Black Professionals on the Northside of Chicago? (homes, neighborhood)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

Of course the tragic reality of race in America is that many whites would feel uncomfortable living in a city with these demographic proportions too, and would be absolutely petrified to live in a city with 30% minority population.

Perhaps these preferences explain why its so hard to have a stably integrated community. African-Americans avoid towns with a miniscule minority population, and whites flee towns once the minority population exceeds the "tipping point".

I kind of get the feeling that Oak Park has stabilized as an integrated community... However, I've heard that many white parents are getting nervous about the elementary schools becoming "too black", since African-American parents in Oak Park have more kids in public school per capita. I think the elementary schools are about 40% African American, even though the village itself is about 25% African American. The high school is mixed with the predominantly white River Forest, so it has a smaller percentage of African Americans.

Have you picked up on any nervousness about the diversity of the elementary schools? I personally think it's a good thing, and is one of the reasons Oak Park is appealing to me as a place to raise kids. Afterall, the test scores for kids from stable family environments with educated parents are actually off the charts in Oak Park.

[just cool]

I am sure this subject has long been done with by the OP. But as I read the replies and answers to her original question, I felt obligated to give a different perspective.

To Address the question first-are there any areas on the northside where there are a good number of young black professionals? Your answer is yes, but there not in a dense population base. They are spread throughout multiple "young trendy neighborhoods on the Northside". As far as other areas such as Evanston, the black population is most middle class families and not young. The other draw back is the City-Burb issues that cities like Evanston, Harvey and Maywood possess- I will explain that issue shortly.

As of spring 2009 the enclaves in Chicago where you can find young black professionals are: Bronzeville, Hyde Park, South and West Loop and parts of Kenwood. And the reason most of them (from perception based on many conversation and blog readings over the years) live on the Southside is because they are transplant and recognize and appreciate the rich cultural history of those areas. When most native black Chicagoans don't.

Take Bronzeville for instance, in its prime it had more successful black buisness men than Harlem. It was only 2nd to Harlem in regards to the amount of the black residents that were the high profile celebrities, athletes and entertainers of the day. So, naturally it is a great place for young blacks to revitalize.

Even now in cities like Atlanta there are NO young black professional inner city enclaves..in Atlanta you have great history as well but you look at Auburn ave..where the MLK jr center is and a neighborhood that once was boasted in the 1920's as being the most affluent African American street in the country..even with some new housing construction there are not young blacks living there..the area is still mostly a slum. The fact is that most young black professionals don't live in the inner city they live in Far out suburbs and don't have any suburb or neighborhood where they are highly concentrated. Places like Decatur and Cascade are mostly older middle class and older Black Families. Also, Atlanta Young Professional's are a mythical group..because young blacks are here for the Club/Hip Hop scene..almost everyone here is getting a record deal or working for some wanna be rapper..living in an cheap apartment but have a 700 dollar car note. Check Best Places . net its great for statistics. There is not a heavy dose of blacks in the higher up in the corporate world here, trust me I work for Home Depot Corporate. The Bottom line we have the 2nd highest percentage of blacks with education in the country and a worse than national average job market. Facts even before the current economic condition we had a horrible foreclosure rate.

How does the above paragraph relate to your question..well I use Atlanta as an example because you have to becareful of how we classify Successful young black professionals and the area they live in. Atlanta is cool to visit or if your an entertainer but its one of the most segregated cities in the country..so, with that said even on the northside without a huge black enclave you still will have a great cultural experience and meet like minded quality black professionals. And Chicago will have all black clubs,bars like any other city.

Houston, Nashville yes Nashville and even Dallas are great places for young black professionals..good job markets..with stability in the industry of choice..Houston-Nasa, Oil etc.., Nashville- Real Record Labels and the music industry in general..Dallas-oil...all these places have no state income tax and low cost of living with good paying jobs and educated blacks..But chicago beats them all with its beaches, cultural venues and transportation and food...

I have lived all over Atlanta for 10 years, Chicago, Charlotte, Cleveland Memphis, Houston. So, I have a pretty good perspective. As far as the aforementioned City-Burb issue i mentioned..the reason I brought that up is beause the reason why their called city-burbs (Evanston, Maywood, Harvey) is because not only do they border the city but they also have the same crime issue with crime and gangs as the city of Chicago does. Evanston southend (chicago border) /Howard street/ the Jungle has always had a bad crime rate and reputation since my Grand mother who lived on the southside of chicago but worked at St. Francis in Evanston was traveling up there.. Although it has gotten better with the reduction of section 8..the south and westends of Evanston are still having issues..even though the westend is not a downtroden area..but another issue in and of itself..Maywood and Harvey face the same issue.. but my question is..when are we as young black professionals going to make a difference and reinvest our time and hearts in those communities to show them the right way...after all we all are only strong as our weakest link..

