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From my understanding, profesionals are those who have specialized degrees such as Pharmacists, Doctors and Accountants. The idea that one has to have a degree to make a decent living is bogus. I know of too many who make six figures just off of pure hussle and passion. I also know some who have degrees some advanced degrees who barely make $50k a year.
There are many very successful people of all races who don't dress or carry themselves like they do in an Atlanta type city. Midwesterners are not boastful culturally as they are in the south or east coast. You may have someone living in a 4k sq ft home driving a older Toyota to work and wearing a poodle skirt from Walmart. Some cities aren't flashy.
Typically a bachelor's degree in any field is the minimum educational requirement to be classified as a professional, although the AFL-CIO's Department of Professional Employees includes those with associate degrees, at least for the purpose of this fact sheet: The Professional and Technical Workforce
It's not quite the same as having a professional degree, although having one most certainly qualifies one as belonging to the professional class.
No one here said or implied that making a decent living, earning a high salary, or being successful in a career was dependent on having a degree. However, there is a demonstrated correlation between higher incomes and educational attainment.
I'm also not sure what people dressing or carrying themselves in "an Atlanta type city" (and I'm not quite sure what that means), being "boastful culturally," or flashiness has to do with the subject at hand.
Don't get "professions", civil service, etc. confused with income (working class/ middle class/ upper middle class/ wealthy. etc.) These are TOTALLY different things. For instance, I know MANY skilled workers (plumbers, electricians, construction workers, etc.) that make as much or more than many "professionals", but none of these (many who make six figures or more) would ever call themselves "professionals" even though they are well within the realm of "upper middle class" or higher. My own grandparents, who owned and worked in their own barber and beauty shops, became millionaires. Income and being a "professional" are two distinctly different things.
A lot of the smaller southern cities have this problem.
As well as larger ones, especially here in Florida. Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville all have few Black professionals relatively speaking as well as Bachelors degree holders in general.
^ This, as the institution had to be formed before 1964.
Chicago also has predominantly black colleges(i.e.-Chicago State), but I don't believe that any were formed previous to that year or changed at a later time.
CSU was originally established in 1867 under the name "Cook County Normal School". It was a majority white school until around the 1970s, although there has been debate on whether to make it recognized as an "African American institution" or retain its multiracial identity. The school is 93% black.
Hmmmm...this is interesting. In suburban Atlanta and DC in particular, a lot of Black transplants move to parts of the metro that have a significant population of natives or longtime transplants (ironically, I've lived in the Whiter/more diverse suburbs of both because they were much closer to work). As it was stated, Dallas is somewhat new to the game but I'm having a hard time believing that "the Best Southwest" is THAT far behind the more diverse middle/upper middle class neighborhoods in the northern suburbs; I doubt that the gap is significantly larger than that between south Dekalb/south Fulton/Clayton counties and north Fulton/Gwinnett/east Cobb counties in metro Atlanta or between PG County and Montgomery County/NoVA in the DMV. Maybe it's because the middle/upper middle class suburbs in metro Atlanta and the DMV have been around for a while and have made a name for themselves so they don't have to work as hard to sell themselves to transplants compared to the Best Southwest?
You are correct in your assessment. The so-called "gap" between the Best Southwest and the northern suburbs of Dallas isn't as dramatic as stated earlier in this thread. It is likely less than the other metros you listed or somewhat comparable, but not significantly worse.
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As a longtime resident of the Best Southwest region, I strongly disagree with way it was as portrayed earlier in this thread. The area as a whole, individual communities, residents, and its overall status within the DFW metro area were completely mischaracterized. I can usually let things go, but felt it necessary to share my thoughts on this.
This is an interesting discussion and I don't want to derail it. I'll bow out.
You are correct in your assessment. The so-called "gap" between the Best Southwest and the northern suburbs of Dallas isn't as dramatic as stated earlier in this thread. It is likely less than the other metros you listed or somewhat comparable, but not significantly worse.
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As a longtime resident of the Best Southwest region, I strongly disagree with way it was as portrayed earlier in this thread. The area as a whole, individual communities, residents, and its overall status within the DFW metro area were completely mischaracterized. I can usually let things go, but felt it necessary to share my thoughts on this.
This is an interesting discussion and I don't want to derail it. I'll bow out.
Of course it’s over exaggerated. It’s more than one way to skin a cat you know. You don’t have to be a degreed professional to be successful in this country. I know plenty of blue collar workers that are black making 6 figure salaries at local companies like GM, Bell Helicopter, and Lockheed Martin. I never understood the obsession with the topic of black professionals on City-data. There are a lot more wealth variable indicators that are better suited to grade the overall health of a particular black community. If the truth be told the industries that DFW cater to are a lot more conducive to meeting the overall needs of black Americans, which is why the metro black population continues boom.
There are a lot more wealth variable indicators that are better suited to grade the overall health of a particular black community.
Such as? That might have been more true in times past when there were more manufacturing jobs in the U.S., but in this day and age, I'm fairly certain that educational attainment most tightly correlates to the overall health of a community.
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If the truth be told the industries that DFW cater to are a lot more conducive to meeting the overall needs of black Americans, which is why the metro black population continues boom.
No doubt DFW does a good job on that front, but so does several other metros.
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