| Black Belt (region Of Alabama) |
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Alabama 's Black Belt is a region of the state, part of the larger Black Belt Region of the Southern United States , which stretches from Texas to Virginia . This region includes some of the poorest counties in the United States . The name referred originally to the thin layer of exceptionally fertile black soil which encouraged cotton farming in the pioneer period of Alabama history. It may just as well now refer to the exceptionally high proportion of African American residents in these counties. :Major characteristics of Black Belt counties include:
In Alabama, the heart of the Black Belt is centered in western part of the state between the Appalachian foothills and the coastal plain. The list of counties comprising the Black Belt is often dependent on the context but traditionally includes Barbour , Bullock , Butler , Choctaw , Crenshaw , Dallas , Greene , Hale , Lowndes , Macon , Marengo , Montgomery , Perry , Pickens , Pike , Russell , Sumter , and Wilcox . Sometimes the region is extended into the southern coastal plain to include Clarke , Conecuh , Escambia , Monroe , and Washington Counties. Though Montgomery County meets both the soil and demographic traits of the Black Belt. it is often excluded because of its significant Urban development. Lamar does not meet the soil traits but is often included due to its lack of enterprise. The Black Belt had a population in 2000 of 727,762 which is 16.3% of the states population at the time. In recent electoral maps, the Black Belt has appeared as a "Blue Belt" because of its strong support for the Democratic Party . With the exception of parts of the city of Birmingham , the outline of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District roughly matches the Black Belt region. Artur Davis currently represents that district in the United States House Of Representatives . REFERENCES
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Merged material from Alabama Black Belt below (needs editing into the article) The Alabama Black Belt refers to a Crescent-shaped region in the United States Of America stretching from Texas to Virginia and including Alabama . Originally named for the color of its dark, rich Soil , it was also the part of the South where Slavery was most profitable, and therefore where slave numbers were highest. Thus the term ''Black Belt'' acquired its dual reference to the quality of the land and to extensive slavery. The Black Belt takes on many names and meanings in the United States. Known as The Black Belt rich soils stretch from Georgia across Alabama and Mississippi. The soil is very rich and underlain by Limestone known as Selma Chalk . It has been described as being home to “the richest soil and the poorest people.” The term Black Belt has also been designated to counties where black people outnumber the white. Over half of the population in the Black Belt is African American. The Black Belt Region also refers to the area of 623 southern counties that have this higher African American percentage. They form a belt like pattern through Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Sometimes, it is called the “Blue Belt,” because it has such a high concentration of Democratic support. The counties are also characterized by rural decline, poor education systems and problems with poverty, health, housing, and underemployment. When white people entered the region in 1816, their suspicion of the darker soil kept them from settling. It was not until the 1830s that whites forced out the Choctaw s and Chickasaw s and began settling. It became a major cotton plantation region. During the Civil War, it was untouched by the Northern armies and helped supply food to Confederate soldiers. In the middle of the 20th century, Chicago used the term “ Black Belt Of Chicago ,” to describe an area of Chicago where mostly African Americans lived. The community was actually built for African Americans because the white people did not want any intermingling. REFERENCES |
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