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In terms of presence Houston has had a long and storied black presence. Does the black presence here equal that of ATL??? no, we said that from the start.
Houston has large percentages of other groups that have had quite a presence in the City
for Large metros NY and ATL would come close but Houston would come right after based on its history and contributions that black people have made to the city and the state
I tend to agree that Houston is something within a second tier, but I think the tiering is different historically versus presently. Historically, from, say, Reconstruction up to the Great Migration, I know I'd put Philly, NYC, Chicago, Detroit, DC, and NOLA in the first tier. I'd put Atlanta in a second tier since it gained most of its notoriety among Blacks nationally from the Civil Rights era forward. Within that tier I might also put cities like Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore, etc. I'm not as familiar with Houston's Black history, so I'm unsure as to its historical placement. However, even though it's not a large urban center like the aforementioned cities, Marshall deserves a mention somewhere.
In terms of presence Houston has had a long and storied black presence. Does the black presence here equal that of ATL??? no, we said that from the start.
Houston has large percentages of other groups that have had quite a presence in the City
for Large metros NY and ATL would come close but Houston would come right after based on its history and contributions that black people have made to the city and the state
That was just an example of one sector of Black nightlife. I'm not sure how you could even say it's a wash since, by your own admission, you only had a short visit. I guess your expectations were exceeded and now all of sudden you see the two equally in this area.
Well, it's true: when it comes to HBCU's, the preeminent triumvirate is Howard, Morehouse, and Spelman. Then there are the other notables like Hampton, Fisk, Xavier, etc. Prairie View and TSU are definitely assets, but they don't put Houston on the same level as Atlanta (with four HBCU's) when it comes to this. Otherwise, I could say that my hometown of Orangeburg, SC (population 14K) with two HBCU's--both of which rank higher than PVAM and TSU--is on Atlanta's level and we know how silly that would be.
No one here from Atlanta has diminished the Black cultural and institutional assets of other cities, but you seem to be on a mission to downplay Atlanta's importance in this regard. Sorry to have to break it to you, but every other city isn't on Atlanta's level when it comes to all things Black. Every city has its strengths, and this so happen to be Atlanta's.
Oh, and DC comes close to Atlanta when it comes to Blacks. Many others have stated the same.
Oh no! I'm not trying to downplay Atlanta at all. Seriously. It's a nice city but overrated. It's just irritating when people don't give other cities credit for their black culture because everyone associates blacks with Atlanta. People just can't limit blacks to one area. There are other areas that give Atlanta a run for its money and Houston has to be one of them. It's the truth. That's just like limiting Hispanics to LA when there are many more areas that give LA a run for its money regarding Hispanic culture. I understand that Atlanta has the upper hand in black gay life and history to an extent, but now you have areas like Houston, DFW, etc. that are becoming more and more popular among blacks. As a result, according to HtownLove, Houston is or was #1 for black business growth. As of now, the Texas cities are better for blacks (as well as all other races) than Atlanta economic and job wise.
See you seem to be stuck on which has the better this or the better that. This is not about having the better HBCUs or the better Night Life.
We are talking about presence in metro areas. I would say that even with the low rankings TSU has more of a presense to Texas than Spelman does to ATL. Black students across the state flock to these schools while on the East coast there are far far far more choices. Ranked lower yes, but presence you cant deny is huge here.
In a way its the same thing with nightlife. Because there is so much along the east coast Houstons draws more of a pull and has more of a presence on the black scene in Texas than ATL has on the area because there are so many choices up and down the east coast. You mention the Gay scene. For Gay activities in Texas like Splash, we draw people from as far as Oklahoma. Large numbers come down from DFW. ATLs scene is big and imp to ATL and the near neighbors but it is not as important to a wide distance as it is here in Houston. ATL has big competition from DC, Miami, Baltimore Charlotte, etc etc. For Black culture DFW doesn't have the same impact that Houston does. You would have to go as far as NOLA to find the closest competition and that is pretty far
I know it's silly, but TSU has more students than Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta combined so one can conclude that TSU has more pull/influence than one of the Atlanta schools. PV also has more students than those colleges combined. So no one can deny Houston's HBCU presence. Also, TSU and PV are within the most popular athletic conference in the HBCU world, SWAC.
Oh no! I'm not trying to downplay Atlanta at all. Seriously. It's a nice city but overrated. It's just irritating when people don't give other cities credit for their black culture because everyone associates blacks with Atlanta. People just can't limit blacks to one area. There are other areas that give Atlanta a run for its money and Houston has to be one of them. It's the truth. That's just like limiting Hispanics to LA when there are many more areas that give LA a run for its money regarding Hispanic culture. I understand that Atlanta has the upper hand in black gay life and history to an extent, but now you have areas like Houston, DFW, etc. that are becoming more and more popular among blacks. As a result, according to HtownLove, Houston is or was #1 for black business growth. As of now, the Texas cities are better for blacks (as well as all other races) than Atlanta economic and job wise.