[roboto]

Originally Posted by VDUB75

Here are my top five areas for young black professionals.

1. South Loop (Almost downtown but not quite, enough diversity for everybody to feel comfortable)
2. Bronzeville/The Low End (rapidly being redeveloped will remind you of a baby Harlem, but of course there is only one Harlem).
3. West Loop (As Borat would say Niiice)
4. Hyde Park/Kenwood (Kind of lame, you will do most of your hanging out elsewhere. Near the University of Chicago)
5. South Shore (This is about as grimy as you want to get)

There are many nice neighborhoods throughout the city, but I wouldn't recommend them for a transplant.

Good Luck
VDUB

Im not black, Im filipino and have friends of different races, but I would agree very much with this list. From my perspective theres a lot of black professionals in the south loop (its very diverse here), and some places Ive been to in the south loop (lounge, clubs, and some bars) were actually mostly black patrons. South loop is a great place for any ethnic professional really, you never would feel out of place, close to downtown job, growing/restaurant bar scene etc.

Bronzeville has a lot of black professionals, and a lot of indians and asians too (in prairie shores etc). Obviously most places with lots of black professionals seem to be on the southside. Hyde park is the most famous right now due to Obama. Theres a lot of richer black famillies there it seems. But I wouldnt sell places like Edgewater and uptown short.

Very interesting conversation to read here about blacks in Chicago. Some ethnic groups assimilate more with whites than others, I think. Asians assimilate for example, while latino and black dont as much. Other groups still keep to small cliques, even while living in white areas. I would have a hard time to live in a place like Lincoln Park, it seems very bland and boring, and a lack of culture. Anyways, good luck to the OP.

[tb4000]

The main problem is that when there is a pretty aflluent black area in any area in this country, at some point the more undesirable types move there and cause grief because they feel they can get away with that **** because everyone is black in the area.

[lenniel]

Veronica,
I'm just curious, do you date white, black or both?

In my northside neighborhood, I've seen a few interracial couples where it was a white guy, black girl (usually the other other way around).

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by tb4000

The main problem is that when there is a pretty aflluent black area in any area in this country, at some point the more undesirable types move there and cause grief because they feel they can get away with that **** because everyone is black in the area.

I admit that usually what happens. Good thing Olympia Fields and parts of Flossmoor still have its affluent black population intact, hardly any undesirables there.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by VDUB75

Hello Veronica

Don't let anyone tell you that there aren't any black professionals in Chicago. Barack Obama lives right around the corner from me. We just typically don't live on the north side. It’s a segregated city, so is NYC at least from my perspective. After 5 o'clock it seems that many black people in NYC hustle uptown or cross back over the bridge to Brooklyn. Most of the black professionals in Chicago live on the south side. We typically live where we can get our hair did(done) and get soul food or jerk chicken, preferably at the same time. The young people on the North Side tend to be young white people from the burbs or rural towns throughout the Midwest. They move into the city for a few years, hit the bars, go to Cubs games, get married, and then move back to the burbs. Here are my top five areas for young black professionals.

1. South Loop (Almost downtown but not quite, enough diversity for everybody to feel comfortable)
2. Bronzeville/The Low End (rapidly being redeveloped will remind you of a baby Harlem, but of course there is only one Harlem).
3. West Loop (As Borat would say Niiice)
4. Hyde Park/Kenwood (Kind of lame, you will do most of your hanging out elsewhere. Near the University of Chicago)
5. South Shore (This is about as grimy as you want to get)

There are many nice neighborhoods throughout the city, but I wouldn't recommend them for a transplant.

Good Luck
VDUB

You can add Beverly to that list too. Beverly is 34% black(from 2000 census) and have a sizeable upper middle class black population.

[softdev]

We're color blind in the Gold Coast! Only requirement is that you must be a yuppie.

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by softdev

We're color blind in the Gold Coast! Only requirement is that you must be a yuppie.

One of the qualifiers of Yuppie is young, and Gold Coast is far from that. Besides, the few people I know that live in the area have family money. They are generations removed from Nouveau Riche.

[Chi-town Native]

I see a fair amount of black folks in eastern Lake View, although it's possible they are there due to Boys Town's appeal.