Boston Racial Stigma- is it "cool" to hate on Boston? (Harvard: houses, neighborhoods)

[BostonBornMassMade]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/...stonian-proud/


People used to say Jae’da Turner was stuck in Boston.

Because Black folk from outside of the city often see it as a place to pass through but not plant roots. Those people are not from here.

Turner isn’t trapped. She’s at home.

“Having to defend Boston is a real sport,” Turner says. “As a student at Northeastern, people coming from New York, California, and all across the country, I think they honestly love to hate Boston. It’s like a little club. It’s not cool if you say you’re from Boston.”


And that’s the Boston Turner fights to celebrate. Growing up in Dorchester and Mattapan, she saw Black people owning triple-deckers and houses passed down through the generations. As a child, parent-teacher conferences were held at the historic Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, the oldest descendant of the African Baptist Church. The Boston she knows is Black, proud, and beautiful. She’s committed to continuing that legacy.


Is this true? It may be uncomfortable to admit-but is it true? I find this to be very true for black people who've never spent significant time in Boston. But I also find it true for 'woke' white people and the social justice inclined anchors at ESPN. But has anyone ever actually stopped and thought about the damage that this inflicts on black and brown Bostonians psychologically and socially. I for one say that the aversion to Boston and considerations for its black and brown community-form other POC and white people alike. Is easily far more hurtful and impactful than whatever racism we may encounter in Boston. And it's more omnipresent.

I mean how could it actually help the city turn a corner when there zero support for the city's oppressed from people outside of the city. It's one thing to have the image of Boston be whitewashed but to have the actual discussion of the issue also be focused on the experiences of visitors or experiences in white neighborhoods is more damaging.


Critical video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXpgPC3wr40

[ParaguaneroSwag]

For anyone 30 or so and under, it definitely seems cool to call Boston racist. I just wish it were cool to call other similar places racist too.

[As Above So Below...]

Id say for a lot of people under 30 its become cool to toss around the word racist like its going out of style. The term has lost a lot of its meaning for overuse.

As for Boston, just like everywhere else, its filled with mostly great people who are objectively not. I dont find it more of less racist than anywhere else. Every city has its share of racists.

[masssachoicetts]

Usually it's just ignorance.

It's like when people say New York City is poor and smells like garbage. Probably never have been there.

Los Angeles is full ditzy Kardashians that thrive off their parents' bank accounts!!!

Chicago is Iraq (chi-raq). Nobody sees chicago as safe!!

Seattle freeze. No one is friendly!!!

Miami is all racist cubans and black people fighting!!

DC is sterile and boring!!

Boston is racist!!

See, all of these are stereotyes that people think that aren't true. Or are an extreme exaggeration. Obviously, racism is more of a serious topic than garbage or friendliness. But still, it's just plain ignorance. Gotta laugh at the people who really think their narrow-minded views are reality.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Usually it's just ignorance.

It's like when people say New York City is poor and smells like garbage. Probably never have been there.

Los Angeles is full ditzy Kardashians that thrive off their parents' bank accounts!!!

Chicago is Iraq (chi-raq). Nobody sees chicago as safe!!

Seattle freeze. No one is friendly!!!

Miami is all racist cubans and black people fighting!!

DC is sterile and boring!!

Boston is racist!!

See, all of these are stereotypes that people think that aren't true. Or are an extreme exaggeration. Obviously, racism is more of a serious topic than garbage or friendliness. But still, it's just plain ignorance. Gotta laugh at the people who really think their narrow-minded views are reality.

Disagree strongly. At least for black people Friends have refused to viti me in Boston. Ive been blocked or banned for comments/replies saying maybe its not as racist. It's much deeper than ignorance but because I'm not from not Boson it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what it is.

Whit folks are a bit less racially aware and for them it may just be ignorance more often than not. I've got that vibe. Some woke white people who seem to have a dissertation ready are less willing to concede that.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

For anyone 30 or so and under, it definitely seems cool to call Boston racist. I just wish it were cool to call other similar places racist too.

