For far too long, our discussion of race and place has centered on the city. The Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro Movement changed our lens from the South to the North. There is more that we need to be looking at to capture the story of Black people in the United States.

Even though the majority of Black Americans (51%) were suburbanites in 2019, there are large gaps in our understanding of how living in suburban spaces structures the social, civic, and political experiences and outcomes of Black Americans. This survey will have widespread utility among scholars in the social sciences (sociology and political science) and the fields of education, urban affairs, and public policy.

Visualizing Variation in Majority-Black Suburbs in the United States (Douds, Lewis-McCoy & Johnson 2021)

The aim of this visualization is to highlight sociodemographic variation among Black suburbs and spur further research on them. The authors provide a sociodemographic portrait of Black suburbs, defined as those that are more than 50 percent Black, to highlight their prevalence and variety.

R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy

Associate Professor in the Sociology of Education program at New York University

Kimberley Johnson

Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and Affiliate Faculty of the Wagner School at New York University

Kiara Wyndham

Assistant Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis

Payton Johnson

PhD Student in Sociology at New York University

Xinyi Zhang

PhD Candidate in Sociology at New York University

The National Survey of Black Suburbanites will survey a nationally representative sample of Black suburbanites as well as a smaller comparison sample of Black urbanites to explore experiences and outcomes across varied spatial configurations. In its aim of providing nationally representative data on critical topics for a specific racial group for the first time, NSBS is distinct from these other surveys not only in its focus on Black suburbanites but also its place-based approach and focus on understanding local community perceptions and experiences.