Why is Boston a "white" city? (Cambridge, Harvard: mortgage, school tuition)

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by TheWB18

Boston hip hop is virtually unknown except to people who really know their stuff. Try asking a general listener who Edo G is.

Anyone who knows a lick about hip-hop should know who Guru is.

Agree on all other points.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by Cliff Clavin

Anyone who knows a lick about hip-hop should know who Guru is.

Or Benzino. Or Akrobatik.

But anyway...where in Boston can you go and find a truly diverse crowd? And by "diverse," I do not mean 80% white, 10% Asian, 5% Black and 5% Ambiguous.

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

Or Benzino. Or Akrobatik.

But anyway...where in Boston can you go and find a truly diverse crowd? And by "diverse," I do not mean 80% white, 10% Asian, 5% Black and 5% Ambiguous.

I'd have to say the Soul Revival parties attracted the most racially diverse crowd I've seen in the city.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

But anyway...where in Boston can you go and find a truly diverse crowd? And by "diverse," I do not mean 80% white, 10% Asian, 5% Black and 5% Ambiguous.

Using that criteria? Allston, Fenway, South End, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Cambridge, Quincy, East Boston, The West End (if people were actually walking around there), DTX, maybe parts of Brighton/JP/Roslindale, Chinatown, Mission Hill.

Even the North End, Brookline, Back Bay, Charlestown, and Southie aren't 100% white (it seems as though Southie is the whitest neighborhood in Boston).

Or you could just look at this: http://www.city-data.com/forum/27555244-post1.html

[TAM88]

Before it closed down due to multiple stabbings, the Kells in Alston used to have a nice mix depending on the night.

[mhsclassof00]

I think the point is though, if you have to search high and low for one or two places that have a mixed crowd, you know right then the city isn't diverse.

I've been in so many cities in the USA and the Europe. Boston is truly the only place I've ever been like this.

Even in places like... Hunstville AL, has a mix of clubs/bars --> "black" clubs/bars, as well as "white" clubs.

Now I'm not saying it was whites/blacks only, but clearly the target market was geared toward XYZ.

From a business standpoint, I do not believe any nightlife business has a target market toward blacks in downtown. I cannot speak for Dor, Mat or Rox as I haven't been there in years.

An Irish bar playing hip hop or R&B one Tues night isn't what I'm talking about.

[Cliff Clavin]

I don't believe there is ever a target market. Money talks. Most bar/club owners could care less about the color of the crowd, or the genre of music played, as long as the bar makes money.

I'd be willing to bet I could get Biff's to host Oompah bands on Saturday nights if the money was there.

[miu]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

Demographically, I believe Boston is the whitest city among its peers (DC, Philly, SF, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, etc). It's a much whiter metro area than those cities.

Really? But it's so culturally diverse. Remember, all the European countries are considered white.

Honestly, I prefer being surrounded by culturally diversity to mere racial diversity. And in regards to our lack of "blackness", the US is only 12% black. So why would Boston, being a New England city, be expected to be anything other than a white majority city and have more than 12% black people in it?

And really, Atlanta is so much more attractive to black professionals and young adult blacks. The area has more nice black neighborhoods there than here, and also many of their favorite black celebrities live there. People move to where they want to be and where it's already appealing to them, and it's much easier than creating what they want.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by iAMtheVVALRUS

Using that criteria? Allston, Fenway, South End, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Cambridge, Quincy, East Boston, The West End (if people were actually walking around there), DTX, maybe parts of Brighton/JP/Roslindale, Chinatown, Mission Hill.

Even the North End, Brookline, Back Bay, Charlestown, and Southie aren't 100% white (it seems as though Southie is the whitest neighborhood in Boston).

Or you could just look at this: http://www.city-data.com/forum/27555244-post1.html

Let me refine that question....

What restaurant, nightclub or bar can you walk into in Boston and find a diverse crowd of people of similar SES background?

When people make statements like "There are no black people in Boston" or "Boston is not really good for South Asians," they're not really saying what they really mean. They could easily go to Detroit and Guyana, respectively, and be surrounded by all of the Blacks and Indians they could ever imagine. They're seeking out similar SES blacks and South Asians just like whites seek out other whites of similar SES standing. There aren't too many white Ivy League students lining up to move to West Virginia after graduation after all, right?

If you're white, this is probably hard to understand because cities like Portland, Atlanta, Denver, DC, Boston, Chicago, Philly, San Francisco, LA, Seattle, Austin, and NYC are all filled to the brim with white people who shop at Whole Foods, drink specially crafted microbrews from Europe, and have an affinity for farmer's markets, locally sourced foods and Indie rock bands. White people who enjoy these cities would probably have a difficult time adjusting in a place where most white people shop at Walmart, live in trailer parks or equally ignominous 1970s-style tract housing, own guns and hunt (and wear the camouflage about town), drink Icehouse and Budweiser, drive gas guzzling SUVs, love God and hate gays, and prefer to watch American Idol and monster truck demolitions over the Daily Show. They'd be counting down the days until deliverance from "flyover" country.

For blacks, the Boston/Portland/Seattle equivalent is three cities: DC, Atlanta and NYC. Living in Boston for them is much like living in Macon, Georgia for a young, educated white liberal...probably not a lot of fun. Perhaps not as bad as Macon would be for a white liberal, but still a far cry from the DC and Atlanta cultural powerhouses.

The equivalent for Asians is the San Francisco Bay Area.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by miu

Really? But it's so culturally diverse. Remember, all the European countries are considered white.

Honestly, I prefer being surrounded by culturally diversity to mere racial diversity. And in regards to our lack of "blackness", the US is only 12% black. So why would Boston, being a New England city, be expected to be anything other than a white majority city and have more than 12% black people in it?

And really, Atlanta is so much more attractive to black professionals and young adult blacks. The area has more nice black neighborhoods there than here, and also many of their favorite black celebrities live there. People move to where they want to be and where it's already appealing to them, and it's much easier than creating what they want.

I didn't say that it wasn't culturally diverse. I just said that it's whiter than its peer cities. Philly and NYC also have a lot of ethnic whites, but their combined Black/Hispanic/Asian percentages are still higher on a metro level.

And statistics don't tell the whole story. If you're interviewing at a firm and you review the website, are there any associates of color beyond the two Asians and racially ambiguous fella shamelessly plastered to the firm's Diversity Page. Are there any minorities in influential positions in the business community there? These are things a lot of minorities are going to look at. Some may like Boston and stay (or move there), but many others may feel that their professional opportunities are limited by the lack of diversity in their field. Not to mention that their social life may be severely lacking. So it's not enough to just point at statistics. A black Harvard graduate wants to hang out at the typical Mattapan nightclub about as much as a White Harvard graduate wants to hang out at the typical Sandusky, Ohio sports bar next to the camshaft assembly plant.

I think some people may say: "Well, the Governor of Massachusetts is black. How could Boston not be great for black people??" They need to understand that that's just one guy. I don't think a lot of people understand that you can go to cities like DC and encounter black radiologists, endocrinologists, antitrust lawyers, researchers, engineers, etc. and not really think anything of it. You could walk into many coffeeshops on U Street and see as many black hipsters, professionals and "bupsters" punching away at their Macbooks as you do white.