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What did you think of the Best Southwest(Desoto,Cedar Hill,Duncanville,Lancaster)? I have heard that area is where most middle class/upper class blacks are making their home. Desoto income is higher than Dallas by 20k I believe I mean please correct me if I'm wrong. When you and your wife do decide to have children you should look into those areas if they're of interest to you
Based on our list of wants/needs that area wasn't a consideration for us. While it would be ideal to have more diversity in our neighborhood, it wasn't a deal breaker.
I'm black, mid 20's, no kids (yet) with a low six figure income. There is no chance that I would live in DeSoto, Lancaster, etc. They're nice towns but they don't have the things I value like good schools or diversity.
I'd rather pay a premium and buy in a suburb like Plano that fits my criteria. It has nothing to do with race alone, but rather me wanting the best for my future family. I would not want to be in an overwhelmingly black area nor would I want to be in an overwhelmingly white area. I value education more than restricting myself to being in an area where 98% of the people look like me. I think burbs like those in North Dallas, Arlington (South), Plano, Grand Prairie (a small pocket South of I-20, Westchester)and Dallas proper (75206, 75214, etc. which have solid elementary schools) offer the best mix of education, diversity, and safety.
I may be the minority in some of those places but I'm willing to put race aside moreso than a lot of people (from various backgrounds) are willing to do so because it is not the MOST important factor for me when I decide where I want to live.
I've been following this thread for a while, and haven't posted anything other than a moderator note, but I would like to add my thoughts to the discussion regarding the Best Southwest area (Cedar Hill/DeSoto/Duncanville/Lancaster). The Best Southwest isn't devoid of racial/ethnic diversity. The area is well-known for its significant concentration of Black middle-class households, which somewhat feeds the perception that the population is 'blacker' and 'less diverse' than the actual demographics show. Duncanville is roughly one-third White, Black, and Hispanic with a Hispanic plurality (37%). Cedar Hill is also quite diverse. Though predominantly Black, DeSoto and Lancaster still have a notable percentage of residents from other races.
Thinking back to my own house-hunting experience in 2006, racial composition wasn't a factor at all, even though I moved from one predominantly Black suburb to another. Our search wasn't limited to Black areas and factors such as home price, location, home condition, safety, and a well-kept neighborhood were the priorities.
Schools in the Best Southwest and other southern suburbs receive little attention on this forum. Despite the multiple school districts and dozens of individual campuses located in this part of DFW, they are often "written off" as if every school is failing and there are no good/decent options available, which isn't true. Like everywhere else, some public schools are good, some aren't, charter and private schools are options too.
J800, this isn't directed at you, just a general statement based on my nearly 10 years as a CD member. The insinuation that parents who send their children to public schools that aren't top-rated (or can't afford to) does NOT mean that they don't value their children's education. Student motivation and parental involvement are key.
You realize Dallas has already had a black mayor, right? Your post makes it sound as though it would be a strange, new thing requiring an overall revamping of the city.
I'm aware of Ron Kirk, who received a large overwhelming support of the Black vote and to an extent Dwaine Caraway who was the Acting Mayor before the current Mayor was elected. If my post sounded as if it would be a strange new thing that was not the intention whatsoever. I just have some plans to take the city in a new direction that have to deal with stopping this crab mentality within the Dallas Black community.
I'm black, mid 20's, no kids (yet) with a low six figure income. There is no chance that I would live in DeSoto, Lancaster, etc. They're nice towns but they don't have the things I value like good schools or diversity.
I'd rather pay a premium and buy in a suburb like Plano that fits my criteria. It has nothing to do with race alone, but rather me wanting the best for my future family. I would not want to be in an overwhelmingly black area nor would I want to be in an overwhelmingly white area. I value education more than restricting myself to being in an area where 98% of the people look like me. I think burbs like those in North Dallas, Arlington (South), Grand Prairie (a small pocket South of I-20, Westchester)and Dallas proper (75206, 75214, etc. which have solid elementary schools) offer the best mix of education, diversity, and safety.
I may be the minority in some of those places but I'm willing to put race aside moreso than a lot of people (from various backgrounds) are willing to do so because it is not the MOST important factor for me when I decide where I want to live.
