New to the area/"Black" people in Minneapolis/Pick-up Basketball Game (Brooklyn Park: 2014, school)

[Skiluminati]

Hello, I am new to the area and I'm having a difficult time fitting in. This is one of the more interesting areas I've ever been in. Wiki says that about 17 percent of the total areas population is categorized as "black" but the funny thing is none of those 17% are actually FROM this area. It seems as if about 75% of the "black" population is from Somalia, and the other 25% of the total black pop is from Chicago. That's great if you're from those areas, but I'm not..lol (Not exact numbers or percentages, just general observations made by driving these streets for over a year) By the way this is NOT a thread about race, or demographics or any of that. I was just making that point because it's something I've seen, and found interesting. In my mind race is a non-factor, but culture is everything and we all have different cultures even people with the same skin complexion. Culture plays a huge role in individuals likes/dislikes, hobbies, senses of humor etc. With that being said I'll give a little background about me. I am a 29 yr old black male from Grand Rapids MI, recently relocated to the area in 2014 for educational opportunities (UofM Grad School).

Initially my wife and I thought we would come here for her Master's degree and maybe create a niche for ourselves, possibly finding a few friends in the process. After a year of nothingness we now realize that--that will not happen and we are just waiting for her to complete this degree so we can go back to Michigan or possibly another location where we can get connected a little more easily.

With that being said we still have to be here for about another year and a half so in the mean time I need to occupy my free-time. One of my interests is basketball. I have a membership at the local YWCA and I go to all three locations but they are all usually pretty dead. Where can I go to find a park that has a little energy to it? Where is the action here? I went EVERYWHERE last summer and every park I went to was completely DEAD. In Michigan you can go to a number of cities where they have courts that rival Rucker Park in NY. Where can I catch a pick-up basketball game? Maybe I'll meet some people through that. It's funny because in the winter those SAME parks are bustling with activity. You can catch a pick-up Hockey game literally ANYWHERE here, Basketball not so much. Like I said CULTURE is everything. Thoughts?

[makes no sense at all]

There's no outdoor pick up games like in NYC or even LA.

try Ultimate Hoops

[Glenfield]

Well, I guess this pretty much blows a hole in the theory that the reason people have a hard time making friends here is because of our Scandinavian heritage.

[uptown_urbanist]

I think Painter park in Minneapolis is a place to go for pick-up basketball, or least it was. It's worth a shot.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I think Painter park in Minneapolis is a place to go for pick-up basketball, or least it was. It's worth a shot.

He can try but I go there fairly often and don't see that happening now. I see games more often at McRae at 46th and Chicago but not very often. It seems more like friends getting together. There are more blacks east of 35W than west of it.

[makes no sense at all]

Originally Posted by Skiluminati

It seems as if about 75% of the "black" population is from Somalia, and the other 25% of the total black pop is from Chicago. ... Thoughts?

If you look at the last census, Hennepin county gained 36,000 black residents from 2000-2010. 10,000 were Somali immigrants. The traditionally black areas of Minneapolis all lost black population, especially South Minneapolis. However, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center turned majority black. The non-somali black community in Minnesota basically moved to the suburbs.

As far as basketball goes, it's all indoors now.

[polo_golf_guy]

Sorry to hear the struggles to meet up with cats for a gamr. I don't hoop but can relate to the struggle to meet people.

[tonybarnaby]

Powderhorn park

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

There's at least a quarter million black (African American or African) people in the Twin Cities, and probably more.....I'm sure you can find something. It's not quite as segregated as IL, MI, OH, IN and there aren't many all-black nabes, but I'm sure you can find an all African-American pick-up game somewhere if that's your goal.

It'd probably help to know where you live and where you've been searching (e.g. if you live in Edina and stick to the SW side of the metro you may have trouble finding what you're looking for, but even in Edina there are a few places where mostly black people play pick-up ball all summer long).

Are you looking to meet native black folks, or do you just not like black folks from Chicago, Gary or Mogadishu? This is an odd problem to have, but it sounds like it's not unique to just you. To me it sounds like your issue is about the non-blackness (African Americans) of the metro area and your difficulty relating to people here, and you are just trying to get by until you can go back to what you are comfortable with. There's nothing wrong with that, but what exactly can we help you with if you're not trying to create a race thread but the lack of a certain demographic is giving you and your wife major issues?

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by makes no sense at all

If you look at the last census, Hennepin county gained 36,000 black residents from 2000-2010. 10,000 were Somali immigrants. The traditionally black areas of Minneapolis all lost black population, especially South Minneapolis. However, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center turned majority black. The non-somali black community in Minnesota basically moved to the suburbs.

As far as basketball goes, it's all indoors now.

I think the demographics are closer to 75% black/AA, 25% African, but I'm sure it can seem like the inverse of that, especially depending on what part of town you're in.