position” (Lieberson,980, p. 297). Thus, “if the black population base is largenough, there will be support for black doctors, blacklergy, and so on, even if they remain totally unacceptable

o others” (Lieberson, 1980, pp. 297–298). Consistent withhis account, the most successful Black entrepreneurs aren the largest Black communities of northern cities (Boyd,006, 2008), and Black migration to these cities is selective

urnal 51 (2014) 6–11 7

of southern Blacks who are literate and skilled (Marks,1989; Tolnay, 2001).

Nevertheless, the lofty aspirations of the Dream of BlackMetropolis often went unfulfilled, in many cases, clashingsharply with reality. As Black communities in major north-ern cities grew and became more noticeable, Blacks weremore likely to be seen by Whites as rivals in labor mar-kets and political arenas. Responding to this perception,and to interracial friction in workplaces, neighborhoods,and public settings, anti-Black prejudice and discrimina-tion in the urban North rose to new heights, taking theform of implacable social, and in some cases, legal, restric-tions against Blacks (Lieberson, 1980; Massey & Denton,1993; Wilson, 1978). Moreover, the economic and socialorganizations of Black communities in these cities wereswamped by new arrivals (Sowell, 1981; Tolnay, 2001),and contemporary ethnographic studies (Drake & Cayton,1962; Frazier, 1966) infer that in the wake of the influx,northern Black communities were distressed not only byracial constraints imposed from the outside but also byinternal discord resulting from social class divisions withinBlack America itself.

These accounts are consistent with three sociologicalpropositions about negative effects of minority group-size.First, a large and growing minority group is (1) highly visi-ble and thus an obvious target for the majority group’s biasand hostility and (2) usually regarded as a “power threat”and, therefore, is highly susceptible to economic and polit-ical exclusion (Blalock, 1967, p. 150; Jiobu, 1990, p. 136).Second, a large and growing minority group has difficultyexploiting occupational specialties that exist because of thegroup’s distinctive history, unique skills, and/or opportuni-ties (Lieberson, 1980, p. 379). Such “niches” are saturatedwhen, owing to large group-size and increase, the numberof potential entrants into the niche exceeds the numberof occupants that the niche can support, displacing groupmembers from the niche (Waldinger, 1996, p. 451). Third,a large and growing minority group, due to its unwieldysize, is difficult to mobilize for collective actions that influ-ence the majority through pressure tactics and voting blocs(Blalock, 1967, pp. 176–180). In sum, the propositions ofpower threat, niche saturation, and mobilization incapac-ity predict that the Great Migration’s effects are largelynegative, undermining the Dream of Black Metropolis innorthern Black communities.

3. Competing hypotheses

The above review leads to competing hypotheses aboutthe relationship between (1) northern Black communi-ties’ size and growth at the start of the Great Migrationand (2) Blacks’ employment in occupations associated withthe Dream of Black Metropolis. Hypothesis 1 is that therelationship is positive, owing to potential advantages oflarge and growing Black communities, notably, a sizablepopulation of Black supporters of Blacks’ endeavors in pro-fessions, business, public service, the arts, entertainment,

and mass media. Hypothesis 2 is that the relationshipis negative due to possible disadvantages of large andgrowing Black communities, including greater exposureto prejudice and discrimination, increased saturation of

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Table 1Means and standard deviations (SD) of the odds ratio of Black occupationalrepresentation: northern cities, 1930.

Occupation Mean SD

Ministers (m) 2.349 0.462Musicians (m) 2.321 2.118Beauticians (w) 1.604 0.396Performers (w) 1.597 2.434Undertakers (m)a 1.345 0.301Barbers (m) 1.207 0.265Performers (m) 0.988 0.427Musicians (w) 0.741 0.388Social workers (w) 0.637 0.505Dentists (m) 0.527 0.268Doctors (m) 0.403 0.163Retail merchants (w) 0.232 0.097Lawyers (m) 0.215 0.135Retail merchants (m) 0.211 0.064Photographers (m) 0.201 0.164Writers (m) 0.199 0.143Insurance agents (m) 0.198 0.168Artists (w)b 0.125 0.114Municipal officials (m) 0.108 0.094Artists (m) 0.101 0.070Professors (m)c 0.065 0.070Bankers (m) 0.019 0.032

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census (1933a).Notes: m = men only; w = women only. Occupations are ranked by meanodds ratio.

8 R.L. Boyd / The Social S

occupational niches, and a reduced capacity for collectivemobilization. This hypothesis predicts that such disadvan-tages overwhelm any strength in numbers and, in doing so,undermine Blacks’ employment in Black Metropolis occu-pations.

