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You’ve heard of white flight. The phenomenon where white people pack up and move from their homes in an area that is becoming less white and more racially diverse. This has occurred several times throughout history. For instance, during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, whites moved out of cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and Oakland in response to Black people from the rural southern United States moving into urban cities of the northern and western U.S.

Although the term “white flight” is visceral and captures the strong motivation that whites had to flee these areas, historian Amanda Seligman argues that the phrase misleadingly suggests that whites immediately departed when Black people moved into the neighborhood, when in fact, many whites defended their space with violence, intimidation or legal tactics. Professor of Economics at Princeton, Leah Boustan attributes white flight both to racism and economic reasons.

As a psychologist, it is racism and economic reasons once again that explains what I am witnessing in the geographical movement patterns of the Black tech clients I serve. In a historical clap-back, I am centering this phenomenon as “Black Flight” from the bay area.

Black Flight — The phenomena where Black people pack up and move from their homes in an area that continues to lack the types of community and belonging required for thriving.

Dr. Meag-gan

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed