Race and Ethnic History of New York City - Overview

Overview

The population of New York City was overwhelmingly Non-Hispanic White until the post-WWII era. Large numbers of non-whites only began settling in Manhattan in the 1920s and in the rest of NYC after World War II. The slowest area in NYC to change its racial makeup was Staten Island, which was the only borough of New York City to retain a Non-Hispanic White majority after the 1980s. Between 1900 and 2010, New York City's total black population increased by about thirty-five times, while its Asian population increased by over one-hundred-and-fifty times over the same period. The large black migration to New York City helped cause the Harlem Renaissance, a rich cultural period for the African Americans living in NYC (especially in Harlem neighborhood, the namesake) between the end of World War I and the Great Depression. NYC's Hispanic population increased by almost twenty times between 1940 and 2010, while its total Non-Hispanic White population decreased by over 60% over the same time period.

New York's five boroughs have had different settlement histories. The Bronx and Brooklyn were the most popular destinations for blacks to settle, while Queens was the most popular destination for Asian migrants to NYC and the Bronx was the most popular destination for Hispanic migrants to move to. NYC's total population more than doubled between 1900 and 2010 (with a period of population stagnation between 1950 and 1990). The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island experienced enormous population growth between 1900 and 2010, much higher than NYC's average population growth. Brooklyn's population grew at a much slower rate during this time period, while Manhattan actually had fewer people in 2010 than in 1900.

New York City has always had a much greater percentage of immigrants as part of its total population than the whole United States has. Right before World War I over 40% of New York City's total population was composed of immigrants. After immigration restrictions were passed in the 1920s, immigrants as a percentage of NYC's total population dropped to 18% in 1970, before bouncing back up to 36% in 2000. The recorded increase in NYC's immigrant percentage after 1970 occurred after the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 (which took effect in 1968) and at a time when a greater number of immigrants than before were coming to the United States. Most of the earlier immigrants to New York City were from Europe (initially from Western Europe, and then more from Eastern Europe). A large percentage of the immigrants that came to New York City after 1965 were from non-European countries. Large numbers of Irish people arrived in New York City during the Irish potato famine in the 1840s, while Germans, Italians, Jews, and other European ethnic groups arrived in NYC mostly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A large percentage of the immigrants that came to New York City after 1965 were from non-European countries.