4. Research design

The hypotheses are tested with Census data for 1930,the year that conventionally denotes the end of the GreatMigration’s first wave (Marks, 1989; Tolnay, 2003). Theanalytical units are the large northern cities examined inthe seminal investigation cited earlier (Lieberson, 1980),representing the urban centers of the North’s four Cen-sus Divisions: Boston, MA (New England Division); Buffalo,NY, New York, NY, Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh,PA (Middle Atlantic Division); Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH,Cleveland, OH, Detroit, MI, Indianapolis, IN, Milwaukee,WI (East North Central Division); and Kansas City, MO,Minneapolis, MN, Saint Louis, MO (West North Central Divi-sion). These urban centers are the focus of research on theGreat Migration.

The dependent variables, calculated for the urbancenters with Census data (U.S. Bureau of the Census,1933a), measure Blacks’ representation in professional,entrepreneurial, public service, and artistic, entertainment,and mass media occupations in 1930. According to the liter-ature, these pursuits (listed below with the Census Bureau’sofficial occupational titles in parentheses) are closely iden-tified with the Dream of Black Metropolis.

The professional occupations are dentists (dentists),doctors (physicians and surgeons), lawyers (lawyers,judges, and justices), ministers (clergymen), and col-lege professors (college presidents and professors). Theentrepreneurial occupations are bankers (bankers and bankofficials), barbers and beauticians (barbers, hairdressers,and manicurists), insurance agents (insurance agents,managers, and officials), merchants (retail dealers, includ-ing retail managers), and undertakers (undertakers). Thepublic service occupations are municipal officials (cityand county officials and inspectors) and social workers(social and welfare workers). The artistic, entertainment,and mass media occupations are artists (artists, sculp-tors, and teachers of art), musicians (musicians andteachers of music), performers (actors/actresses, show-men/show women), photographers (photographers), andwriters (authors, editors, and reporters). This last setof occupations encompasses the “cultural apparatus” innorthern Black communities.

Selection of these endeavors is based partly on dataavailability. Complete data for the professional occupationsexist for men only. Complete data on bankers, insuranceagents, undertakers, municipal officials, photographers,and writers also exist for men only. Complete data on socialworkers exist for women only.

Blacks’ representation in these 22 occupations is mea-sured by the odds ratio, ORX = (BX/OX)/(BO/OO), where:

ORX is the odds of Black employment in X, the occupa-tion of interest; BX is the number of Blacks employedin X; OX is the number of all other persons (non-Blacks)employed in X; BO is the number of Blacks employed in all

a Missing Cincinnati, Detroit, and Minneapolis.b Missing Pittsburgh.c Missing Detroit, Kansas City, and Newark.

other occupations in the workforce; and OO is the num-ber of all other persons (non-Blacks) employed in all otheroccupations in the workforce. This widely used measure(Logan, Alba, & McNulty, 1994; Wilson, 2003) has a sim-ple interpretation. Values above 1.0 indicate that Blacksare overrepresented in an occupation; values below 1.0indicate they are underrepresented in the occupation.Summary statistics are in Table 1.

The main explanatory variable in the regression anal-yses is Black population size and growth, computed withCensus data (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1933b) as the nat-ural logarithm of the Black population’s absolute size in1930 and as the natural logarithm of the Black population’sabsolute size increase from 1910 to 1930. Logarithmictransformations amend the highly skewed distributions ofthese measures, following standard practice. The measuresare based on absolute Black population size because an eth-nic community’s organization and institutions depend onthe group’s absolute size (Fischer, 1975, p. 1328). Thesemeasures are essentially identical (r = 0.97), so only abso-lute Black population size, logged, is analyzed. Hypothesis1 predicts that the slope coefficient of this variable will bepositive. Hypothesis 2 predicts that it will be negative.

In addition, the regression analyses take account of thestrong directional focus of Black migration toward largecommunities by including a dummy variable for cities onestandard deviation above the respective means of Blackpopulation size or Black population increase. These are

the enormous Black communities of New York, Chicago,and Philadelphia, regarded as premier Black communities(Gregory, 2005, pp. 117–120). This variable, called nationalcore destinations, is coded 1 for these Black communities

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nd zero otherwise. Hypothesis 1 predicts that the slopeoefficient of this dummy variable is positive. Hypothesis

predicts that it is negative.The regression analyses also take account of the Black

ommunities least affected by Black migration by includ-ng a dummy variable for cities one standard deviationelow the respective means of Black population size orlack population increase. These are regional centers thatre relatively peripheral destinations: Boston, Buffalo, Mil-aukee, and Minneapolis. This variable, called regional

eripheral destinations, is coded 1 for these urban centersnd zero otherwise. Hypothesis 1 predicts that the slopeoefficient of this dummy variable is negative. Hypothesis

predicts that it is positive.

