How Much Has Race Relations Changed in Chicago in the Last 15 Years? (Aurora: fit in, transplants)
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How Much Has Race Relations Changed in Chicago in the Last 15 Years?
Hello to all!
Obviously by my screen name I live in Atlanta. But I was born and raised in Chicago. I moved to Atlanta as an adult.
I've lived here for several years and I really don't like Atlanta. I would like to move back home because I miss everything Chicago has to offer and all the cool stuff to do. However, as a black person I experienced lots of blatent racism from whites growing up there. Though I live in the south, it's rather ironic that I have experienced far less racism here than in Chicago. Sure I have experienced some here but not nearly as much, and not nearly as bad. Growing up in Chicago racist whites were very outward with their hatred and downright hostile.
While living in Atlanta though 60% black, I have dated interracially with men of varios backgrounds. When living in Chicago that never would have happened. Here my social circle is 95% white and Asian. Things just ended up that way for me here.
I have a teen (now a freshman in high school) that has attended very good, diverse inner- city schools while living here. Though mostly white they still have diverse bodies of students and everyone gets along just fine. My daughter's social circle is also mostly white and Asian. Her best friend is Jewish.
With all that being said, regardless of what I experienced growing up in Chicago, I have always been open-minded, seeking out other cultures, learning different languages, wanting to make friends of all races, and not making being black a prerequisite for who I date or marry. I have raised my child to be the same way.
Though diverse and full of various ethnic groups and neighborhoods, Chicago has always been pretty segregated.
How much has race relations changed in the years that I've been gone? What should I expect if I move back? Would it be tough for my child who has bascially grown up in an environment where race doesn't matter?
I think that the question of race relations is different for a teen than for a dating adult. That means you (and your inter-relationships) may have changed as much as the city. You noticed that the Cook County board president is a black woman married to a white man? It has not really been mentioned.
Your teenage daughter's experience will be colored by the school you choose and where you choose to reside.
Obviously by my screen name I live in Atlanta. But I was born and raised in Chicago. I moved to Atlanta as an adult.
I've lived here for several years and I really don't like Atlanta. I would like to move back home because I miss everything Chicago has to offer and all the cool stuff to do. However, as a black person I experienced lots of blatent racism from whites growing up there. Though I live in the south, it's rather ironic that I have experienced far less racism here than in Chicago. Sure I have experienced some here but not nearly as much, and not nearly as bad. Growing up in Chicago racist whites were very outward with their hatred and downright hostile.
While living in Atlanta though 60% black, I have dated interracially with men of varios backgrounds. When living in Chicago that never would have happened. Here my social circle is 95% white and Asian. Things just ended up that way for me here.
I have a teen (now a freshman in high school) that has attended very good, diverse inner- city schools while living here. Though mostly white they still have diverse bodies of students and everyone gets along just fine. My daughter's social circle is also mostly white and Asian. Her best friend is Jewish.
With all that being said, regardless of what I experienced growing up in Chicago, I have always been open-minded, seeking out other cultures, learning different languages, wanting to make friends of all races, and not making being black a prerequisite for who I date or marry. I have raised my child to be the same way.
Though diverse and full of various ethnic groups and neighborhoods, Chicago has always been pretty segregated.
How much has race relations changed in the years that I've been gone? What should I expect if I move back? Would it be tough for my child who has bascially grown up in an environment where race doesn't matter?
The key to understanding Chicago and its surrounding areas in terms of race relations/interracial dating, is to break down the region into specific areas.
Check out a poster by the name of (I believe) ptug101. I think that is his name. Or you can just do a search for "ptug."
He has some great posts that can be helpful to anyone understanding the race relation landscape of the greater Chicago area.
His analysis is analysis I 100% agree with.
The best areas in the Chicago in terms of this would include:
Evanston, Oak Park-Forest Park, and Hyde Park-Kenwood have a strong mix of liberal-college townish community with a significant population of upper middle class blacks.
The mixed laid-back, middle class far western suburbs that revolve around a plethora of suburban entertainment/shopping where people from all backgrounds hangout at the same places like Schaumburg-Hoffman Estates, Bolingbrook-Naperville, Aurora, where there isn't the lingering effect of old-school white ethnic Chicagoans that live in segregated neighborhoods 40-50 years ago.
Also, check out the better areas of the south suburbs EAST of I-57. This is definitely one part of Chicagoland where it is very clear that:
black does not always equal underclass, and white does not always equal well off.
Example you have upper middle class majority black suburbs of Flossmoor-Olympia Fields, but you also have trailor park Caucasians in Hammond, IN, etc. Even majority white communities like Lansing is better than the southwest suburbs, because that dynamic present.
