Is Highland Park racist? (Dallas, University Park: home, neighborhoods, school district)

[the princetonian]

Due to an enterprise relocation, I will be moving to Dallas by the end of this year. Assigned a corporate relocation firm, I was specifically shown Highland Park, University Park, and Preston Hollow, as these areas are consistent with the area that I currently reside and have resided in the past.

I have decided that I prefer Highland Park over the other two areas. My question, with so little diversity, how would a Princeton educated black man be received in nearly all-white Highland Park?

PS - I'm looking on the east end of Highland Park, which is from what I have gathered, more affluent.

Thanks.

[Philip T]

I bounce in and out of the upper-end and hard South ('hood, as it were)

Here is what I have seen -- The cut is not based on race, so much as money and manners.

You step in and play the game at the level the game is played and are well-spoken and well-mannered (including the relatives who show up on holidays, and all) and you will be generally welcome. If not, way not.

[Dallas native]

I think that most people in HP are too sophisticated to be outwardly racist, but I'm sure that some racism does exist there just as it does in almost any other place in this country. But, I think you would be welcomed by most people there. It is certainly a nice place to live if you don't mind the lack of diversity. It is ultra white and ultra Republican. If you don't have a problem with that, then I think that you'll be fine. Are you considering HP because of the school district?

All of HP is affluent. When you refer to the east end of HP is that to distinguish it from HP West? HP West (on the west side of the tollroad) is a part of HP proper, but it is not in the HP school district. It is in the Dallas ISD. Because of that, the prices are lower there, but not cheap by any means.

Just for the sake of due diligence, you might want to take a look at some of Dallas' other affluent close-in neighborhoods. I recommend checking out Greenway Parks, Bluffview, Lakewood and Kessler Park. If you might consider hi-rise living, then I would recommend Turtle Creek and Uptown. All of these areas have their own special attributes and I don't think that race would be an issue at all for the vast majority of the residents in these places.

[Macbeth2003]

As an infant photographer I was one of two photographers who was often in Highland Park. I can tell you that on many occasions I was sent because they specifically requested a white photographer, the other gentleman who covered that area was black. I would sometimes have people tell me to my face things like "Thank God they sent a white man."

Certainly not all the time, but this happened with MUCH more frequency than in any other part of town.

I can also tell you about people at my church- which is at Mockingbird and Inwood - who live in Highland park who would certainly never behave in such a way, so I am not trying to accuse all residents of such things, but I would venture to say you will run into more racism there than in many other parts of town.

[Big G]

Of the high-profile professional athletes in town, a fair number of the white ones make their home in HP. NONE of the black ones do. Draw your own conclusions.

[Rakin]

There is a sign as you enter Highland park that says " Home to 15,387 great people and 3-4 old racists"

Luckily they limit it to just 3-4.

Every community has certain people who hold prejudices.

[Macbeth2003]

Originally Posted by Rakin

There is a sign as you enter Highland park that says " Home to 15,387 great people and 3-4 old racists"

Luckily they limit it to just 3-4.

Every community has certain people who hold prejudices.

But HP seems to have more than their share.
That was certainly my experience, and I was told by my boss that they had that problem all the time as well. I can put the number much higher than 3-4 from my own personal experiences.

[Grainraiser]

Highland Park has been 99% white for as long as I have lived in Dallas (45 years) and I am sure there is racism there. I can't say they are racist just because the community is white. They have never had to deal with black residents so no one can say for certain how you will be recieved. I am sure some residents will be taken back at first by you moving in but at the end of the day you will be judged by being conservative or liberal and by your economic clout. I think status will be a whole lot more important than color. I personally could never live there because of the lack of diversity. That does not mean they are racist but I would feel a whole lot more comfortable living in a more diverse area. There are many blacks who could afford to in HP but none have chosen to make that move. It's simply not just coincedence.

[Simulacrum7]

I am also moving to Dallas and am also considering living in one of the park cities. Coincidentally, I am also Latino. I have not noticed any racism during my interaction with the community or search for a home. I also have friends from college who live or grew up in the area. I don't perceive the people of HP/UP to be any more racist than any other population in America. Whether there is classism is another issue, but if you can afford a home in that area you are not likely to be subject to any class discrimination. While the diversity is an issue, it will never change if people of color never enter the community.

[MurphyPl1]

FWIW I was told that there is a restriction against live-in help because they were afraid that the live-in help would come with children who would need to be educated in HPISD. And the impression I recieved was that it was "those minority children."