. Results

There is little evidence that large Black communitiesolster Blacks’ employment in Black Metropolis occupa-ions (Table 2). The relationship between Black populationize and Black employment odds is positive and statisticallyignificant for just four occupations: an entrepreneurialccupation (undertakers), two cultural apparatus occupa-ions (photographers and male artists), and a professioncollege professors). These four findings are in line withypothesis 1. Large Black communities evidently providelients for Black undertakers and photographers andatrons for Black male artists. Such communities may alsoupport campaigns to persuade local colleges to hire Blackrofessors. Overall, though, the notion that large northernlack communities had internal strengths is applicable to

narrow range of occupations.There is little support for the assertion that large Black

ommunities undermine Blacks’ employment in theseccupations. The relationship between Black populationize and Black employment odds is negative and statisti-ally significant for just three pursuits: a cultural apparatusccupation (male musicians), a public service occupationsocial workers), and a profession (ministers). These threeesults accord with Hypothesis 2. Black men are greatlyverrepresented in the musical profession and the min-stry (Table 1); thus, in large Black communities, theseiches are filled beyond their capacity to absorb additionallacks. Social work is a desirable occupation for women;herefore, it is likely that the perception of racial threatn large Black communities intensifies prejudice and dis-rimination against Black women seeking to become socialorkers. These negative associations aside, there is scant

vidence that large northern Black communities diminishlacks’ employment in Black Metropolis occupations.

There is virtually no support for the claim, underlyingypothesis 1, that national core destinations are uniquelydvantageous for the Dream of Black Metropolis. The slopeoefficient of the dummy variable for these destinationss positive and statistically significant only for the cul-ural apparatus occupation of male musicians. This result isonsistent with reports of exceptional employment oppor-

unities for Black musicians in nationally premier urbanenters with burgeoning entertainment districts (Gregory,005, pp. 135–139). Such advantages sufficiently overcomehe saturation of Black musicians.

urnal 51 (2014) 6–11 9

But overall, Blacks’ prospects in enormous communitiesare relatively limited. The slope coefficient of the dummyvariable for national core destinations, in agreement withHypothesis 2, is negative and statistically significant foran entrepreneurial occupation (undertakers) and a profes-sion (college professors). Niche saturation likely reducesBlacks’ employment odds in undertaking, as Black men aremarkedly overrepresented in this entrepreneurial occupa-tion (Table 1). Plausibly, in the very largest northern Blackcommunities, the number of Black men lured into under-taking by the possibility of serving a sizable Black consumermarket is much greater than the number of Black undertak-ers that can be supported. The racial threat of exceptionallylarge Black communities, in addition, likely fosters intenseprejudice and discrimination, restricting Blacks’ access toresources needed to enter academia.

There is moderate support for the argument, underlyingHypothesis 2, that Blacks’ greatest employment opportu-nities are in the northern communities least affected byBlack migration. The slope coefficient of the dummy vari-able for regional peripheral destinations is positive andstatistically significant for nine occupations, including sixcultural apparatus occupations (male performers; femalemusicians; photographers; writers; and female and maleartists), two professions (dentists and college professors)and an entrepreneurial occupation (undertakers).

The greater odds of Blacks’ employment in undertakingtally with the claim that niche saturation is avoided whena minority group is small and/or stable. The greater oddsof Blacks’ employment in the other endeavors accord withthe proposition that a small and/or stable minority groupis less likely than a large and/or growing one to be a targetfor intense prejudice and discrimination. A small and sta-ble Black community might not be regarded as particularlythreatening to Whites. Thus, in such a community, Blacksmay find opportunities to obtain the resources neededfor dentistry, academia, writing, and photography, or todevelop constructive interracial relationships that secureemployment in show business, music, and the arts. Con-trary to Hypothesis 1, then, Blacks’ employment odds inthese Black Metropolis occupations are greatest in rela-tively small and stable regional peripheral destinations.

