Will “White Flight” Leave Us “Home Alone”?

By Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad     12/2/12

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has declared that the Black man and woman of America are the “Real Children of Israel.” We are not “Israel”—America is —but we are her misguided children whom she has convinced to stay in her house and depend solely on her for food, clothing and shelter. Black people seem to think that one day their foster parents will recognize them as equals, while Minister Farrakhan has warned us that as long as we are with white people we will be beneath white people.  The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has told us that separation is the only and best solution for the problems between Black and white people.

Although we may have different opinions about how warnings and prophecies are to be fulfilled, recent events and trends bear witness to the wisdom of those two great men. After America’s first Black President was re-elected to office on November 6, 2012, as of December 1, 2012 almost 1 million Americans have signed petitions on the White House website (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/) asking to secede from the Union.  While it has been hard to get Black people, who have suffered for over 400 years under white leadership, to even think about “separation,” many white people simply cannot take another 4 years of living in this country under a Black President.  At first these calls for separation or secession were overlooked or ignored by the mainstream media, but now governors of states like Texas and Tennessee have come forward to advise their constituents of the ramifications of secession from the Union.

Many of the states that have the most petitioners are not in a good fiscal position to pull out from the Federal government, because they get more federal revenue dollars than they contribute in taxes. No federal assistance means no more upkeep for highways, interstates or bridges, no federally funded law enforcement and fire departments, no public libraries, no phone lines, no cable television, no cell phone towers, no power grids, no water lines, no mail services, no paramedics, no hospitals that accept Medicare/Medicaid funding, and the list goes on.  After these hotheads cool down a minute, they may decide to take the route that many expatriates have taken in the last few years—leave the country.

Some whites are angry because President Obama got most of the Latino and Black votes, but they should be more concerned about the fact that 6,680,795 fewer white folk voted in 2012 than in 2008.  President Obama won by about 3 million votes, so if those other 6 million whites had made it to the polls then maybe Mitt Romney would be their new president.  What happened to those over 6 million white voters? Are they still here or have they left the country? As of 2009, there were over 6 million non-military U.S. citizens living abroad, an increase from the 4 million estimated in 1999.

By some estimates as many as 3 million citizens become expatriates per year.  Is this “white flight”?  We have experienced “white flight” after that first black family moves into a previously all-white neighborhood.  So since that First Black Family has moved into the White House, maybe some forward-thinking whites have decided to leave now and not wait for the inevitable time when whites become the numerical minority in America.  According to the Census Bureau, by 2046 whites will not be the majority ethnic population in America.  Some are not waiting but are leaving now.

According to Bob Adams, CEO of New Global Initiatives, one and a half million U.S. households are preparing to move out of the U.S. The vast majority of émigrés are in their 20s, 30s and 40s—not the older retired crowd. And we are not talking about the next major deployment of National Guard units to the Middle East. In fact, none of the emigrants are government workers or corporate employees leaving for temporary overseas assignments. This is a group of malcontents and adventurers. This news comes from a 2011 Zogby International poll of 115,000 Americans conducted from 2009 to 2011.
A recent Barron’s article, written by Bob Adams, breaks down the Zogby/New Global Initiatives data as follows:
1.6 million (U.S. households) have already made the decision to leave;
1.8 million are seriously considering and likely to leave;
7.7 million are somewhat serious about leaving and may do so;
3 million are seriously considering purchase of non-U.S. property;
10 million are somewhat serious about purchase of non-U.S. property.
Adding it all up, according to Mr. Adams, some 10% of all U.S. households are looking to leave the country, while another 11% are considering living outside the U.S. at least part time.

This trend was up from 2009, so what changed?  Let us look at the breakdown of the American population by age group. Those from 25 to 34 years of age are young adults, some 42,000,000 of them. They are among the most energetic, innovative and creative Americans. They go where they feel the jobs and excitement are. Mr. Adam’s wider research indicated a growing interest in Asia and Latin America, less so in Europe. Asia and Latin America have growing economies while Europe is stagnate like America.

In 2009, less than 1% of this age group was actually in the planning stages of relocation. In 2011, it was 5.1%. While the 35-to-54 and 55-to-69 age groups also set new highs, it is those aged 25 to 34 who are the major factor in the increase of interest. Behind them, the 18-to-24 age group includes many still in school or unable to find jobs. Those “seriously interested and likely to relocate” and those “somewhat interested and may relocate” rose to 39.6%. In other words, nearly 40% of that age group has turned their minds toward leaving the U.S., whether or not they can afford it right now. In 2007, that total was just over 15%.

And since this group, from 18-to-34, is of prime reproductive age, their out-migration dampens future population growth much more than would the out-migration of those over 54.  So as these highly trained and motivated young white people leave and the older whites who run things in America die, who will be home in the “House of Israel” to look after the “Children of Israel”?  Black folk, like that poor young fellow in “Home Alone”, had better wake up and learn how to take care of themselves swiftly.  “White flight” is pointing to a time when Black people will be “home alone” to fend for themselves.  The Honorable Elijah Muhammad warned, “Do something for yourself before you are forced to do it.”

(Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad, Ph.D is an Agricultural Economist, and member of the Nation of Islam Research Group. Visit them online at http://www.noirg.org, join the conversation on FaceBook.com/NOIResearch and Twitter @ NOIResearch)