DC WILLIAMS

@300furrybears @TyErwin9 @TheAleksee VCU’s historical presence in Richmond is limited to its roots as Hampden-Sydney’s medical school, later Medical College of VA. VCU only emerged in the 1960’s as a merger of MCV & a minor satellite campus of William & Mary called the Richmond Professional Institute.

@learnedcorvid @TyErwin9 @TheAleksee richmond has virginia commonwealth university which is by far and away bigger than university of richmond, that said if you wanted a nice undergrad degree, can afford it and can get in then yes go to UR. Both began in 1830s, one as a liberal arts college, other for medicine

@AlimKamat @Faj1791 @Jake_W your point regarding ATL being a black immigration magnet is also true & is a huge part of the intl migration that is making up for ATL’s slowing domestic growth. but due to Trump 2 chaos, the future of all US metros as magnets for highly skilled immigrantion is now uncertain.

@AlimKamat @Faj1791 @Jake_W yes, ATL’s true strength & talent magnet is as a meds + eds center, including it’s strong agglomeration of HBCUs, not entertainment. while peak college threatens smaller college & HBCU centered economies, schools in ATL are better positioned to survive.

This is a major example of why Georgia's trajectory is not going to be the same as Virginia's. This is not to say it will be a reliably red state anymore, either.

@JBSDC @ZaidJilani i would hope so, “20-years-ago” is a whole different country with a whole different discourse + context as to what constitutes “socially liberal”. even more so regarding issues relevant to state level politics.

@ZaidJilani Northern Cobb and even southern Cherokee are more socially liberal today than Fairfax was 20 years ago though.

It’s not going to be as socially liberal as Virginia because it’s more religious. Northern Virginia is not Atlanta. But, if Georgia republicans refuse to moderate they will not win a lot of elections going forward.

@ZaidJilani socially liberal is not how i would describe VA Dems. VA has persisted as a strict law-and-order state regardless of party since the Byrd Machine days. it’s always been way more anal about speed/traffic enforcement, vice & weed possession than neighboring states & still is.

@AlimKamat @Faj1791 @Jake_W ultimately creative & entertainment job growth potential is limited & hobbled in states without Medicaid expansion & with restrictive unemployment benefits.

@AlimKamat @Faj1791 @Jake_W the entertainment industry is fickle outside of LA + NYC & the future of creative jobs are uncertain even there. before ATL, the center of the film industry in the south was Wilmington, which disappeared overnight along w the tax breaks.

@PeterGr329 @TheAleksee true! Nashville & Richmond also. i think it comes down to large cities that didn’t get non-HBCU public unis until the 20th century, where local elites backed urban private unis to fill the void. for whatever reason these pockets are way more intense + persistent in TX though.

@learnedcorvid @TheAleksee It's kinda like that in New Orleans and Birmingham

@TyErwin9 @TheAleksee the closest equivalents in large southern cities outside of TX are in cities that never had or didn’t get non-HBCU public unis until the 20th century & where elite-backed private unis filled the void like CLT, W-S, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Birmingham, Richmond.

@TyErwin9 @TheAleksee i think this is a very Texas phenomenon bc outside of Austin, in the big cities private universities were established way earlier & are larger due to a lack of real public alternatives in urban areas until relatively recently.

@TheAleksee i guess Charleston/Mt Pleasant & Wilmington/Wrightville Beach is kinda similar but reactionary wealthy pockets in small retirement & tourism centric cities is a wholly distinct phenomenon IMO

@TheAleksee isn’t HP/UP GV HOU Arrow etc more a Texas phenomenon than a southern phenomenon? outside TX, E Memphis/Germantown is close-ish. no equivalent in ATL nor RDU. S CLT wedge has faded rapidly, same with West W-S. Kernersville is kinda Grapevine-ish i guess?

@ardent_guru @Jake_W this + GA population growth, particularly domestic migration growth, has slowed down overall. reverse Great Migration is flowing to lower CoL metros that aren’t experiencing the recent steep job market declines + CoL increases in legacy Black middle class Meccas like ATL & DMV.

@Jake_W Georgia black share is declining though. I don’t see it moving too much left

12-16 years from now, I expect Georgia is going to end up resembling the inverse of North Carolina: It will go blue for Pres races, have a blue or split Senate delegation, and will generally go red for state races. You could say Georgia would be the New Hampshire of the South.

@Jake_W isn’t that inversion pretty much already the case? with current trends, i expect NC Dems’ Council of State dominance to spill over into regular federal Senate + Presidential wins before GA Dems break through the GA GOP’s monopoly over at-large state offices.

@eschensam @TheAleksee Between NC & SC River Basins⇄Metros w Mixed polarization: Yadkin X Cape Fear⇄Greensboro-High Point Waccamaw/Pee Dee X Cape Fear⇄Wilmington-Brunswick Co-Columbus Co Exceptions that Fuck My Theory Up: Rockingham Co Johnston Co Craven Co + Carteret Co Dare Co Onslow Co

@eschensam @TheAleksee River Basins that empty via NC⇄Metros w Mid-Atlantic polarization: Haw/Cape Fear⇄Durham-Chapel Hill Chatham Co West Wake Co Fayetteville Hoke Co Neuse⇄Raleigh Wilson Goldsboro Tar/Pamlico⇄Henderson Rocky Mount Greenville Roanoke/Albermarle⇄Roanoke Rapids Elizabeth City