6. Discussion

There is little evidence that large and growing Blackcommunities have distinctive advantages that aid Blacks’employment in occupations relevant to the Dream of BlackMetropolis (Hypothesis 1). Support is particularly limitedin the analyses of entrepreneurial and public service occu-pations. Hence, there are few indications that large Blackcommunities provide exploitable consumer markets forBlacks in a broad spectrum of entrepreneurial ventures orgenerate voting blocs or pressure groups that open pos-itions for Blacks in local government offices or social serviceagencies. It follows that proposals, such as Black Capitalism,which assume that large Black consumer markets support

Black entrepreneurs, have an uncertain empirical founda-tion. It follows, too, that large numbers of potential votersand activists are insufficient to guarantee Black partici-pation in public sector occupations. These results imply

10 R.L. Boyd / The Social Science Journal 51 (2014) 6–11

Table 2Regressions of the odds ratio of Black occupational representation on Black population, logged, and dummy variables for national core destinations andregional peripheral destinations: northern cities, 1930.

Occupation Black population, logged National core destinations Regional peripheral destinations

Slope p-Value Slope p-Value Slope p-Value Intercept Adj. R2 p-Value

Undertakers (m)a 0.594* 0.015 −0.901* 0.026 0.719* 0.044 −5.098 0.300 0.127Performers (m) 0.263 0.051 0.284 0.161 1.147* 0.002 −2.217 0.667 0.002Photographers (m) 0.247* 0.004 −0.244 0.054 0.471* 0.006 −2.547 0.416 0.030Dentists (m) 0.235 0.079 −0.293 0.165 0.633* 0.037 −2.118 0.071 0.307Doctors (m) 0.135 0.101 −0.175 0.181 0.329 0.069 −1.101 −0.032 0.493Professors (m)b 0.122* 0.006 −0.213* 0.006 0.184* 0.022 −1.255 0.454 0.051Artists (w)c 0.106 0.074 −0.126 0.169 0.256* 0.049 −1.059 0.024 0.392Artists (m) 0.101* 0.006 −0.096 0.073 0.187* 0.010 −1.020 0.373 0.044Lawyers (m) 0.055 0.245 −0.071 0.316 0.245 0.078 −0.435 0.070 0.309Writers (m) 0.054 0.224 0.00001 0.500 0.321* 0.023 −0.474 0.350 0.053Retail merchants (w) 0.043 0.235 −0.160 0.082 0.093 0.227 −0.227 0.020 0.392Municipal officials (m) 0.042 0.233 0.041 0.349 0.077 0.256 −0.371 0.033 0.368Insurance agents (m) 0.040 0.348 0.029 0.439 −0.057 0.393 −0.223 0.018 0.395Retail merchants (m) 0.022 0.307 −0.036 0.326 0.009 0.460 −0.019 −0.187 0.850Bankers (m) 0.020 0.179 −0.013 0.372 0.048 0.139 −0.202 −0.112 0.671Musicians (w) 0.002 0.493 0.024 0.458 0.767* 0.005 0.508 0.742 0.0004Beauticians (w) −0.176 0.200 0.476 0.114 0.253 0.278 3.339 0.281 0.088Barbers (m) −0.209 0.107 0.107 0.362 −0.436 0.106 3.555 −0.001 0.431Ministers (m) −0.389* 0.043 −0.008 0.492 −0.441 0.163 6.665 0.441 0.024Social workers (w) −0.412* 0.043 0.395 0.175 −0.077 0.434 5.026 0.480 0.017Performers (w) −1.099 0.208 1.796 0.236 1.132 0.341 12.802 0.203 0.147Musicians (m) −1.683* 0.018 2.676* 0.034 0.681 0.326 19.775 0.687 0.001

Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census (1933a, 1933b).Notes: m = men only; w = women only. Occupations are ranked by value of the slope coefficient of Black population, logged.

a Missing Cincinnati, Detroit, and Minneapolis.b

Missing Detroit, Kansas City, and Newark.c Missing Pittsburgh.* p < 0.05 (one-tailed).

that future studies must reevaluate claims about inter-nal strengths of large Black populations (Lieberson, 1980,p. 297) and about the salience of boomtown dynamics inlarge Black communities for fulfilling the Dream of BlackMetropolis (Gregory, 2005, p. 117). Such claims apply to anarrower range of occupations than suggested in previousresearch.

Along these lines, there is notable lack of support forthe proposition that national core destinations provide thegreatest opportunities for creation of a Black Metropolis.Only in the analysis of Black men’s employment in musicis there evidence that these urban centers are uniquelyadvantageous. This finding counters the argument thatthe extraordinarily large Black communities of New York,Chicago, and Philadelphia offer the best hopes for Blacksto realize the Dream of Black Metropolis (Gregory, 2005,pp. 117–121). Apparently, even the biggest and most cele-brated Black communities have problems – prejudice anddiscrimination, for example – that limit Blacks’ occupa-tional prospects.

