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2nd-highest percentage of upper-income black families in D-FW area
09:07 PM CDT on Saturday, June 25, 2005
Lancaster's large African-American population did not prompt Malcolm
Mayo to buy a house there last year.
Mr. Mayo, 34, said it was because he could get more house for his money
in Lancaster – and still maintain a manageable commute to his financial
analyst job at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas.
Lancaster's proximity to Dallas is one of the features that makes it
attractive to newcomers, city officials say.
The majority of Lancaster's growth in the last 10 years has been in
black households.
In the 2000 census, the city's population was 53 percent
African-American. And a growing number of those households – 7 percent,
according to 2000 census figures – were in the upper-income bracket of
$100,000 or more.
In the D-FW area, Lancaster has the second-highest percentage of
upper-income households that are black.
The Dallas Morning News spent several months examining the
dynamics of affluent black households in the Dallas-Fort Worth
metropolitan region. The News analyzed U.S. census data from 1990
to 2000, comparing the growth in upper-income black households locally
and nationally. Reporters interviewed families, demographers, economists
and educators, as well as civic, business and religious leaders about
the status of black residents in the region.
Lancaster's median income is lower than some northern suburbs, such as
Frisco and Flower Mound. But the median income for black households
exceeds the median for all households.
Mr. Mayo shares his three-bedroom house with his sister and nephew, who
are living with him temporarily.
Now that he is acclimated to Lancaster, he spends more time there. He
says the city provides a pleasant contrast to Dallas.
"It's like night and day," he said. "It's peaceful. That's what I like
most."
Mr. Mayo, whose parents live in Dallas, moved here from Atlanta in 2000.
He rented an apartment in North Dallas before buying his Lancaster home.
Atlanta is often considered one of the best cities for professional
African-Americans in the country, but Mr. Mayo said both metro areas
have a lot to offer.
"I love sports and listening to jazz," he said. "I like to socialize,
and Dallas is a good place for that."
He is involved with several community organizations, including
Renaissance Community Development Corp., a nonprofit group that helps
kids find jobs in the food service industry.
"It's all about trying to give back. Being African-American, it's
important for me to give back to my community," he said, noting that if
people had not done the same for him, he would not be where he is today.
E-mail jlafleur@dallasnews.com