I definitely understand wanting the best for your family. And wanting the best for your family is definitely not what could best for THEM. Your family could very well be indifferent to the areas you want to reside. With all of that said, you said," IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE, but rather me wanting the best for my future family. I would not want to be in an overwhelmingly black area nor would I want to be in an overwhelmingly white area. I VALUE EDUCATION MORE THAN RESTRICTING MYSELF TO BEING IN AREA WHERE 98% OF THE PEOPLE LOOK LIKE ME." If we are basing this solely on education and has nothing to do with race then there should be no problem whatsoever if the area is 98% in resemblance to you. Truth be told, I don't buy into the whole good school districts mumble jumbo because what schools should teach they don't. Public Schools are only a crutch for Black children to be honest and many people don't realize it those who do have started homeschooling their kids. Which in my opinion is the best option right now until the education system is flawless. The Black community integrated into society only to be taught what the World wanted them to know. All of their schools and communities and resources that they had before integration were doing quite well however, because of integration all of their businesses and so on were pretty much abandoned and merged into the white communities thus bringing more money to them and less money back to our communities. They only teach the students of being slaves and in some books it says they were immigrants. Not knowing that there is a prior history to slavery. A very rich and defined history. They won't teach how American culture was built by the foundations of Blacks. They will teach that the slaves were pretty much an inferior,incompetent race of people not that they were kings,queens,architects,judges,lawyers,physicians, farmers,etc before they were forcibly took from West Africa which is what contributed to Americas success. They won't teach your children about how the world of today;Everything that we have such as medicine,math,science,etc is a result of the Ancient Egyptians/Israelites teaching the world of these things who by the way are black. They won't teach any of that in these so called great school districts. I'm going a little off topic(A little late for that..lol)here but assuming you're a "CHRISTIAN" you should really read your bible with the rightful names inside them and do some deep research away from what has been taught to you for years. You will learn that this whole world including America are some thieves. They are the greatest identity thieves. I won't go into to much because not everyone has an ear to listen and I definitely don't won't to be pitted with certain people that have another agenda. Not everyone is accepting of the truth because truth is the new hate speech and like an English critic once said," During times of UNIVERSAL DECEIT,telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
In my opinion, my children will not be attending a public school period but will be homeschooled and have a sense of culture. My biggest fear is living within a predominantly white neighborhood and have my children exposed to racism when I could have very well prevented it. My child could end up being assaulted,ridiculed or worse killed by bigots all because I chose to be in a predominantly white neighborhood because I put aside race because it's not the most important factor in my life. You say Race is not the most important factor but after reading your post I'm not sure what is more important to you race or education.Racism will never end. I'm just going to be completely honest with you. We can all work together to try and end it and March from Selma to Montgomery but it will never end. Only one person can end racism and that will happen when he comes back with a vengeance and ends this world. Also the areas you listed are not really diverse and what's even more surprising for you is that Desoto has an income above most of those places you listed if not all.
Schools in the Best Southwest and other southern suburbs receive little attention on this forum. Despite the multiple school districts and dozens of individual campuses located in this part of DFW, they are often "written off" as if every school is failing and there are no good/decent options available, which isn't true. Like everywhere else, some public schools are good, some aren't, charter and private schools are options too.
Bray Elementary in Cedar Hill has for years carried the state's top rating of "exemplary." Ten years ago, the student body was nearly 80 percent white. This year it's about half black, a quarter white and a quarter Hispanic.
more...
Quote:
Bray's principal, Robert Johansen, said much of the white exodus from Cedar Hill schools took place in the early 2000s.
"I believe it was because they didn't feel like people looked like them. We still were an exemplary school. We still were performing. They were afraid that there was going to be a change," he said.
This year's preliminary TAKS scores show more than 95 percent of Bray students – black, white and Hispanic alike – passed their reading and math tests, and half or more scored at the higher "commended" level.
Has the DMN or anybody written about the decline of the school from 2010 to 2016?
