Overall, what's the racial climate like? (Louisville, Jeffersontown: employment, neighborhood, live in)

[Off Topic]

Originally Posted by tomocox

While you are making some good points, Kentucky, as a state, has always had a leadership role in civil rights across all groups whether race, religion, creed, etc.

I agree completely, and especially in Louisville and Lexington. Heck, I could write paragraphs about good things Kentuckians have done in relation to civil rights. We should be proud of that, as I stated in a prior post. But neither should we ignore that many, many people in our rural areas still have a big problem in this area. A big problem. You cannot explain those election results any other way.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by Off Topic

I agree completely, and especially in Louisville and Lexington. Heck, I could write paragraphs about good things Kentuckians have done in relation to civil rights. We should be proud of that, as I stated in a prior post. But neither should we ignore that many, many people in our rural areas still have a big problem in this area. A big problem. You cannot explain those election results any other way.

We were one of the border states, but is the problem because whites are racists, or maybe the blacks are racists, maybe both? I will no longer take the guilt as being racist simply because I am a white man raised in one of those rural counties you mention. I will not tolerate people considering my people as racist when there are simple statistics which might cause one to assume.

[Off Topic]

Originally Posted by tomocox

I will no longer take the guilt as being racist simply because I am a white man raised in one of those rural counties you mention. I will not tolerate people considering my people as racist when there are simple statistics which might cause one to assume.

I never asked you to assume any personal guilt. I just pointed out some facts which strongly indicate that perhaps many Kentuckians should assume some personal guilt. It's not a blanket indictment of all white Kentuckians. (Or, as you call them, "your people". Query: Aren't minority citizens our people as well?)

Anyway, I clearly said that it is a big problem for some Kentuckians to some extent. Not all Kentuckians to the maximum extent.

Again, you cannot explain those election statistics any other way, imo.

[Louisvilleslugger]

Originally Posted by tomocox

We were one of the border states,

Sadly a misconception about Kentucky's racial history is often shielded by the fact it was the first Southern state to accept the Civil Rights act. The sad reality of it is that Kentucky's racial history is among the worst. Especially when one considers that Kentucky had one of the highest lynching rates for blacks but has one of the lowest black populations in the South. Kentucky even out did Virginia and North and South Carolina in lynchings..three states with larger black populations than Kentucky.

Another thing people overlook is the race riots that had occured in Northern cities suchas St. Louis and Chicago which were some of the deadliest.

but is the problem because whites are racists, or maybe the blacks are racists, maybe both?

No doubt it's both. Alot of blacks in Southern states (especially those 35 and older) were told of instances of violence against other blacks by their parents and grandparents and hold a varying degree of resitment towards whites. On the other hand TODAY there are parts of Eastern Kentucky that are marred with anti black racism, which is probably also generational. My step father is a truck driver and recalls how he had to frequent small Eastern Kentucky towns and he told me there are towns where blacks are not allowed to live to in (of course not legally but socially).

I will no longer take the guilt as being racist simply because I am a white man raised in one of those rural counties you mention. I will not tolerate people considering my people as racist when there are simple statistics which might cause one to assume.

No one is asking anyone to take guilt over something that happened before our existence was even thought of. What I ask is that you remain aware of the history of this state, before you post modern crime statistics.

[Off Topic]

Note that on your graph, there is a grand tota of one state above the Tennessee border with a 160-581 rating, and it isn't Virginia. If you want more modern history, consider the fact that Kentucky still has never had a black person even nominated for a state wide office by either major party. Not even nominated, much less won state wide office! And this is the 21st century.

We've come a long way and we've got a lot to be proud of. But you can't fix a problem when you don't even acknowledge its existence.

[SeanAaron]

Its well known that most Southern whites are racist and most Southern blacks are racist.

The South was built on race as was America. If you look at an election map in the South the majority of the "blue" counties have black majorities and the majority of the "red" counties have white majorities.

[Off Topic]

Originally Posted by SeanAaron

Its well known that most Southern whites are racist and most Southern blacks are racist.

Oh, I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far! It's so much better today than it was 30 years ago that you can't believe it. It's still a problem but we're getting there. I guess I'm about halfway between you and tomocox.

Originally Posted by SeanAaron

If you look at an election map in the South the majority of the "blue" counties have black majorities and the majority of the "red" counties have white majorities.

Why does voting for white Democrats make black southerners racist? Partisan, yes. But racist? I don't see that in the least. (And I'm glad to acknowledge that voting GOP does not come close to making someone racist, before someone brings that up!) On the other hand, it certainly does have something to do with race, I'll grant you that.

Edited to add: My apology if I'm reading more into your comment than you meant. Re-reading it, I think I did. I think you mean race with regard to your final comment rather than racism. And you have a point.

[Teranell]

I stayed with some friends in Louisville one winter and spring, and spoke with severl black friends of theirs there. They didn't go into detail, but indicated it was not all that great, racially. One woman said something to the effect, "Once you've ended up in Louisville, you realize you've not done very well."

But in termes of race relations, last spring I spent a little while every night in a race relations chatroom that was mostly black -- I'm white. I realized that, while many more white people do seem more tolerant to me -- especially younger white people -- a whole lot of yongish, well educated black people -- people between 30 - 60 -- are very angry. This country has gone backwards in race relations since 1980 when Reagan took office. It's a real shame.

People with a high profile always do better to play down black anger and be more positive and set examples for youth -- but average working people -- especially educated people -- feel very negative about what white culure and society have done to them. Positive, creative black folk show us why it's important to strive towards multicultural ideals, why we need to grow.

But not all black or white people are trying to be positive. Some anthropologists say that black and white cultures are so segregated now that it's possible in 50 years, people might not even speak a real similar dialect of English.

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by Off Topic

Louisville has always had a reputation for racial tolerance, at least, relatively speaking. We had a very rough patch in the late 70's (?) when busing come in, but overall, I think we rate pretty well in racial relationships.

I personally think Louisville is doing quite well when it comes to race relations. Now the eastern side of the state is a TOTALLY different story IMO.

Originally Posted by tomocox

but most of the racism comes from blacks, not from whites.

Originally Posted by Louisvilleslugger

My step father is a truck driver and recalls how he had to frequent small Eastern Kentucky towns and he told me there are towns where blacks are not allowed to live to in (of course not legally but socially).

My uncle is a trucker that lives on the southside of Louisville. He said something similar to me the last time I visited him (which was also the first time I visited him). If your step-dad is originally from Manning, SC (and used to live in Houston) he is most likely my dad's oldest brother.

[jclaude]

To the o.p., you'll notice that the white posters (some/most of them) say all is fine and the black posters say it is not. Also, one prominent white poster is obviously in denial about the obviousness of what the presidential election results in Kentucky mean, as if only those in the Southern slave/lynching states know the "truth" about the President's socialist/anti-American/facist/communistic views (the kook claptrap obviously a sublimation of their own malignant beliefs) and that explains the disparity in voting % with the rest of the country.

The reality (as I see it) is that the black people of Louisville largely (generalizing greatly here) live on the west side of I-65 with the socio-economically lower class white people. They are largely isolated and most white people in Louisville or the surrounding areas haven't ever been over there. Culturally, black people are marginalized, which is quite a pity considering the history of African-American music and culture in the area. One wouldn't even realize present-day that that history exists. It's unfortunate and several of the previous posters make quite good points. You can't move forward until you realize there is a problem.