In 1889 the Madison Street Cable Car began service up the hill into the area, and more Black families moved in.

[8][9] Unlike other redlining efforts in the United States, the neighborhood was already established as a home to African-American, Jewish, and Asian families because of the distribution of land by Grose.

During World War II, presidential Executive Order 9066 made possible the removal of American citizens of Japanese descent from the West Coast.

This and many race-restricted covenants to the north and south paved the way for more African Americans to find a new home in the Central District as part of the Second Great Migration to the city in search of employment opportunities in the munitions plants during the war as well as taking advantage of the post-war economic expansion.

[11] By the 1970s, Central District was a largely an African-American neighborhood and the center of the civil rights movement in Seattle.

Low-income segments of the population are moving southward toward the Rainier Valley, while more affluent residents, who might otherwise have purchased homes on Capitol Hill, Madrona, Leschi, or Mt.

Baker are moving into the Central District as real estate and rental property become more expensive in the former neighborhoods and commuting times and costs make suburban areas less attractive.

[13] Due to this market pressure, housing in the Central District is mixed, with some homes on the verge of condemnation, and others having recently undergone extensive renovation.

It is home to the Northwest African American Museum, The Liberty Bank Building, the historic site of the first black-owned bank in Seattle,[15][16] Medgar Evers Pool, and the Second Headquarters of the Seattle Black Panther Party and The People's Wall.

[17] In 2022, the William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation and Enterprise was opened by a non-profit organization, Africatown Community Land Trust.

[20] The RapidRide G Line, a limited-stop bus rapid transit route, launched in September 2024 and serves the north end of the neighborhood on Madison Street.