Is Idaho safe for a Black Man to visit or even move to for that matter (Boise: transplants, neighborhoods) - City-Data Forum

PT 3000 · 09-02-2009, 03:52 PM

I've read about the white supremacist groups that were congregating in Idaho and I would like to know if I visited your state would I have need to worry about my safety or is this mainly media hype making a bigger issue than what it really is, I've read about retired L.A.P.D. officers moving to your state saying they wanted to get away from minorities, I know racism comes in all colors and it is everywhere and that the majority of Idahoans don't think like that, I live in Georgia so I know about racism but seeing how Idaho is majority white does that make it seem worse than it is from a black man's perspective.

abbie132 · 09-02-2009, 04:53 PM

My family and I moved to Blackfoot, Idaho about a year and a half ago from Virginia. We are white but when living in Virginia we were use to a large diversity of races and saw racism on both sides of the coin. When we moved here we noticed that the area is predominately white. Pocatello to the South has more African American people probably because of ISU. Here in Eastern Idaho (Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, Pocatello) you dont see too many African Americans but when we have I have never noticed any racism or people acting strangely. People in this area seem to be very nice and welcome everyone.
As for the White supremacists up North I had heard they were no longer there but someone from that area would have to answer that question for you.
I hope I have answered some of your questions and not offended you or anyone else.

PT 3000 · 09-02-2009, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abbie132

My family and I moved to Blackfoot, Idaho about a year and a half ago from Virginia. We are white but when living in Virginia we were use to a large diversity of races and saw racism on both sides of the coin. When we moved here we noticed that the area is predominately white. Pocatello to the South has more African American people probably because of ISU. Here in Eastern Idaho (Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, Pocatello) you dont see too many African Americans but when we have I have never noticed any racism or people acting strangely. People in this area seem to be very nice and welcome everyone.
As for the White supremacists up North I had heard they were no longer there but someone from that area would have to answer that question for you.
I hope I have answered some of your questions and not offended you or anyone else.

There wasn't anything offending about your post, I appreciate you taking time to give a response and I would like to hear from other's as well, any african americans in Idaho care to give a response.

cleosmom · 09-02-2009, 07:20 PM

Abbie hit the nail on the head for SE Idaho. I live north of Abbie in the Idaho Falls area and can vouch for having the area more diverse now than it was when we moved here nearly 20 years ago. Not as diverse say as Chicago, Atlanta, NY and you get the idea, however it is progress.

brokencrayola · 09-02-2009, 07:27 PM

I live in North Idaho and yes, the Aryan Nations was located years ago in Hayden Lake, but for the most part they moved on. Certainly there are people here and there that are racist, but probably any state is like that. I live in Sandpoint and we do have African American that live here or visit here, but I must say not in large numbers at all.

Sage of Sagle · 09-03-2009, 02:03 AM

North Idaho has extremely few black people. But I hear fewer racial jokes here than I ever heard when living in SoCal. This area is NOT racially diverse but it is racially accepting. Do some searches...you'll get a lot of info already in old threads here on CDF about racism in North Idaho. Mostly it's the media enjoying making a big deal of TWO GUYS who still try to revive the Aryan Nation. We think they're screwballs...

Trace_Rinaldi · 09-03-2009, 02:15 AM

I've seen quite a few black folks in my area of operation and they seem to be doing fine...

EJRuek · 09-03-2009, 08:48 AM

I wouldn't move to Priest River, but Sandpoint is okay. Yes, there are Aryan Nations; yes, there are White Supremicists; yes, there are racists. The latter, however, are pretty much the average type of idiot you'd find anywhere. There is much less racism here than there is in the South. And we do have an anti-hate/anti-prejudice group that's quite active. Sandpoint is only interested in money: if you have money, they'll treat you like you're royalty. If you don't, don't expect the welcome mat.

CSG · 09-03-2009, 09:04 AM

I would say it's safer than where you're coming from. Understand that Idaho is predominately white with a healthy growing population of Mexicans, legal and otherwise. The state is quite conservative and if you're a conservative you will feel more at home. There are pockets of liberalism, mostly in guilty rich areas like Ketchum and Boise because of many transplants being their politics with them.

There are so few blacks that I've seen in Idaho, expect to get some double takes. Not likely because of racism but because blacks are simply not commonly seen in this state.

Syringaloid · 09-03-2009, 09:12 AM

Idaho as a whole is probably safer for a black man than predominately African American neighborhoods in most large American cities are. Idaho lacks the gangs (except for a few wanna be Mexican gangs in Canyon County) , the thugs, the violence that permeates most large American cities.
Boise obviously has the largest African American population in the state and there is a growing number of refugees from Africa which adds to the diversity of the city.