And no one has even come CLOSE to doing that in this thread, so I fail to see why you continue as you do. For Black culture, no one has "overrated" Atlanta; it and DC are pretty much the top dogs in this category right now, particularly for younger, educated Blacks. Yes other cities are expanding their offerings when it comes to Black culture and entertainment, but Atlanta has been well ahead of the pack when it comes to this and still continues to do so. You just really have a problem giving Atlanta its props straight up without mentioning another city, Houston in particular. And I've lived in another city known as one of the new hot spots for Blacks (Charlotte), yet living here in Atlanta I can see that in spite of the many strides Charlotte has made in Black cultural offerings (and it has been impressive, and kept me satisfied when I lived there), Atlanta is still on another level. So the difference between us is that you've only visited and experienced these types of cities in passing; I've lived in each type and thus have a much broader and more comprehensive perspective on the matter.
I know it's silly, but TSU has more students than Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta combined so one can conclude that TSU has more pull/influence than one of the Atlanta schools. PV also has more students than those colleges combined. So no one can deny Houston's HBCU presence. Also, TSU and PV are within the most popular athletic conference in the HBCU world, SWAC.
How are you defining this? It's a regional thing, since over this way on the Atlantic coast, MEAC reigns. And also on the East Coast is the granddaddy of them all, CIAA--whose tournament, since it's been in Charlotte, has become far and away the creme de la creme of HBCU tournaments.
See you seem to be stuck on which has the better this or the better that. This is not about having the better HBCUs or the better Night Life.
We are talking about presence in metro areas. I would say that even with the low rankings TSU has more of a presense to Texas than Spelman does to ATL. Black students across the state flock to these schools while on the East coast there are far far far more choices. Ranked lower yes, but presence you cant deny is huge here.
In a way its the same thing with nightlife. Because there is so much along the east coast Houstons draws more of a pull and has more of a presence on the black scene in Texas than ATL has on the area because there are so many choices up and down the east coast. You mention the Gay scene. For Gay activities in Texas like Splash, we draw people from as far as Oklahoma. Large numbers come down from DFW. ATLs scene is big and imp to ATL and the near neighbors but it is not as important to a wide distance as it is here in Houston. ATL has big competition from DC, Miami, Baltimore Charlotte, etc etc. For Black culture DFW doesn't have the same impact that Houston does. You would have to go as far as NOLA to find the closest competition and that is pretty far
Your assertions about the black pride and the draw that Atlanta has are incorrect Gays from NC Tenn SC Alabama and North Fl stay coming here on a daily because Atlanta is within 3 to 4 hours reach ..As a pride attendee and someone who has worked with the pride committee of the largest gay pride gathering in the US ..Atlanta for the last decade has been drawing blacks from overseas such as London France and Canada. Almost 80,000 gays from around the world and US come here.. We also have the largest ballroom Community in the south which draws many other ballroom communities from other larger areas here. Houston barely has one .. if u don't know about ball room scene check the documentary( Paris is burning). Houston has that one event .. Atlanta also has MLK weekend another big gay circuit party weekend. Most of the gay resident in Atlanta are from NY Miami DC Philly Chicago Detroit and from other parts of the South. Charlotte doesn't even have a scene they stay traveling here. Baltimore doesn't have one either like that because they go to DC. Miami gay scene is mostly whites and Hispanics the blacks gays there are small in numbers and they also don't have a thriving scene. The black thriving scenes are all on the east coast.. Atlanta NY and DC which blacks travel to All 3 because there the most thriving. Blacks gays along the east coast aren't traveling to Houston on a none holiday weekend but those from Louisiana and Texas will travel to Atlanta on a regular weekend. Unlike most Cities in the South there is somewhere for black gays to party Monday threw Sunday thats black and gay related. In Houston not so much.. If they want to experience a real thriving black gay community Atlanta is the place in the South. There is also a bigger black presence in same sex Black Couples in Atlanta than anywhere else. Atlanta is also has a bigger presences of Educated black gays in the south its second behind DC.. If you didnt know Morehouse is the First HBCU to have a all black Gay Course. http://www.advocate.com/society/educ...ry-and-culture. The presence The influence and The draw Atlanta is unmatched here in the south.
Last edited by Staysean23; 02-22-2013 at 09:57 PM..
How are you defining this? It's a regional thing, since over this way on the Atlantic coast, MEAC reigns. And also on the East Coast is the granddaddy of them all, CIAA--whose tournament, since it's been in Charlotte, has become far and away the creme de la creme of HBCU tournaments.
I agree with you, but the SWAC is more popular when it comes to bands (it's subjective though).
And no one has even come CLOSE to doing that in this thread, so I fail to see why you continue as you do. For Black culture, no one has "overrated" Atlanta; it and DC are pretty much the top dogs in this category right now, particularly for younger, educated Blacks. Yes other cities are expanding their offerings when it comes to Black culture and entertainment, but Atlanta has been well ahead of the pack when it comes to this and still continues to do so. You just really have a problem giving Atlanta its props straight up without mentioning another city, Houston in particular. And I've lived in another city known as one of the new hot spots for Blacks (Charlotte), yet living here in Atlanta I can see that in spite of the many strides Charlotte has made in Black cultural offerings (and it has been impressive, and kept me satisfied when I lived there), Atlanta is still on another level. So the difference between us is that you've only visited and experienced these types of cities in passing; I've lived in each type and thus have a much broader and more comprehensive perspective on the matter.
Alright, HtownLove, help me out. LOL!
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