History of White Americans in Baltimore
The history of White Americans in Baltimore dates back to the 17th century when the first white European colonists came to what is now Maryland and established the
Demographics
White population in Baltimore | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Percentage | |
1790 | 88.3% | |
1800 | 78.8% | |
1810 | 77.8% | |
1820 | 76.6% | |
1830 | 76.5% | |
1840 | 79.3% | |
1850 | 83.2% | |
1860 | 86.9% | |
1870 | 85.2% | |
1880 | 83.8% | |
1890 | 84.5% | |
1900 | 84.3% | |
1910 | 84.8% | |
1920 | 85.2% | |
1930 | 82.3% | |
1940 | 80.6% | |
1950 | 76.2% | |
1960 | 65% | |
1970 | 53% | |
1980 | 43.9% | |
1990 | 39.1% | |
2000 | 31% | |
2010 | 29.6% |
In the
In 1815, 36,000 white people lived in Baltimore. By 1829, Baltimore was home to 61,000 white people.[6]
From 1800 until 1840, white Americans were around 77–79% of Baltimore's population. The white population began to increase in the mid and late 1800s, boosted by large-scale European immigration, resulting in Baltimore's whites remaining between 80% and 87% of the population between the 1850s and the 1920s.[5]
During the time of the Hillbilly Highway, between 1910 and 1970, thousands of white people from Appalachia and the Southern states moved to Baltimore in search of better socioeconomic conditions. Baltimore was a major destination for these white Southern and Appalachian economic migrants.[citation needed]
In the 1960 United States census, Baltimore was home to 610,608 white residents, 65% of Baltimore's population.[7] By 1970 white Americans were 53% of Baltimore's population, on the verge of becoming the minority for the first time due white flight to the suburbs and an increasing African-American population.[5]
In the 1980 United States census, there were 345,113 white people living in Baltimore, constituting 43.9% of the population. The 1980 census was the first census for which white people were a minority in Baltimore.[8] By the 1990 United States census, there were 287,753 white Americans, constituting 39.1% of the population.[8]
In the 2010 United States census, 29.6% of the population of Baltimore was white, a total population of 183,830 people.[9]
In 2018, 30.3% of Baltimore was white and 27.6% was non-Hispanic white.[10]
Baltimore's white population has been increasing in numbers since the 2010s. This is largely due to gentrification and an influx of white millennials.[11]
History
Pre-history and early white European exploration
In the early 1600s, the immediate Baltimore vicinity was populated by
In 1608, Captain John Smith traveled 210 miles from Jamestown to the uppermost Chesapeake Bay, leading the first European expedition to the Patapsco River, a word used by the Algonquin language natives who fished shellfish and hunted[18] The name "Patapsco" is derived from pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth" in Algonquian dialect.[19] A quarter-century after John Smith's voyage, English colonists began to settle in Maryland. The English were initially frightened by the Piscataway in southern Maryland because of their body paint and war regalia, even though they were a peaceful tribe. The chief of the Piscataway tribe was quick to grant the English permission to settle within Piscataway territory and cordial relations were established between the English and the Piscataway.[20]
17th century
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18th century
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19th century
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20th century
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During the
The largely white Baltimore Committee for Political Freedom was created due to fears that Baltimore police were planning to assassinate Black Panther Party leaders in Baltimore, with Reverend Chester Wickwire and the sociologist Peter H. Rossi playing a prominent role.[23]
21st century
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Due to demographic and socioeconomic changes, Baltimore's urban core is slowly becoming more white and more affluent. Young urban professionals have been attracted to the city, echoing patterns of gentrification that have occurred across many major American cities in recent decades. As the city's white population has increased and the rate of poverty has dropped, income and property values have been rising. The effects of gentrification and a growing white population have been felt the most in the historically black working-class neighborhoods of East Baltimore and to a lesser extent in the neighborhoods of North Central Baltimore. The proximity of these neighborhoods to the Johns Hopkins Hospital has been a major factor in the gentrification and increasing white population of East Baltimore's neighborhoods.[24] Because of these demographic changes, Baltimore has been called "the new Brooklyn" and has been compared to similarly gentrifying cities across the United States such as New York City and Washington, D.C.[25]
Culture
Dialect
According to linguists, the "hon" accent that is popularized in the media as being spoken by Baltimoreans is particular to Baltimore's white working-class.[26] White working-class families who migrated out of Baltimore city into Baltimore County and Carroll County along the Maryland Route 140 and Maryland Route 26 corridors brought local pronunciations with them, creating colloquialisms that make up the Baltimore accent, cementing the image of "Bawlmerese" as the "Baltimore accent". This white working-class dialect is not the only "Baltimore accent", as Black Baltimoreans have their own unique accent. For example, among Black speakers, Baltimore is pronounced more like "Baldamore," as compared to "Bawlmer" among white speakers.[27]
Literature
In 2003, Kenneth D. Durr published Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980, an historical examination of white working-class life and politics in Baltimore during the mid to late 1900s.[28]
Religion
Most White Americans in Baltimore are
Christianity
During the 1800s and 1900s, many neighborhoods of Baltimore were reserved exclusively for white Christians. One such neighborhood, Roland Park, was developed as a wealthy white Christian enclave for "discriminating" people that used racially restrictive covenants to exclude African-Americans. Some white Christian neighborhoods used restrictive covenants to exclude Jewish Americans as well. At that time, living in a white Christian neighborhood was a sign of social status.[29]
