Discrimination in Atlanta? (Franklin, White, Buckhead: apartments, construction, contractors)

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Britishintown

So does the black community in Atlanta see itself as a minority even though they are the majority population?

The simple answer is "yes". Or more likely if you want to dip into psychology 101, it would be that a certain percentage of people here always consider themselves "victims". Victims of being held back, victims of discrimination, victims of corporate America. Truth be told, they are victims... of parenting where they are raised to believe that all ills are the blame of someone else.

I remember a coworker I once had who according to her, everyone was out to "get the black person". Whites, Hispanics, Asians, even Jews - they were all out to "eliminate" the black race. She really and I mean really thought this was true. She even said that *someone* had been putting something in the foods that blacks prefer to eat that causes diseases that blacks are prone to more than Whites, etc. Sometimes when she would preach this stuff in the break room at work, other blacks would knod their heads and quietly let out an "ummm hmmmm" as if to acknowledge that they too, felt this way. A couple would just tell her that she was crazy, and the others would shy away from those folks.

Remember not long ago when Bill Cosby gave his famous speech about how so many problems in the black community were of their own doing now, and how they must fix it themselves? He is pretty much an outcast now in the lower-middle to lower-income black community... simply for saying that. An old slang would be that he is considered an "Uncle Tom" - though that phrase isn't used as much anymore. A team of people from the UK once came over to a business I was involved in and a few members of them were black, but born and raised in the UK. I cannot repeat many of the comments they had when exposed to the Atlanta community, but one of them said something to the effect of, "so, aside from being professional victims, what DO the black people here do in their spare time?". Needless to say, I think they felt happy to go back to London.

There is no need to joust about it, though. One side is right, one side is wrong - and which one that is depends on which side you represent here. Nothing will change any minds, and the fact that this particular city is minority-majority makes no difference. If there's a controversy, a corrupt politician, an unethical event unearthed, you will definately hear the cries of "racism" called out by the "victims" when they get caught.

The educated on all sides of the racial spectrum do not fall for this here, you will discover. However, you will also discover that there are apparently a lot of uneducated here as well, unfortunately, so, the cries continue.

[Britishintown]

Expect a visit from Louis Farrakhan and a couple of his sidekicks anytime now Greg.

Good reply, very tongue in cheek and you are certain to get some comments, Bill Cosby made a lot of sense with that one.

[Merin]

Originally Posted by Britishintown

So does the black community in Atlanta see itself as a minority even though they are the majority population?

Some do some don't. The Black Community is diverse, there is no one who "speaks" for all of us, we all have different beliefs based many contributing factors. The Previous Posters comment, made it seems like Minority=Victim. Just because I am a minority doesn't mean I think of myself as a victim, but my minority status in this nation most likely does contribute to certain aspects of discrimination I face. This is my personal opinion based on my own experiences. I am in an interracial marriage in Atlanta, so I believe my experience is different from those who are not.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by irvm

If you plan to spend most of your time looking for racial slights, you'll find some.
Hey, I'm white, scotch-irish, and sometimes people (other white, scotch-irish) are rude. It isn't always racial - we figure they're from New Jersey and don't know no better.

Being from New Jersey I have to wonder what that means.

[Merin]

Originally Posted by OhioNative

It's still a free country, and anybody can trivialize anything they want, minority or not.

I think the poster was trying to say it "cannot" be trivialized by someone who has never been in that position.

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Remember not long ago when Bill Cosby gave his famous speech about how so many problems in the black community were of their own doing now, and how they must fix it themselves? He is pretty much an outcast now in the lower-middle to lower-income black community... simply for saying that. An old slang would be that he is considered an "Uncle Tom" - though that phrase isn't used as much anymore.

Not really. Last time he was in Atlanta, he spoke at a grade school off on the westside of Atlanta and was received very well. Those that had an issue with Bill Cosby did not have an issue with what he was saying, but with whether he should "air dirty laundry" in front of the general public.

Contrary to popular belief, we don't sit around and complain about "the man". Blacks like me actually grew up, studied hard, graduated from college, etc. We were raised to be aware of our surroundings, work twice as hard since we will be judged twice as hard by others, and respect your elders. We were also raised to raise our voice when something isn't right.

Yeah, you have conspiracy theorists and paranoid folks, but they constitute the fringe of the black community. Some of the windbags on Fox News love to exploit this segment of the black community to make it look like that most of us are crazy.

A team of people from the UK once came over to a business I was involved in and a few members of them were black, but born and raised in the UK. I cannot repeat many of the comments they had when exposed to the Atlanta community, but one of them said something to the effect of, "so, aside from being professional victims, what DO the black people here do in their spare time?".

Tell your black Brit friends that in my spare time, this black guy here loves to travel to Europe or go snowboarding out west in his spare time.

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by Merin

I think the poster was trying to say it "cannot" be trivialized by someone who has never been in that position.

I don't know, it sounded like someone trying to be the thought police, and that is something that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, regardless if it is coming from the left or right.

[happymom4]

Originally Posted by irvm

If you plan to spend most of your time looking for racial slights, you'll find some.
Hey, I'm white, scotch-irish, and sometimes people (other white, scotch-irish) are rude. It isn't always racial - we figure they're from New Jersey and don't know no better.

Love that last line

[melhr1206]

Thanks for your clarification! … I decided to post this message after reading some threads that talked about interracial relationships in general and how some people respond to cultural differences. Then again, we both feel attracted to Atlanta because of its location, fast-growth and cost of living standards. Our decision is critical as Atlanta may/will be our last stop to settle and grow roots.

Re discrimination, even though Canada is a place that embraces different cultures, we have found that discrimination is hidden in the workplace – even in big diversified cities such as Toronto. After six years of being here, we have managed to overcome these issues by working hard, studying like crazy and obtaining certifications in our fields – Architecture and Engineering. These processes are demanding in terms of time and patience … J

As atlantagreg30127 pointed out we do recon the importance of speaking English fluently. However, race and color differences are critical at least when doing first impressions.

Canada and US have so many similarities but in other aspects these two countries seem to differ. The more understanding about these (+ and -) aspects the better for our moving strategy.

We are planning on a temporary visit to Atlanta for job hunting. What areas are recommended i.e. proximity to downtown, close to potential companies/employers, residential, condo buildings, etc? … Do you guys have any comments re online job search? …

Once again, thanks for the info.

[qdnatl]

Originally Posted by melhr1206

Hi
My husband and I are considering moving to Atlanta. We are Hispanic with Canadian Citizenship. Both of us have MBAs, over 10yr exp, and currently work in highly paid jobs (Real Estate and Management Consulting, respectively). We are moving to be closer to our parents.
Since Atlanta is perhaps one of the fastest growing cities in North America, there’s a lot of potential. However, following on previous posts we are wondering if there is discrimination / racism at professional levels.
Thanks for your feedback.

As a multi-degreed African-American male living in Atlanta, I must say that yes there is discrimination/racism at the professional level. I’ve experienced it first-hand on more than one occasion. However, I would expect this is the case anywhere yet more prominent here in the South.

I will leave you with something that a VP of a national bank once told me and that I’ve found to be true: Don’t be fooled by the “Titles” of the black people in the city, they are merely masks of the “good ol’ boy” network. They may have VP in the front of their names, but at the end of the day they aren’t the ones sitting at the table per se and making the decisions….the white men are.