New South. Same Old Prejudices? (Knoxville, Clarksville: relocate, military, jobs)

[tq777]

I recently became engaged. I'm am an educated 35 year old African-American male from California. My fiancée is an educated caucasian woman from Nashville. She is a transplant from New England. She has lived in the south for most of her life. I am a transplant from Missouri. I've lived in California most of my life. We recently decided to choose to live in the south because the cost of living is much lower than California.

We want to start a family, be near her family, and the south was a practical choice for now. I have never lived in the south, so naturally, like most Westerners I had my suspensions of how I would be received when applying for jobs. On the west coast and in my home state, I have suffered countless prejudices when applying for a job in the past. I am a Graphic Designer. There are very few people of color in this line of work. I am always the only person of color wherever I have worked during the course of my career. I grew up in predominately white middle class suburbs all my life. I am accustom to being "the different one".

We settled in the Murfreesboro area a few months ago because my fiancé will attend MTSU. I have been on two interviews in the Cool Springs/Franklin area. The first interview was very disappointing. The owner of the small company actually "flinched" when she saw me and reluctantly shook my hand. She never smiled once. It was very obvious she liked my resume until she saw me. The second interview was with a company which is similar to the company I worked for in california prior to moving to Tennessee. The interviewers were polite and seem to be very receptive. The company had a famous African-American author as cofounder. So, I doubted if prejudice would be an obstacle for me.

However, I saw no people of color working there. During the interview a white male in a suit (possibly a manager) walked by, squinted his eyes and gave a "is that a black guy in here-what is he doing way out here?" look. He than gave a weak half smile when our eyes met. In any case, I was lead to feel like I would be called back for a second interview because they seem to like my work and I had the right experience they needed. I would have loved to worked there. Needless to say I was never called back. I realize there may have been other reasons why I may not have been chosen for the job. But I am highly suspicious when my credentials were so closely matched.

My fiancée told me that the "new" southerner in" todays south" will be very polite to you, but hide their judgment and prejudice. If you do not "fit", they won't let you into their comfort zone. The Cool Springs area is made-up of wealthy white southerners, Iv'e been told. For me, it was like another suburb of california-nothing more than what I had been accustomed to.

I am not one to scream "prejudice' every time situations don't work in my favor. I work hard and earn everything I have honestly. I give everyone a benefit of a doubt against my own innate prejudices about the south. One reason why I took the chance to move to the south was to keep an open mind. I am always seeking some thread of "decency" in people regardless of race.

I will battle with the negative demonized image of black males in american society for the rest of my life. If an African-American male is not a arrogant sports figure, gangster-thug, or a Rapper---people can't see you. I'm an honest hard-working stiff just like them. They see me and see trouble. I am automatically an inferior person to be feared and not trusted. No amount of education can always fix that situation. Sometimes you are considered a threat if you are educated. Based on the fear you are moving in on "their" territory and taking over what they have built-up.

I read Nashville is one of the best places for African-Americans today. I wonder if those statistics are based on the large demographic of African-Americans in the state? However, most are uneducated and poor. So, is Nashville good for African-Americans if they are poor and stay on their side of the fence? Is Nashville bad for African-American professionals who won't be fenced-in? Nashville appears to be new and modern on the outside; but the old segregation mentality may still exists. Please Give me some honest impute. I'm open to understanding. The south is all new to me.

[music-composer]

That's a good subject to bring up. I'm kind of wondering the same thing. Here in the east, my wife and I have been used to total diversity. My wife is hispanic and was wondering the same thing. Is nashville and the counties around it pretty excepting of diversity more then they were years ago? She to is educated with a masters degree in script writing. We just want to make sure we can live in peace and start a nice quiet family.

[insanesmooch]

Mostly, I just wanted to make two points. One is that, at least living in Franklin/Cool Springs, there are not many African Americans. That may be why there are few working in that area too. Also in that area, there are a lot of people from other states (like California). It may be that you are running into some of those same people and their prejudices. Of course, there are people originally from TN that are prejudice too.
It's also not a 'new' southern thing to be polite to your face and sneer behind your back. It's more about being polite to everyone whether you like them or not than being a backstabber.

[myoung16]

I have lived in Clarksville, TN for 13 years (which is about 45 min out of Nashville). My mother is Polynesian and my father is white. Before being stationed at Ft Campbell, my parents lived in Pennsylvania. They have always said, that they experienced far more discrimination in the north than in the south. (Ministers refused to marry them. etc etc)

I am also in a mixed relationship, my boyfriend is white.
He lives in Woodlawn, which is an area on the outskirts of Montgomery County (very country). And I have rarely felt discriminated against. A few times, I have went into stores and have felt like they were being difficult/rude with me, or looking at me suspiciously. I know "the look" that you spoke of. But I can count the number of times on one hand.

I truly love the south and never want to leave TN. (Since moving here, I have adopted an intense southern accent & love for campin' & fishin' and sweet tea) Unfortunately, I think you'll find "racial tension" anywhere you go. But I can tell you from my personal experience, that there is nothing "out of the ordinary" in the south.

ps. I have to agree w/ insanesmooch on the 1st point. And typically the demographics of the upscale Nashville communities are not very diverse.
Here is Franklin's Stats: http://www.city-data.com/city/Franklin-Tennessee.html

[tq777]

My fiancee lived in Clarksville for four years before moving to Murfreesboro. She says because of the military in Clarksville, there is more diversity. There are many more biracial families in the community. She is a teacher, so she communicated with a lot of biracial children and their parents on a daily basis.

