Over the past decade, Texas and Florida, two states known for hurricanes and extreme heat waves – but mild winters – have seen the most new residents as roughly a third of relocating Americans say “better weather” is the reason for their moves. The South has reaped these benefits: By 2030, the region is expected to be America’s most populated for the first time.
The trend underscores two decades of transformation dubbed the “Reverse Migration,” where the descendants of Black migrants who moved to the North and Midwest between 1915 and 1970 are moving back to the South, the only region with more Black people migrating in than out since 2000.
For Black folks, this presents a unique set of considerations — and challenges. It seems that in the attempt to escape the environmental racism and the poor health outcomes of the North and Midwest, Black people are essentially moving toward the epicenter of climate disasters’
See “Moving South, Black Americans Are Weathering Climate Change” (December 13, 2023)
