Safe, Pleasant Areas for Black, Mixed Family (Los Angeles, Pasadena: crime, home)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Tencent

It's all about the jobs and employment opportunities. As others have mentioned the Black legacy in CA went when those blue collar jobs started disappearing and in came the government backed crack era. I think it's interesting that you faced more racism from Whites in NY because I have a rather approximate years that stopped for me as a Native NYer it was around early 2000s when many of the lower class blue collar Whites got priced out. Racism/Classism of course still is around in the upper echelons just not as profound as before.

I agree with your observations that it's primarily Latinos that discriminate against Blacks in CA and that is due to a variety of reasons. One of which is the heavy history of gang culture in LA which is race based. This comes from the days of community based self policing gone wrong. Whereas NY is more like a tightly controlled standardized area that can be properly administrated, LA and CA "sprawl" out too much which leads to less diversity and more inconsistencies in policing and ignorance of each other. NYC due to space constraints you have different ethnic enclaves literally one subway station away in some cases. In LA it can be an hour long drive in traffic. In addition, Mexicans and Central Americans in particular tend to have a severe case of Peninsulares idealization sickness. In the Latin American caste system (yes there is one) Blacks and indigenous people are at the bottom. Due to their position below Los Blancos, Criollos or Mestizos tend to feel the need to sh** on Blacks to make themselves feel better.

OP - Bottom line do you want to have your kids be in an area with this legacy of gang wars and race riots in a place you potentially can barely afford or would you rather start fresh somewhere that has less racial baggage and a better cost effective standard of living?

The reality is that in my company (F500) most Senior Black executives do not want to stay in CA even if that's where the growth was for their particular job function. As a mid level Black professional myself I have to pay close attention to all of this naturally. We've seen the same net migration out of CA with our vendors. Most of the diverse top talent has moved to Charlotte, Dallas or Ft. Lauderdale area. Etc.

Believe it or not: even 50 years ago the black/hispanic friction existed in So CA.

[Tencent]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Believe it or not: even 50 years ago the black/hispanic friction existed in So CA.

It did, but the drug wars and the prison industrial complex aggravated it. It's also the emotional connection to that which is fundamentally why Kamala Harris had no chance.

[Taiko]

Originally Posted by Tencent

It did, but the drug wars and the prison industrial complex aggravated it. It's also the emotional connection to that which is fundamentally why Kamala Harris had no chance.

No chance of what? California elected her as Attorney General and Senator

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Tencent

It did, but the drug wars and the prison industrial complex aggravated it. It's also the emotional connection to that which is fundamentally why Kamala Harris had no chance.

As we all know things have become so much worse over the years. There are lots of reasons for this. I certainly don't know the answer and I know I am getting off topic a bit, but 2 things come to mind: 1-social media, even though much of what we hear went on before social media came on the scene and reverse discrimination hasn't helped. Of course the drug wars are playing a huge roll

My point for bringing up 50 years ago was more to make people aware of: even in the wonderful 50s and 60s and they were wonderful, gang problems existed. We just were not as aware and we associated them with just a hand full of Latinos and not other groups. They mainly existed in east L.A and Lincoln park.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by Taiko

No chance of what? California elected her as Attorney General and Senator

No, San Francisco and L.A. liberal elites elected her. Californians did not.

[PK12]

OP:

If you are okay with a townhouse and schools are not an issue, you will have several options in Pasadena which is literally right next to San Marino and has a solid black professional population. I see blacks dining out, drinking at the bars, at the gym, the mid-range and upscale stores on Colorado Blvd all the time.

Don't worry too much about racial issues; the people in LA by and large are awesome and very much tolerant of folks of other races. I work for one of the Big 4 consulting firms, and there are many black folks in my office in DTLA.

Start by renting a place in Pasadena, get a feel of the immediate vicinity and of other areas in LA County, do your research on homes patiently and you will surely find something soon enough.

Welcome to LA! I just moved here from DC 4 months ago, and I am never returning to the East Coast

[Tencent]

Originally Posted by Taiko

No chance of what? California elected her as Attorney General and Senator

The Presidency. She was hard on petty Marijuana related offenses in an era where both the State and the nation in general were looking towards decriminalization.

The reason I bring up her is whenever Marijuana is discussed it can be a highly racialized issue which most Americans think of Black vs. White. And because of stereotypes and "Black Flight" from CA, the first thing some Whites may think when a Black couple moves in subconsciously is there is a 1 in 2 chance they are a dealer of some kind. (Because many working class Blacks born and raised in the area left decades ago and recently high income Black families as well. ) Old Abuelitas often ignorantly think the same, that once we move on their block, mysteriously their grandkids will begin toking voraciously and rebelling. It is something OP should be conscious and aware of.

Many Whites I meet from California regularly assume (even in a professional setting) that I am 1 degree of separation from a dealer, Hitman or roughneck of some kind. It's almost as if you're Black and successful in California you are an anomaly and there has to be something else to it. (Mostly assumed to be something nefarious) Now Liberal elite Whites won't actively discriminate against you due to these beliefs but will passively trip over themselves and interactions can be awkward until you clear the air and set the record straight. They tend to tippy toe around Frank life discussions, topics like crime which are inevitable if discussing where to live or do business. The topic often segues into how they have meth heads among extended family and that is a cue for you to confirm their assumptions that your mamma was on section 8 and yo daddy was a banger or low rider. I don't have time to get into this but California liberal Whites can be extremely annoying to deal with beyond light rapport. I'm not saying ALL but MANY. It's a difference in culture, humor and sense or overly caring for political correctness. If you want to know if I've seen a gang turf war just ask and stop using euphemisms and beating around the bush already.

That has been my limited experience of being Black in California in general as well as 2nd hand accounts from friends and Black business associates.

It is something for OP to be aware of. Not that this only happens in LA.... I would advise reading about the story of the Black Uber engineer. SF is a different animal entirely but you'll see some persistent themes that can be applied to the region.

[kttam186290]

Where Kamala went wrong nationally, IMHO, was when she wanted to take on the "victim" role in the early Democratic debates, a la her public sparring with Joe Biden. Yet, a cursory glance at her resume and biography indicates a life of relative privilege, compared to your average black American and black Californian.



People -- as a rule -- don't like hypocrites and fakes. It's a near-universal turn off.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Where Kamala went wrong nationally, IMHO, was when she wanted to take on the "victim" role in the early Democratic debates, a la her public sparring with Joe Biden. Yet, a cursory glance at her resume and biography indicates a life of relative privilege, compared to your average black American and black Californian.



People -- as a rule -- don't like hypocrites and fakes. It's a near-universal turn off.

I was blown away when she started in on the poor little black girl who had to be bussed to school. We had 2 little white kids that were bussed into an all black neighborhood at the same time. I never felt one bit sorry for our kids. It was a wonderful experience, they learned just as well and if they had stayed at the neighborhood and I was still able to be a Brownie Leader even though it meant the kids from the black neighborhood school needed to have permission one day a week to ride the school bus as we met in our home. I would take those who needed rides back home after the meetings were over. My very blond daughter had 3 best friends: 2 black girls and a Latino little girl.

Now i will say the looks we got when we took she and her friends to Disneyland for a birthday party were pretty interesting, especially when our older daughter with bright red hair and freckles came along. Those were good times even though bussing did not turn out to solve any problems. What made Kamala think she had it so bad cause she was bussed?

[LiaLia]

OP, look into San Pedro.

(You can thank me later. )