As far as diversity... Clarksville is a good place to be for biracial famlies to live. However, non-military-white-collar employment is entirely another story when you are a person of color. Basically whites move to the burbs to escape the crime and poverty of the city. In most cities, blacks make up a large portion of the poverty. Now hispanic immigrants are on the rise too.

I am speculating:

When a white business owner sees a person of color coming into his/her suburban company, no matter how educated he/she may be, asking for a position, he/she would be seen as an automatic intrusion. They are crossing the "line" and bringing their culture with them. The dislike is strongly directed toward blacks than any other race of people. (Unfortunately, the darker the skin, the more demonized you become in society). I suspect this is what happened to me in Cool/Springs. I crossed the line. What flies in California, is not gonna fly here in Nashville.

The basics psychology is: People are more comfortable with others who mirror themselves. Blacks are the complete opposite of whites in hair, features and skin. This is what is judged before you open your mouth to speak. Where there has been more diversity in the upper classes (i.e. Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Alanta). People in these areas of the country have evolved further above that thinking than perhaps Nashville. I think the Nashville may be 25 years behind in their social additude. They may catch up eventually as they continue to grow economically.

[miriam hicks]

tq777,
I'm glad you wrote in on this subject as well. My husband is African American and I am Caucasian, we have a 2 year old daughter and are moving to Nashville this fall. I am currently completing my licensure requirements as an Architect and know exactly what you are talking about in the world of graphic design. There's not a lot of diversity in the architecture field either and I fear part of what you are experiencing is inherent in the career field of design. In my research to relocate I came across an African American owned Architecture firm that has an office in Nashville; Moody Nolan Architects. I know my current office hires graphic designers for our marketing department, possibly that firm might as well? My other suggestion would be to seek out African American professional organizations, companies are starting to woo members as an under tapped source of personel. You might find a better inside track among some of the many successful, highly educated black community members.
I've worried myself about what we will encounter and how will my daughter will be received as she enters school in the years to come. And from reading other threads it seems like private school may be in the future. It seems like the communities listed to have good schools are unaffordable or are far, far away from downtown. I would like to live closer into downtown, that's where the jobs are for me, and/or in a liberal community that is accepting of ethnicity, art, culture, individuality, etc. I'm not sure if such a place exists in Nashville unless it is near one of the universities. Does anyone know? With such a strong music and arts community, one would think openmindness would be prevalent?

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by miriam hicks

tq777,
I'm glad you wrote in on this subject as well. My husband is African American and I am Caucasian, we have a 2 year old daughter and are moving to Nashville this fall. I am currently completing my licensure requirements as an Architect and know exactly what you are talking about in the world of graphic design. There's not a lot of diversity in the architecture field either and I fear part of what you are experiencing is inherent in the career field of design. In my research to relocate I came across an African American owned Architecture firm that has an office in Nashville; Moody Nolan Architects. I know my current office hires graphic designers for our marketing department, possibly that firm might as well? My other suggestion would be to seek out African American professional organizations, companies are starting to woo members as an under tapped source of personel. You might find a better inside track among some of the many successful, highly educated black community members.
I've worried myself about what we will encounter and how will my daughter will be received as she enters school in the years to come. And from reading other threads it seems like private school may be in the future. It seems like the communities listed to have good schools are unaffordable or are far, far away from downtown. I would like to live closer into downtown, that's where the jobs are for me, and/or in a liberal community that is accepting of ethnicity, art, culture, individuality, etc. I'm not sure if such a place exists in Nashville unless it is near one of the universities. Does anyone know? With such a strong music and arts community, one would think openmindness would be prevalent?

Your post caught my attention because I work in the architectural/engineering field. I currently work for a major structural engineering firm in Nashville, but I've also worked for some of the architectural firms in town.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Nashville. That's not to say eveything is perfect here, but I think the worst of your fears are unfounded.

It would be interesting to hear back from you after you've been in Nashville for six month or a year. Post what you discover, whether good or bad.

[sliverbox]

To me, the question of tolerance and ethnic diversity has less to do with a place and more to do with setting. Whether you live in CA, NY, TN, NC, etc etc, there will always be more tolerance in an urban setting versus a rural one. Just remember- in a metropolitan setting, people that have lived there all their lives are used to interacting with people of all different backgrounds.
It is interesting that you bring up tolerance and prejudice in being a minority. I have experienced the same kind of treatment being a southern man with a southern accent living in CA. People just automatically assume that I am either uneducated, stupid, or ignorant. It is assumed that I am devoutly religious, republican, and of a narrow mindset. Over time this has bothered me less and less. I also use this opportunity to share with people out here what it is really like in my part of the country. I take it more to be about people who don't have a lot of experience talking to people like me. So even though they might know loads about Tibet, they have a blank canvas when it comes to places like Knoxville.

I am not a minority myself, so it is probably out of place for me to suggest that things in the " new south" are better than they used to be. But I never thought of Nashville as being particularly racist or prejudiced. I will say that you might encounter more negative reactions in really rural areas, but I'd be willing to bet that the same would occur if you were to drive off to the middle of nowhere CA too. I don't agree with some of the statements that somehow, Nashville is far behind in it's social behaviour and tolerance of ethic groups compared to places like CA. There are some surprising things about Nashville, like having the biggest population of Turkish people in the country.

Again- I don't live there now, nor am I minority. So perhaps my comments are out of place. I wish you luck and hope that you grow to be comfortable with the area.

[akm4]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

l There are some surprising things about Nashville, like having the biggest population of Turkish people in the country.
.

I think you mean Kurdish.

[sliverbox]

yes... Kurdish! sorry to anyone who might've read the last one.