Nonetheless, there is also little evidence that north-ern Black communities’ size and growth reduce Blacks’employment odds in occupations associated with theDream of Black Metropolis (Hypothesis 2). Black commu-nity size is negatively and significantly related to theseodds only for music (males), social work, and the min-

istry. Further, there is scant evidence for the suggestion thatlarge Black communities suffer organizational difficultiesthat lower Blacks’ odds of employment in Black Metropo-lis occupations. Allegedly, urbanism and overpopulation

overwhelm Blacks’ efforts to establish socially and eco-nomically viable communities (Drake & Cayton, 1962;Frazier, 1966). Contrary to this argument, the slope coef-ficient of the dummy variable for the national coredestinations is negative and significant in only two anal-yses.

Putting these findings in a broader context, the Blacklabor supply increases that follow Black migration to citiesdo reduce Black workers’ wages in a wide range of occu-pations for the vast majority (about 90%) of Blacks inthe North (Boustan, 2009) and South (Sundstrom, 2007).Thus, conclusions based on Black Metropolis occupationsin the present study apply to a small segment of theBlack workforce. The consequences of Black populationgrowth are likely, on balance, harmful to the typical Blackworker.

There is some evidence for the proposition, fundamen-tal to the second hypothesis, that small and stable Blackcommunities are more conducive to Blacks’ employmentin Black Metropolis occupations than are larger and rapidlygrowing Black communities. In nine analyses, the slopecoefficient of the dummy variable for regional peripheraldestinations is positive and significant, notably for six ofeight cultural apparatus occupations: acting (males), music(women), photography, writing, and the arts (men andwomen). These findings imply that the northern Black

communities least affected by the first wave of the GreatMigration offer the best chances of Blacks’ employmentin endeavors pivotal to culturally expressing the Dream ofBlack Metropolis.

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Why? An answer is suggested by the “power threat”ypothesis that relatively small and stable minority groupsend to fare better, socially and economically, than largend rapidly growing ones. The former groups are less likelyo be perceived as threatening to the majority group andhus are less likely to be targets for intense prejudicend discrimination (Blalock, 1967, p. 150). It follows thatmaller, more stable northern Black communities are lessxposed to intense prejudice and discrimination than areheir larger and rapidly growing counterparts.

Other explanations seem less plausible. There is littlevidence that Blacks in smaller and more stable Black com-unities are better able to avoid niche saturation than their

ounterparts in other Black communities. The slope coeffi-ient of the dummy variable for regional peripheral centerss positive and significant for only one of the six occupa-ions in which Blacks are overrepresented (undertaking).urther, there is no evidence that Blacks in these commu-ities are better able than their counterparts in other Blackommunities to mobilize voting blocs or pressure groups.he slope coefficient of the dummy variable for regionaleripheral centers is non-significant in the analyses ofunicipal government offices and social work, and Blacks’

mployment in these public service occupations would bencreased by Black voting blocs or pressure groups.

The power threat hypothesis is plausible because, inmaller and more stable Black communities, there areewer obstacles, such as hostility and exclusion, to Blacks’mployment. In particular, there are less stringent barrierso Blacks’ access to the education and training needed tonter such knowledge-intensive fields as dentistry, pho-ography, and writing. It is possible, too, that Blacks inhese communities benefit from “freedom of expression”nd “useful interactions with whites” (Gregory, 2005, p.29) that facilitate Blacks’ employment in the arts, enter-ainment, and mass media.

However, one must also consider the possibility that, inome cases, this negative relationship between Black pop-lation size and Blacks’ occupational representation caneflect a “scale effect.” For example, a reasonably sizedlack community, say 1000 residents, will likely have at

east one Black physician; therefore, in unusually smalllack communities (say 500 residents), Blacks’ representa-ion in this profession might be extraordinarily large whenhere is even one Black physician.

In conclusion, the dearth of support for the hypothesesuggests that Black population size is, for the most part,nconsequential for Blacks’ employment in occupationsf the Black Metropolis. Additional research is, of course,eeded to corroborate this assertion. A longitudinal analy-is of data for the full length of the Great Migration would be

articularly useful. Nonetheless, the present investigation

s a starting point for future study of the role of Black com-unity size in Blacks’ employment in a wide range of pro-

essional, entrepreneurial, and middle-class occupations.

urnal 51 (2014) 6–11 11

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