klondike & smokey city

Population Demographics

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Introduction

In the 20th century, Smokey City and Klondike were among the many examples of stable African-American working-class residential areas in Memphis. These two neighborhoods were severely impacted by the decline of industrial-era manufacturing jobs in Memphis. Their combined population declined from slightly over 7,000 residents in 2000 to less than 4,000 in 2020. While both neighborhoods have similar demographic and economic characteristics, they are physically separated by US Interstate 40, and residents consider them to be distinct communities.

Below we review the general characteristics of Smokey City and Klondike, using both US Census data and perspectives from current residents. When reviewing the Census data, it is important to keep in mind that we are somewhat limited by the definitions the Census Bureau uses for geographic areas (census “tracts”). The Bureau's boundaries for tracts and block groups line up nicely with residents' understanding of which city blocks constitute Klondike; census tract 112 is essentially identical to the neighborhood as understood by the people who live there. However, Smokey City is not so fortunate in this regard. What the community thinks of as Smokey City comprises all of census tract 19 and half of census tract 20, with the other half of 20 extending into the Uptown neighborhood. Uptown has received attention from the city and from developers in recent years, while Smokey City has languished in underservice, making interpretations for Smokey City alone based on data that includes tract 20 more difficult. Thus, our census-based comparisons between Klondike and Smokey City show greater differences between the two than actually exist on the ground.

Geography & Demographics

For most of the 20th century, Memphis had many successful Black neighborhoods where residents worked at stable jobs, owned their own homes, and built a strong sense of community. Highlighted by the Orange Mound neighborhood on the south side of the city, this set of Black communities also included Smokey City and Klondike as prominent examples. In the face of Jim Crow, redlining, and many other obstacles, the Black population of Memphis banded together in networks of friendship and trust that helped people survive and even thrive.

Located half a mile north of Memphis’ Midtown and the Medical District, and with excellent road connections to all parts of the metro area, Klondike and Smokey City are well placed to support thriving families in a moderate-density urban residential environment. Unfortunately, in the 21st century they have received inadequate support from local governments and outright neglect from commercial interests.

The collapse of industrial-era businesses in North Memphis, most prominently the closure of the Firestone tire plant in 1983 with the concomitant loss of almost 2,000 jobs, was a massive disruption to several adjacent neighborhoods that had long depended on income from industrial jobs. In 2000, the Census Bureau estimated the combined population of Klondike and Smokey City* at 7,071 residents, already down over 25% from the 1990 total of 9,759. Over the last twenty years, with no local job creation and little investment from the city, these communities saw their resident population cut almost in half, now standing in the 2020 census at 3,896.

All data from the US Census Bureau.

Younger residents, facing poor job prospects in their home neighborhoods, are unable to stay on and maintain long-term cohesion and social support across the community. The remaining residents are an aging population, more than 10 years above the metro average in Klondike and in the eastern half of Smokey City.** Their continuing struggle to prevent the dissolution of one of the most successful and longstanding Black neighborhoods in the city is what we at Whole Child Strategies are committed to support, because once a neighborhood's social cohesion is completely gone, rebuilding effective connections from scratch becomes a much longer and more difficult process.

* Using tract 112 to represent Klondike and tracts 19 and 20 to represent Smokey City. In 1990, Klondike was covered by tracts 5 and 18.

** Census tract 20 includes relatively recent-build apartment complexes in the Uptown neighborhood that have a much younger population, skewing the overall figures for Smokey City considerably.

Economic Impact

The impact of almost nonexistent job prospects, failing education systems, and government disinvestment on the livelihoods of community residents is profound:

Only 43% of heads of household in Klondike have at least a high school diploma or GED. With so few residents able to access a living wage job, the effects are drastic: the median household income in the neighborhood is one-quarter that of the metropolitan Memphis average, and half of Klondike households are below the federal poverty line.

Recall that the census tracts we use to represent Smokey City also extend into the Uptown neighborhood, which has received much more attention in recent years from investors and from the city. Thus, while Smokey City’s economic numbers appear better on the surface, it is quite likely that a survey of census tracts 19 and 20 that did not include the city blocks in Uptown (west of Manassas Street) would result in numbers very similar to Klondike’s. Even with part of Uptown included, median income in the Smokey City census tracts has been holding at about half the metro average, with one-quarter of households below the poverty line… a profound inequity, regardless of where the boundaries are drawn.

Working Where the Need is Greatest

The people of Klondike and Smokey City are still striving to keep their communities alive and thriving. Whole Child Strategies is committed to helping them organize, prioritize, and evangelize on the road to reversing the losses of recent decades. We invite you to learn more about the people of North Memphis, their efforts to sustain and improve their communities, and our activities in support of their cause.