I definitely understand wanting the best for your family. And wanting the best for your family is definitely not what could best for THEM. Your family could very well be indifferent to the areas you want to reside. With all of that said, you said," IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE, but rather me wanting the best for my future family. I would not want to be in an overwhelmingly black area nor would I want to be in an overwhelmingly white area. I VALUE EDUCATION MORE THAN RESTRICTING MYSELF TO BEING IN AREA WHERE 98% OF THE PEOPLE LOOK LIKE ME." If we are basing this solely on education and has nothing to do with race then there should be no problem whatsoever if the area is 98% in resemblance to you. Truth be told, I don't buy into the whole good school districts mumble jumbo because what schools should teach they don't. Public Schools are only a crutch for Black children to be honest and many people don't realize it those who do have started homeschooling their kids. Which in my opinion is the best option right now until the education system is flawless. The Black community integrated into society only to be taught what the World wanted them to know. All of their schools and communities and resources that they had before integration were doing quite well however, because of integration all of their businesses and so on were pretty much abandoned and merged into the white communities thus bringing more money to them and less money back to our communities. They only teach the students of being slaves and in some books it says they were immigrants. Not knowing that there is a prior history to slavery. A very rich and defined history. They won't teach how American culture was built by the foundations of Blacks. They will teach that the slaves were pretty much an inferior,incompetent race of people not that they were kings,queens,architects,judges,lawyers,physicians, farmers,etc before they were forcibly took from West Africa which is what contributed to Americas success. They won't teach your children about how the world of today;Everything that we have such as medicine,math,science,etc is a result of the Ancient Egyptians/Israelites teaching the world of these things who by the way are black. They won't teach any of that in these so called great school districts. I'm going a little off topic(A little late for that..lol)here but assuming you're a "CHRISTIAN" you should really read your bible with the rightful names inside them and do some deep research away from what has been taught to you for years. You will learn that this whole world including America are some thieves. They are the greatest identity thieves. I won't go into to much because not everyone has an ear to listen and I definitely don't won't to be pitted with certain people that have another agenda. Not everyone is accepting of the truth because truth is the new hate speech and like an English critic once said," During times of UNIVERSAL DECEIT,telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
In my opinion, my children will not be attending a public school period but will be homeschooled and have a sense of culture. My biggest fear is living within a predominantly white neighborhood and have my children exposed to racism when I could have very well prevented it. My child could end up being assaulted,ridiculed or worse killed by bigots all because I chose to be in a predominantly white neighborhood because I put aside race because it's not the most important factor in my life. You say Race is not the most important factor but after reading your post I'm not sure what is more important to you race or education.Racism will never end. I'm just going to be completely honest with you. We can all work together to try and end it and March from Selma to Montgomery but it will never end. Only one person can end racism and that will happen when he comes back with a vengeance and ends this world. Also the areas you listed are not really diverse and what's even more surprising for you is that Desoto has an income above most of those places you listed if not all.
Lol. Alright.
So Plano East and Arlington Martin (for example) aren't diverse? You seem to be focused on income in the latter half of your post. If the income in Desoto is higher than "most if not all of the places I listed", care to explain why the SAT scores (which is not the BEST metric, but the only metric we have to fairly compare and assess college readiness) of black students in most if not all of the suburbs I listed are significantly higher than Desoto? Again, I'm not sure if you are actually making things about race, or income. No, I am not saying that a student can't be successful if they don't go to school in a top district, but if you want to mention income as if that does something to swing the needle towards Desoto then you're wrong. I can also point to predominantly white districts as well that underperform relative to their peer cities with similar demographics.
9/10 times, I'm willing to bet a black student would have a better chance to be more successful at Plano East than Desoto. Plano East is pretty diverse if you ask me.
Also, the assumption that my children will not be educated on their culture (which would be my responsibility as a parent due to the factors you mentioned, so I agree with you there) is fair. Your child will be exposed to racism at some point regardless, so if you think putting them in a neighborhood where 90% of people look like them is going to shield them from it, OK. It's up to each parent as an individual to teach their kid about the harsh realities and life and equip them with the knowledge to handle those situations. Plenty of people in Dallas, Plano, etc. are open minded and accepting of all cultures. Children will be exposed to many things and hopefully their parents have talked about these things with them.
Keep pushing race on me as if I am not in tune with my culture. Race is still NOT the most important factor to me but that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge it at all. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and I hope you don't take offense to anything that I've said.
Black unity is no better or worse in Dallas when compared to other cities. The only noticeable difference is that DFW doesn't have a visible black "elite." There are lots of well-to-do blacks, but they aren't concentrated here like they'd be in NYC, DC, Atlanta etc. Unlike most southern cities, Dallas doesn't have a black/white dynamic but instead a black/white/Latino dynamic with an ever increasing population of Asian and African immigrants. Besides, northern cities have just as much if not more black division....lots of classism and colorism.
Compared to southern cities, Dallas lacks prominent HBCU's which affect the overall culture. The most well-known DFW universities are smaller private schools with lots of rich white kids. Colleges and nearby universities often set the culture for a city. There's no critical mass of young, college-aged blacks in any one area. I think it ends up making our city appear much more white-washed than other cities like Houston or Atlanta. When was the last time a black filmmaker made a movie that took place in Dallas (or even Houston)?
Black unity is no better or worse in Dallas when compared to other cities. The only noticeable difference is that DFW doesn't have a visible black "elite." There are lots of well-to-do blacks, but they aren't concentrated here like they'd be in NYC, DC, Atlanta etc. Unlike most southern cities, Dallas doesn't have a black/white dynamic but instead a black/white/Latino dynamic with an ever increasing population of Asian and African immigrants. Besides, northern cities have just as much if not more black division....lots of classism and colorism.
