Everything about Black Belt Region Of Alabama totally explained
Alabama's
Black Belt is a region of the state and part of the larger
Black Belt Region of the
Southern United States, which stretches from
Texas to
Maryland. The term referred originally to the region underlain by a thin layer of rich, black
topsoil developed atop the
chalk of the
Selma Group, a
geologic unit dating to the
Cretaceous Period. The soils have been developing continuously at least since the
Pliocene Epoch.
Though the earliest settlers avoided farming the black soil, it proved exceptionally productive during the period, beginning in the 1830s, when
cotton plantations made up Alabama's major industry. Before the
American Civil War, these plantations were worked by
African American slaves and the region attained its highest density of population. Descendents of freed slaves remain on the land, and make up the largest proportion of the population in most Black Belt counties. Thus the term "black belt" is understood today as a demographic characterization as much as a geologic one.
Alabama's Black Belt includes some of the poorest counties in the
United States. Along with high rates of poverty, the area is typified by declining populations, a primarily agricultural landscape with low-density settlement, high unemployment, poor access to education and medical care, substandard housing and high rates of crime.
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 historically includes
Barbour,
Bullock,
Butler,
Choctaw,
Crenshaw,
Dallas,
Greene,
Hale,
Lowndes,
Macon,
Marengo,
Montgomery,
Perry,
Pickens,
Pike,
Russell,
Sumter, and
Wilcox. By this definition, Alabama's Black Belt had 727,762 residents in 2000, or 16.3% of the state's population.
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's often excluded because of its significant
urban development.
Lamar doesn't meet the soil traits but is often included due to its lack of enterprise.
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 7th congressional district roughly matches the western Black Belt region.
Artur Davis currently represents that district in the
United States House of Representatives.
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