Why is Boston a "white" city? (Lowell, Cambridge: how much, neighborhood)

[charleschap]

If you really want to look at this issue you need to look at the Boston metro area of almost 5 million people. Boston proper itself is very small geographically and only has a population of approx 650,000. Boston proper has a high concentration of minorities in Roxbury, dorchester, mattapan, and eastie. Suburbs and inner suburbs are mostly white except for Randolph, Brockton, Chelsea, and Everette. I think Boston has fewer black folks than other Northern cities because during the Great Migration, Boston had already declined industrially and did not have the job opportunities that say Detroit or Philly would have.

[TAM88]

Boston being a white city, or a very racist city is one of the big false assumptions people on these threads make. People bring up the busing situation back in the 70s, or claim that the city is simply racist as their rational as to why minorities or in lower numbers in the city.

[TAM88]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Lots of Brazilians too. I thought Boston was fairly diverse, I'd say on par with San Francisco. It's pretty far off from Los Angeles or Miami though.

I would agree. Then again, very few cities in North America are as diverse as Miami and LA. Both have a massive Latino populations for obvious reasons.

[johnathanc]

Boston is viewed as a white city because most downtown neighborhoods are predominately white. These are the crown jewel neighborhoods that almost everyone will visit during their travels to Boston. I live in one of these neighborhoods and thus understand that this is all people will see. I will also add that unlike other cities I've lived/visited, most minorities in the Boston area don't seem to frequent the downtown neighborhoods in the same numbers. So on a given Friday night, the city will still seem majority white in many restaurants/bars in the downtown spots. The student population is large and does add to diversity, however. Another reason is that I find New England culture remains very dominant versus other cultures. This gives the city a unique charm versus your typical eclectic feel that is found in other big cities, but also contributes to the white city image.

[miu]

First, to me Portland, OR is a very white city. Secondly, being predominately white doesn't automatically translate to a city being racist. Or an area being very pricey to live in also doesn't mean that place is racist either.

People live where they want to live. It seems to me that people prefer to live amongst others that share their same language, culture and spirituality. Hence the clusters of Asians, Italians, Brazilians. Russian Jews and Armenians (just to name a few groups) in the Boston area. And the more desirable a location, the higher the real estate prices.

[McSyddy]

Originally Posted by iAMtheVVALRUS

I feel like on multiple occasions on this forum I've heard people say things like "Boston is a good city for white people", or "white people like Boston", or something along those lines. I just don't understand why people say these things when Boston isn't intensly more white or less diverse than other major US cities, like San Francisco. And I don't think I've ever heard SF refered to as a "white" city. In fact, I feel as though, unlike Boston, diversity is often mentioned as one of SF's strong points.

Boston: SF:

47% white 42% white
24% black 6% black
9% asian 33% asian
18% hispanic 15% hispanic
2% 2 or more races 7% other races
5% 2 or more races

just curious are you a minority? also, do you live in Boston? or are you just looking at numbers? Im not trying to be a smartass, i really would like to know.


I am one of the ones you probably have seen say "white people love Boston" but that doesnt mean there arent any black people here. Those are two completely differnt things. there are a lot of black people here, but to compare it to NYC, PHILLY, or DC, all these other places is crazy. I went to college in DC and have frequently some of the other places you have listed and its just different. Just because the numbers show that there are black peole here doesnt mean that nightlife for us is abundant, or that we even like it, among other things. when i was in DC (DMV area) and i would go to a nice restaurant i would see all different races, but when i go out here, its just me and whoever im with. if i want to go to a nice bar here, im probably going to be around mostly white/asian people and listen to top 40. i mean, i dont want to babble, but it truly is different.

[edwardsyzzurphands]

I also believe there is a expectation from some black folks that Boston's black culture will be similar to other US cities. In Boston I agree when you compare it to cities like Atlanta, DC, Philly and NYC there is not a strong African American cultural presence in the city, relative to population.

On the other hand though Boston has an extremely strong Black West Indian, Brazilian and Cape Verdean culture when you compare it to many (If not most US cities) How many cities can say they have 3 24 hour West Indian stations on the FM dials? There is also 2 large carnivals, countless restaurants and events catering to this community. Myself being Jamaican was more than happy with my cultural experiences when I still lived in Boston full time. There is actually a large Caribbean professionals event I plan on attending this weekend before I head back to London.

I do concede though that many of my African American friends who visited Boston did find it lacking in that department, but my Black friends from the Caribbean and Africa commented on the wealth of options. I guess it is all what interests you and you are looking for.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by McSyddy

just curious are you a minority? also, do you live in Boston? or are you just looking at numbers? Im not trying to be a smartass, i really would like to know.


I am one of the ones you probably have seen say "white people love Boston" but that doesnt mean there arent any black people here. Those are two completely differnt things. there are a lot of black people here, but to compare it to NYC, PHILLY, or DC, all these other places is crazy. I went to college in DC and have frequently some of the other places you have listed and its just different. Just because the numbers show that there are black peole here doesnt mean that nightlife for us is abundant, or that we even like it, among other things. when i was in DC (DMV area) and i would go to a nice restaurant i would see all different races, but when i go out here, its just me and whoever im with. if i want to go to a nice bar here, im probably going to be around mostly white/asian people and listen to top 40. i mean, i dont want to babble, but it truly is different.

No, I'm not a minority, I'm Irish (boring, lol). And for clarification, I didn't mean for my original complaints to be centered around blacks, because honestly I don't spend much time in the predominantly black areas of Boston and therefore I don't know about the extent of black nightlife options.

You see, I don't spend much time in Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester, but I know that when I walk around my area (Allston) and I see practically as many Hispanic and Asian people as white people. I walk down Comm ave and I see a large amount of Hispanic, Asian, and black people. I walk down Brighton ave and even parts of Beacon st and I see more Burmese, Vietnamese, Korean, Brazilian, and Middle Eastern restaurants than French or Irish restaurants. And also I spend a lot of time in Harvard square and the Longwood medical area where I see tons of different people walking around. So from my point of view, I've never been able to understand why people see why people see Boston as a majority white city, even when I'm in whiter neighborhoods like Dedham, I know that there are also neighborhoods/cities like Allston or Lawrence or Mattapan or Eastie that aren't all white. To me if places like this exist, then the city isn't an all white city.

And I do also know black people that like it. And also why is it that a city's white-ness depends on the size and vibrancy of its black population? I pointed out that Boston has a higher Hispanic and Asian concentration than other cities on the east coast (apart from NYC). Am I saying that Boston isn't a majority white city? No but I do think that the minorities have a strong enough presence that it's wrong for someone to say that Boston is only a good place for white people.

[MikeNigh]

Race and ethnicity: Boston | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Essentially the entire urban area is white. This isn't normal at least for major north eastern city standards.

Somewhere like baltimore it would be the exact opposite -
Race and ethnicity: Baltimore | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[lovelife11]

Originally Posted by polo89

As a matter of fact, New Edition(who were all from Roxbury and grew up in a housing project there) was probably the Biggest sign of Black life the US got from Boston.....But then again New Kids On The Block came right after them(And NKOTB were ironically from Dorcester).

Actually Jordan and Jonathan are from Worcester which is central mass, Donny is from Dorchester. Joey is from Needham.