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Having grown up in the Northeast (mainly Connecticut) I would say that racism there is a pretty unique, somewhat sublimated style.
No one would ever say the N word who was middle class. Not because they aren't racist, but because they don't want to be seen as racist (or even worse, a working-class white) by their peers. In the town I grew up in, the Mayor was voted out of office for a faux pas of saying explicitly what he should have said in code - that he didn't want affordable housing built because "the Puerto Ricans will move in."
Residential segregation is very high. A lot of this comes down to school rankings, which for whatever reason are considered of top importance up there. It's well known there are national gaps on standardized testing, and while Asians and whites score highly, blacks score comparably poorly, and Latinos somewhere in between. Given this is the case, a school district which is 95% white+Asian will almost always score better than one which is only 65% white+Asian. So you see people talk about towns which have any significant minority population as "having bad schools" or "going downhill." The wealthiest people seek out the whitest towns - they might not be doing so explicitly, but with the focus on "top schools" that's basically invariably what happens.
A lot of people in the more isolated suburban areas have fear whenever they see a black man as well, particularly at night. They feel horribly guilty about it afterwards, but it's there, because they're conditioned often by their parents and peers to think they're going to get mugged or something.
I don't think there is in New England at least a lot of racial resentment towards minorities however. Getting riled up about "affirmative action," "welfare," and "special treatment" is more a working-class white thing. Plus poor blacks and wealthy whites are not politically polarized into different political parties in the Northeast the way they are in the South. So while there is way too much fear about living around black people, there isn't really much fear of wider black political power.
I would venture to say that any region with little racial diversity (i.e., Northwest, Intermountain West, Upper Midwest, etc.) are most likely going to be the least racist regions of the US. Most of the working-class people in these regions have never had to compete with minorities for jobs and housing throughout the late 19th century and most of the 20th century, which is the largest source of racism in the Northeast, Great Lakes region, and California. In the South, the long history of cultural imperialism/suppression is the primary source from which most racism is derived, although this is somewhat true of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but to a lesser extent.
I would venture to say that any region with little racial diversity (i.e., Northwest, Intermountain West, Upper Midwest, etc.) are most likely going to be the least racist regions of the US. Most of the working-class people in these regions have never had to compete with minorities for jobs and housing throughout the late 19th century and most of the 20th century, which is the largest source of racism in the Northeast, Great Lakes region, and California. In the South, the long history of cultural imperialism/suppression is the primary source from which most racism is derived, although this is somewhat true of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but to a lesser extent.
Denver has a large Hispanic population, about 36% IIRC. Many suburbs have sizable Hispanic populations as well. And yet, there's not a lot of overt racism here. Denver currently has a black mayor, this in a city with a black population of about 10%; also a former black mayor and a former Hispanic mayor elected in the early 80s when the Hispanic population was lower.
Same, I went to school with a Bianchi, a Fusco, a Grado, a Messina, and an Andreone (as well as about 50 Petersons, Andersons, Olsons, Larsons, and Jensons and -sens).
Growing up in St. Paul, I had good friends from Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia, Namibia, Laos, Egypt, and Taiwan. My best friend's mom used to make us tuna sushi after school.
I stand by what I said, or rather, what that poster said. You cannot say she didn't have that experience.
Remember that racism and prejudice are not the same thing. Racism requires a power difference, structural support, and evidence of patterns and history. Reverse racism doesn't exist because there has never been a time in the United States when people of color (POC) have had a structurally supported power advantage over white people. Racism comes from socialization and subtle attitudes, not necessarily always from specific actions, and certainly not only from race-superiority groups.
Prejudice, on the other hand, is simply a dislike of a group of people based on one or several attributes of those people. This is the term to use when describing POC retaliation against white people. It's not defined as racism because white people are still the ones with the large power advantage. (It's also hard to blame POC for being angry given all the unthinkable crap white people have put them through.)
Just something to remember as this discussion moves forward.
In addition to what you said, it's also worth noting that the construct of race was largely normalized in the late 1400s to assert European superiority and imperialism over native Americans, Africans, and pacific islanders. It isn't natural as someone stated earlier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
While Massachusetts sometimes gets a reputation for racism, it's mostly from incidents that happened decades ago mainly in one city. While I wouldn't claim New England is a racial utopia or even least racist in the country, it's not bad relative to most of the country and perhaps a bit better. i don't think most care, and I suspect there's less stigma as compared to the lower Midwest, where a lot of the black population is in urban ghettoes with high violent crime rate. But the general culture of the region is rather white and the black population is small, so the blacks* may feel like outsiders. The state has a black governor, which got little attention. It wasn't mentioned much as anything of note, unlike Obama's election.
*i assume racism refers to blacks, Massachusetts has almost as many asians as blacks, and more hispanics
The northeast and Midwest are the two most segregated areas in the country.
I thought the Pacific Northwest was a hotbed for White Supremacist activity? Also, what do you consider the Upper Midwest? If you include the Great Lakes States then that would be a resounding NO! Wisconsin? Milwaukee is like the most segregated city in the country.
Really? Chicago seems to be more segregated than Milwaukee. Affluent Whites live in North Shore and suburbs, Hispanics in the West, diverse population inside the Loop, and overwhelming African-Americans in the South Side.
For fact, Indianapolis is the most integrated city in the Midwest.
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