I get the same amount of resistance from older black people who grew up in the 70s/80s. Usually, in regard to my city, they cite Red Sox, bussing and Charles Stuart and its a closed book.

There are however many older black people that over the course of their long lives have become more familiar with black Boston and or the culture there. They've just had that overlap, by chance, overtime.

I also find that in the 1960s/70s when black people were getting "established" in these big northern cities as a fore to be reckoned with- it must have been an exciting time with people freely visiting the black enclaves of various cities-Boston included. As media became bigger and more influential from the 1980s onward you had a heavy over-representation of white Boston and an underrepresentation of Black Boston which contributed to the "mainstream media" image of the city that's settled in.

I do think though that the Boston is racist rallying cry has picked up over the past few years as systemic racism is being reexamined. It's considered 'enlightened to look at Boston as opposed to southern locales. I also get this weird weird notion that people think Bostoniansdont know this rep or don't think there's racism in the city or don't talk about it. Couldn't be further from the truth. Its pretty much always a topic of conversation in Massachusetts-non stop. Long before George Floyd.

What's more disturbing about this^ is it totally obliterates decades of anti-racist work by black people and their allies in Boston. Too many efforts to change Boston have been called surface level or ineffective and it's a serious disincentive form continuing the work if it's never going to be appreciated.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Now i could be wrong. But in my opinion, Boston’s particular racism comes from the way it was set up. The power house established through Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, etc have centuries worth of dominance and Boston falling particularly behind other metros in investing in focusing on equal opportunity.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Now i could be wrong. But in my opinion, Boston’s particular racism comes from the way it was set up. The power house established through Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, etc have centuries worth of dominance and Boston falling particularly behind other metros in investing in focusing on equal opportunity.

MIT Harvard are very active on the side of Black Boston and have been since the 1960s. BC I would be considered an inclusive elitist and not having any desire to make inroads with Black people in the area. FWIW many people of all races in Boston don't much like BC and it gets little community or political interest. BU has less of a negative rep but still doesn't much engage with Black Boston.

Growing up I went to scholarly Saturday sessions at the Dubois Society at Harvard. Black professors and their associates taught black students from Boston middle and HS and gave us homework. They even aid for meals for us. All on the campus of Harvard University. They would go on to write college recommendations and stuff for all of us who needed it. Harvard also extensively have documented life in Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester over the decades. With things like it s"Heart of the City" series in the early 2000s and short films and research on black life in Boston. They keep a black basketball head coach who brings players to meet with local elected officials all over MA. Harvard is also where Benzino founded the Source.

Cant group all the universities together. MIT, Harvard, Umass Boston, and Northeastern Emerson are very much so more welcoming than BC Bentley Babson.

BUt yes much of Boston racism does come from its setup. Most things are set up on a hyper-local, insular level from government, to housing to social circles.

People are deeply loyal (to friends, traditions, neighborhoods) but also somewhat temperamental and have a strong concept of "private space in public" which equates to leaving people alone or ignoring them so they feel like they're not being encroached upon or forced to be performatively kind/talkative. For black people from the south, where friendliness is a skill and county government span huge land areas-its kind of the antithesis of that culture they grew up with.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Disagree strongly. At least for black people Friends have refused to viti me in Boston. Ive been blocked or banned for comments/replies saying maybe its not as racist. It's much deeper than ignorance but because I'm not from not Boson it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what it is.

Whit folks are a bit less racially aware and for them it may just be ignorance more often than not. I've got that vibe. Some woke white people who seem to have a dissertation ready are less willing to concede that.

I mean when other cities are statistically and visually worse and when those who visit all parts of Boston realize it's not as bad as it's made to be, it comes down to pure ignorance.

There's a noticeable "Boston is the most racist city in the world!" Until they visit, and then it's "oh it's not the worst"

[HeadedWest2020]

I don't know many minorities who love Boston.