Segregation in Chicago (Harvey, Lincoln, Princeton: high schools, gym, move)

[mimi1988]

Well, I'm from New Orleans and I've never been to Chicago, but I don't think any city is more segregated than New Orleans. I could be wrong, though. Every school I ever attended in New Orleans was 99.99% Black. My neighborhood was 99.99% Black. The grocery stores I shopped at, was almost 90% Black. Every job I ever had (in that city), was 100% Black (lol). Never had anything against other groups of people. I just looked at them as being... different, lol. It's kinda hard to explain. When you're used to being amongst ppl who look like you all the time, everyone just else appears, different. It's almost as if u and "they" come from completely different worlds. No one is really openly racist (well, some ppl just dont care). The blacks just do their own thing and the whites do the same

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by deechee

Back to the original question:

No: There are places where all races live together, but it seems that one race always ends up taking over, so true diversity is never acheived.

I think if you said one economic class ends up taking over that would be more accurate. I love my neighborhood's diversity, the fact that even though the larger neighborhood is probably 60% Hispanic isn't accurate of my immediate pocket, I love that my daughter gets to see and talk to and play with all sorts of different kids and their parents - the only group of people I don't see represented are Indians and middle-easterners in general, but if you go a little bit north you'll see them.

The "race" that often takes over the way I think you are describing is yuppies in Lincoln Park - but as an Irish guy, I don't consider these culture-less consumers "my" people, even when we share ancestry - way too many white people have completely forgotten their roots, as evidenced by a horrible addiction for fake Irish pubs.

[mmcgirk3]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Well, undesirables are undesirables--no matter their race. Most people who have seen the rest of the United States and who have some measure of upward mobility don't want to live near a bunch of uneducated poor people with severe crime issues in their community. In Uptown you're just as likely to see a strung out white guy taking a crap on your lawn as you are a strung out black guy. Both are "undesirables" who make bad neighbors.

Again, winnie's question, which I was answering, had nothing to do with segregation. Perhaps you are confused since her post was moved to the segregation thread. Who knows. She wants to know if Chicago still is a very racist town. From what I've seen, yes it is.

[Milwaukee City]

She wants to know if Chicago still is a very racist town. From what I've seen, yes it is.

I don't mean to laugh but...LOL!!! Chicago in my exp. and from what I have seen and heard is nowhere near Racist.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by mmcgirk3

Again, winnie's question, which I was answering, had nothing to do with segregation. Perhaps you are confused since her post was moved to the segregation thread. Who knows. She wants to know if Chicago still is a very racist town. From what I've seen, yes it is.

Clearly there is plenty of racism in Chicago (the Epton debacle isn't exactly ancient history), but how do you generalize a city of almost 3 million people like that? What does that even mean?

I've met loads of people who moved to Chicago from the Deep South for jobs in the late 90s through today, and without exception, they all say the idea that Chicago is more racist is ridiculous. I guess I'd like to know what the gold standard is for integration, and whether this Shangri-La is also economically integrated.

[Surfindude]

Originally Posted by mmcgirk3

. She wants to know if Chicago still is a very racist town. From what I've seen, yes it is.

Really, make your point.

[wpcp]

segregation can also happen because the people choose to.we did an experienment in school, where we had a remeber were everyone at lunch sat and group them. it was pretty much all grouped on race, like the black table, the hispanic table the hispanic table and two whites. the white table. the sports table. also it was grouped on grade. like seniors table, juniors tables, sophmore tables, freshman tables. there was only one table (well three that were pushed together) that was diverse, other then the sports table, but that doesnt caught. and we noticed that like 80-90% of the students, in my 900 stundent school, chose to not eat lunch with their race.

[mmcgirk3]

Let's just get real for a second. It wasn't that many years ago the great Martin Luther King Jr. called Chicago the "most racially divided city in America." What did THAT even mean????
To even THINK that racism issues in Chicago have been resolved is ignorant. Chicago, like all other big cities in America, have many many racist people from all ethnic groups. It's just a fact. Obviously I'm not painting all Chicagoans with the same brush. But this has been well documented throughout Chicago history. You don't have to look far. Hate crimes reported in the Trib nearly every month. Bleacher bums hurling racial slants at Wrigley. Just ask any cab driver about the # of racists in the Chicago area.

[Drover]

^^ You know, there's a lot of room between "racism issues have been resolved" and "Chicago is racist" as an unqualified statement. If you'll pardon the pun, it's not so black and white. And when you issue that sort of unqualified statement, yes you are painting with a broad brush, so I don't understand why you think it's obvious that you're not.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by mmcgirk3

Let's just get real for a second. It wasn't that many years ago the great Martin Luther King Jr. called Chicago the "most racially divided city in America." What did THAT even mean????
To even THINK that racism issues in Chicago have been resolved is ignorant. Chicago, like all other big cities in America, have many many racist people from all ethnic groups. It's just a fact. Obviously I'm not painting all Chicagoans with the same brush. But this has been well documented throughout Chicago history. You don't have to look far. Hate crimes reported in the Trib nearly every month. Bleacher bums hurling racial slants at Wrigley. Just ask any cab driver about the # of racists in the Chicago area.

I think the question is what exactly makes Chicago the worst? Being resentful/distrustful/persecuting people different from you is a pretty ingrained flaw of human beings, period.

Look at how they still treat being left-handed (something I can't imagine Americans have any philosophical problem with) in Islam and good parts of Africa, for example - use a fork with the wrong hand, and you get beaten.

Specifics far above and beyond what you're quoting anecdotally would help. For all we know the yahoos in the bleachers aren't even Chicagoans, or at least aren't native Chicagoans.

I'm 37 - all of my schooling was done in integrated settings, and like most of my native friends here, while in general I have more friends who share my skin color, I have friends across the entire spectrum - and I don't think being one of those weirdos who seeks out people of a different race to prove to themselves they aren't racist is really healthy.