I think all these areas will have what you like about Atlanta.
To stay away from what you are talking about:
I would avoid the southwest suburbs (everything between I-55 and I -57) starting with Bridgeport close to downtown. The SW neighborhoods on the fringe of the city have many cops that frankly say things that make you think Rodney King, and the further SW burbs (Palos-Tinley-Orland) are suburbs that have a strong "white flight" vibe. This is NOT everyone, and possible Orland Park, as it has the largest shopping mall in the south sector of Chicagoland has people from all over.
Also, Lincoln Park and to a lesser extent Lakeview have a lot of people that although love the diversity and vibrancy of the city, but many of them grew up in areas with low diversity and have very high standards and expectations for urban safety and have low tolerance for any BS, and that there may be instances where reactions from people in those neighborhoods (again Lincoln Park more so than Lakeview) may be interpreted as racial. They are not likely racist, but they prefer the already established already very safe, are interested in living in an urban environment that does NOT have an "edge"
Also to check out:
For those neighborhoods that are more mixed and diverse, where people are more willing to live in neighborhoods that have a bit more of an edge, check out the north lakefront (Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park). But choose your street carefully, as the safety in those areas are more street by street.
Also, the near north side (River North/Gold Coast, Streeterville) is the most cosmopolitan part of the city as it is where the tourists are as well as more transplants from beyond the midwest (as opposed to Lincoln Park and Lakeview).
Also, you can check out Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, as the neighborhoods are very open minded and where people value culture and diversity, but the overall vibe is very hipster and bohemian, so if you are not into thriftshop fashion, indie rock, hip dive bars, alternative everything, it may be easy to feel out of place. I will also that apart from concerns about people being priced out, the artsy-hipster crowd and the more established Puerto Rican communities do get along quite well.
I would avoid the southwest suburbs (everything between I-55 and I -57) starting with Bridgeport close to downtown. The SW neighborhoods on the fringe of the city have many cops that frankly say things that make you think Rodney King, and the further SW burbs (Palos-Tinley-Orland) are suburbs that have a strong "white flight" vibe. This is NOT everyone, and possible Orland Park, as it has the largest shopping mall in the south sector of Chicagoland has people from all over.
This is very true. In fact, white flight is the reason we're moving from the SW burbs to the western burbs. You can have the trashy hole we used to call home.
Justice = ghetto jr. Hickory Hills = "West Bank meets South Side Chicago"
Chicago is pretty bad when it comes to race relations. It's very fake here with people smiling in your faces and using the 'n-word' when they get home. It's one of the worst places in the country.
As always after you leave your beloved hometown your perspective will change a great deal. You will not be able to fit into the mold of the old Chicago native. Therefore you will need to choose your neighborhoods as such.
Chicago IMO, is still one of the best places to live in the world. One thing for sure midwesterners are definatly more open about their racism. Though I have not lived in Atlanta I've worked with many from that area and you are more likely to hear racial slurrs from a Chicagoan than you would anywhere in the southeast. On the other hand you can take people for who they are up here without any suprises.
Im not going to repeat what has already been said about the different neighborhoods, but everything is pretty much on point. As the ole saying goes when people show you who they are you better listen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD
Hello to all!
Obviously by my screen name I live in Atlanta. But I was born and raised in Chicago. I moved to Atlanta as an adult.
I've lived here for several years and I really don't like Atlanta. I would like to move back home because I miss everything Chicago has to offer and all the cool stuff to do. However, as a black person I experienced lots of blatent racism from whites growing up there. Though I live in the south, it's rather ironic that I have experienced far less racism here than in Chicago. Sure I have experienced some here but not nearly as much, and not nearly as bad. Growing up in Chicago racist whites were very outward with their hatred and downright hostile.
While living in Atlanta though 60% black, I have dated interracially with men of varios backgrounds. When living in Chicago that never would have happened. Here my social circle is 95% white and Asian. Things just ended up that way for me here.
I have a teen (now a freshman in high school) that has attended very good, diverse inner- city schools while living here. Though mostly white they still have diverse bodies of students and everyone gets along just fine. My daughter's social circle is also mostly white and Asian. Her best friend is Jewish.
With all that being said, regardless of what I experienced growing up in Chicago, I have always been open-minded, seeking out other cultures, learning different languages, wanting to make friends of all races, and not making being black a prerequisite for who I date or marry. I have raised my child to be the same way.
Though diverse and full of various ethnic groups and neighborhoods, Chicago has always been pretty segregated.
How much has race relations changed in the years that I've been gone? What should I expect if I move back? Would it be tough for my child who has bascially grown up in an environment where race doesn't matter?
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