During this same time period, white Protestant-dominated banks would ignore or turn away customers who were Eastern European or Southern European immigrants; consequently "white ethnic" immigrants would establish their own banking institutions to serve the specific needs of their communities. These banks for white ethnic immigrants had hours and customs that seemed less alien to immigrants and often had translators on staff. Discrimination against non-
Baltimore, like many other major
Judaism
A large minority of white Baltimoreans have been Jewish, predominantly Ashkenazi Jews of European descent. Between the 1880s and the 1920s, Baltimore received tens of thousands of white
Islam
There are a small number of white Muslims in Baltimore, most of whom are converts. Some white Muslims have earned leadership positions within their communities, with a few becoming teachers at children's schools for their local mosques.[37]
Majority white neighborhoods in Baltimore
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2019) |
See also
- Ethnic groups in Baltimore
- White Hispanic and Latino Americans
- History of Baltimore
- History of the Hispanics and Latinos in Baltimore
- History of the Jews in Baltimore
- Non-Hispanic whites
- Old Stock Americans
- White Americans in Maryland
- White flight
- History of the Irish in Baltimore
- History of Czechs in Baltimore
- History of Poles in Baltimore
- History of the French in Baltimore
- History of Lithuanians in Baltimore
- History of Russians in Baltimore
- History of Ukrainians in Baltimore
- History of Italians in Baltimore
- History of Greeks in Baltimore
- History of the Germans in Baltimore
- History of Syrians in Baltimore
- History of the Appalachian people in Baltimore
References
- U.S. Census Bureau. July 1, 2017. Archived from the originalon February 13, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES". www.census.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ISBN 0-8156-3105-7
- ^ "Two Baltimores: The White L vs. the Black Butterfly". Baltimore City Paper. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ a b c "Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For Large Cities And Other Urban Places In The United States" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Mount Vernon Place – Stories of Slavery & Emancipation". Baltimore Heritage. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Census Tracts Baltimore, Md" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ a b "Census 1980, 1990 and 2000 Profile of General Demographic Characteristics (PDF Format)" (PDF). Maryland Department of Planning, Maryland State Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". American FactFinder. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Baltimore's Demographic Divide". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- OCLC 18473413.
- ISBN 0-8139-1422-1. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ Youssi, Adam (2006). "The Susquehannocks' Prosperity & Early European Contact". Historical Society of Baltimore County. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ Alex J. Flick; et al. (2012). "A Place Now Known Unto Them: The Search for Zekiah Fort" (PDF). St. Mary's College of Maryland. p. 11. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
- ISBN 978-0-313-38126-3. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- Susquehannockshad reduced...the Piscataway 'empire'...to a belt bordering the Potomac south of the falls and extending up the principle tributaries. Roughly, the 'empire' covered the southern half of present Prince Georges County and all, or nearly all, of Charles County."
- ^ A Point of Natural Origin Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine and Locust Point – Celebrating 300 Years of a Historic Community Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, Scott Sheads, Mylocustpoint.
- ^ "Ghosts of industrial heyday still haunt Baltimore's harbor, creeks". Chesapeake Bay Journal. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
- ISBN 978-0-313-38126-3. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- Baltimore Sun. 26 December 1911. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Baltimore Civil Rights Heritage 1930-1965". Baltimore's Civil Rights Heritage. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "1966–1976: After the Unrest". Baltimore Heritage. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Maryland Demographic Assessment" (PDF). The Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers (MACHC). Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Baltimore's white population swells with millennials, resembling D.C., Brooklyn". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "The Relevatory Power of Language". Maryland Humanities Council. May 11, 2019.
- ^ DeShields, Inte'a. "Baldamor, Curry, and Dug': Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans". Podcast. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Heineman on Durr, 'Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980'". Humanities and Social Sciences Online. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Jewish congregation begins new chapter in Roland Park". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ Scarborough, Melanie (2007). "Establishing Roots in the Community". Community Banker. Washington, D.C.: America's Community Bankers. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "OBSERVER; Prejudices Without The Mask". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Baltimore Church Faces Its History of Racism". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "Baltimore". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "2010 Baltimore Jewish Community Study". 2010 Baltimore Jewish Community Study. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "The story behind Baltimore's Jews and their African-American ties". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "In face of doubters, Black rabbi finds his spiritual destiny Faith is Proof Enough". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ISBN 9789004299948.
- ^ "Armistead Gardens Ready to Experiment". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ^ "The tale of two Targets, a Baltimore segregation story". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
Further reading
- Durr, Kenneth D. Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980, The University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
- Pietila, Antero. Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City, Ivan R. Dee, 2010.