Compared to southern cities, Dallas lacks prominent HBCU's which affect the overall culture. The most well-known DFW universities are smaller private schools with lots of rich white kids. Colleges and nearby universities often set the culture for a city. There's no critical mass of young, college-aged blacks in any one area. I think it ends up making our city appear much more white-washed than other cities like Houston or Atlanta. When was the last time a black filmmaker made a movie that took place in Dallas (or even Houston)?
You're absolutely correct about Black Unity being no worse in Dallas when compared to other cities however the point I'm really trying to make is with the Black Population being as big as it is it's a shame that there's no strong leadership even with some very strong Black organizations located in the city there's still not a very strong black leadership and again as one of the other replies said the black community here is definitely crabs in a barrel. Dallas not having a visible black elite shouldn't really matter because there are plenty black elites in Atlanta who aren't visible either only the negative portrayal of a few black money makers are portrayed on television, but I guess the difference would be that they are concentrated in affluent predominantly black neighborhoods, So you have a point there. Well wait are you including the areas immediately South of Dallas?Dallas does have a black/white/Latino dynamic something I have taken notice of as well. So You have a point there. And SOME northern cities have that division. Not all. I actually had stayed in Boston,NYC,and Philly and the only division I really noticed was Classism and even then we werent acting like crabs we were actually helping one another. I did notice in those cities it goes way beyond Classism. As far as colleges goes, I think about affluent black communities in LA,Chicago,and NYC just name a few who don't have a well defined HBCU or a HBCU at all but still somehow have a lot of culture and elite blacks. Last I checked Dallas black population is growing faster than LA and Chicago and their black population is larger than LAs(Please correct me if I'm wrong) and doesn't contain communities like Ladera Heights,Baldwin Hills,View Park-Windsor just to name a few.
I'm not sure of your last question however, I do know that Jason's Lyrics was filmed in Houston(Third Ward)so was Thea and Sugar Hill among many other black films. Interesting fact though,The first Texas-based motion pictures were made as early as 1921 by a black film company, Superior Art productions of Houston.
So Plano East and Arlington Martin (for example) aren't diverse? You seem to be focused on income in the latter half of your post. If the income in Desoto is higher than "most if not all of the places I listed", care to explain why the SAT scores (which is not the BEST metric, but the only metric we have to fairly compare and assess college readiness) of black students in most if not all of the suburbs I listed are significantly higher than Desoto? Again, I'm not sure if you are actually making things about race, or income. No, I am not saying that a student can't be successful if they don't go to school in a top district, but if you want to mention income as if that does something to swing the needle towards Desoto then you're wrong. I can also point to predominantly white districts as well that underperform relative to their peer cities with similar demographics.
9/10 times, I'm willing to bet a black student would have a better chance to be more successful at Plano East than Desoto. Plano East is pretty diverse if you ask me.
Also, the assumption that my children will not be educated on their culture (which would be my responsibility as a parent due to the factors you mentioned, so I agree with you there) is fair. Your child will be exposed to racism at some point regardless, so if you think putting them in a neighborhood where 90% of people look like them is going to shield them from it, OK. It's up to each parent as an individual to teach their kid about the harsh realities and life and equip them with the knowledge to handle those situations. Plenty of people in Dallas, Plano, etc. are open minded and accepting of all cultures. Children will be exposed to many things and hopefully their parents have talked about these things with them.
Keep pushing race on me as if I am not in tune with my culture. Race is still NOT the most important factor to me but that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge it at all. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and I hope you don't take offense to anything that I've said.
(Excuse the typos, I'm on my phone.)
Hey I welcome correction if/when I am wrong and I don't take offense to it whatsoever. Can you point to white districts that underperform because I'm not that familiar with this area as most of you maybe. My children will be exposed to racism at some point in their lives but I rather they equip themselves to ready for it while being raised in a predominantly black neighborhood that way they can have appreciation for their true culture and have something uniquely similar to their peers plus I am raising my children by the way "GOD" instructed me to. You can't expect "Foolish" nations to raise your children the correct way only you and "GOD" can and the people around you who share that bloodline again not a lot of people will have an ear to listen so I don't want to go to much into it. But children will be exposed but here's the thing what exactly are the white,Asian,Latino parents telling their children about your child? I say Race is very important doesn't make me racist or anything like that but it has to be discussed instead of swept under the rug every time. Race plays a factor in a lot of things of today. It has and always will. If it didn't play such a major part in today's society then I promise you "CHRISTIANITY" would have gone a different way but most people can't and will not accept that they're worshipping graven images of the Most High(Getting off topic again). But anywho bro I would like to know the underperforming schools and how SAT scores have anything to do with income levels? I didn't have a very high SAT score but I maintained above a 4.0 GPA and have done fairly well then some counterparts of mine who had above average SAT scores.
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