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After 4 pages, I think I see the problem.
Some folks seem to think "The West" consists of ONLY California, Oregon, and Washington.
However, if you visit the REAL "West", Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, etc. you will find a very different type of people.
Most people in the REAL west are more interested in the type of person you are than they are in skin color. If you are looking for a community to live in, welcome. If you are looking for a "black community", you might be out of luck, there aren't very many.
Then again, here in Montana (especially the Northwest part of the State, known as Glacier Country) we have had many black people who came, found work, integrated into the community quite well, but didn't survive the first winter. They apparently didn't like the cold, especially when it hit 10 or 20 below for a week or more. Perhaps there were other problems, I don't know. I do know that come spring, they moved away.
I'm white but honestly, I will never live east of Denver. My parents are from the midwest and east, as are their families going back and back. Thank goodness they never moved back there when I was little, and even better, the Air Force never dumped us there. I've heard the stories and I've witnessed it firsthand. Entire suburbs that are black (and pretty much black only); my cousins telling me that their white school was subdivided by religion and ethnic ancestry (eg, Italians who are Catholic one section, Irish Catholics another, white Evangelicals of unknown ancestry yet another, gays separated from everyone else, etc.). You people east of Denver love to subdivide yourselves into cute little boxes of who is fit to hang with. I find that sad and a tad bit ridiculous. Please keep your boxes east of Denver.
The closest I've seen to the subdividing to absurdity out west (and I've lived in four western states and visited the rest) are Mormons in Utah asking if you (generic) are Mormon like they are.
Its true, if you are looking for a segregated enclave of whatever, be it based on race, ethnicity, what country ones ancestor came from, sexual orientation, religion or lack of it, meat eating preferences, etc,, you won't find it here. If you want to just meet people, live among people, and not care what religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, etc, they are, then the west is for you. Several news magazines have frequently rated the west as the most diverse and several western cities have ranked among the highest in terms of how integrated they are (in fact the last list of most racially integrated cities I looked at did not have a single midwestern, southern or eastern city on it).
The black population has been on decline for a while in California. Several news articles from the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times have talked about why. Among the issues were that blacks are having fewer kids (as are whites) blacks are leaving the state for lower cost of living areas (as are whites) and that the net migration of Americans born in the US (most of this immigration being of whites and blacks) has been in decline for nearly 15 years. Most of the immigrants replacing the declining white and black populations have been of Hispanic (not just Mexican), Asian, or Middle Eastern origin.
I would, depending on the city/area. I think that Nevada has the highest Black percentage for a state west of the Plains States.
They're almost all in Las Vegas, which might as well be a suburb of L.A. I lived there for six years.
Las Vegas used to be lousy for black folks. Back in the 50s it was called "The Mississippi of the West", and let's just say that there's a reason that UNLV chose a Confederate guerrilla as its mascot. (Long story short, it was a railroad town before it was anything else, and was dominated by Southern railmen.) Stories abound of black entertainers who weren't allowed to stay at the hotels they were performing at, or swim in the swimming pools, and who had to enter through the kitchen to get to the stage!
The Moulin Rouge opened up in the Westside (historic black part of town) and everybody who was anybody was partying there after 10 p.m., which made the Strip look real bad. Frank Sinatra was one of the people pushing for an end to the madness, which is one reason among several why he's so deeply revered. Even the punk rock bars in Vegas will have Frank on the jukebox!
I'm one of them L.A. Mexicans y'all are always hearing such bad scarrrrrry things about. Where I was from, there was some brown-black tension that I'd hear about from time to time but it wasn't a huge thing. Black kids had more to worry about from the Nazi Lowrider Peckerwoods or whatever they call themselves now. My area was more "trailer park-ish" than "hood-ish", let's say.
If I was black, I'd stick to California. Hell, it's probably the best place to be if you're just about anything. Jewish, Armenian, Arab, Persian, Turkmenistani, you name it. I once knew a guy who was half Mexican, half Arab, and 100% gay. A triple threat! Just the fact that he exists is enough to make the average Teabagger have an aneurysm. Southern California was his natural home.
The progressives in CA are doing a great job pushing out the middle class out of the state. Black and White Americans are fleeing the state in droves. If it wasn't for immigration CA very well could have lost population the last census.
Quote:
Originally Posted by suissegrl702
I'm white but honestly, I will never live east of Denver. My parents are from the midwest and east, as are their families going back and back. Thank goodness they never moved back there when I was little, and even better, the Air Force never dumped us there. I've heard the stories and I've witnessed it firsthand. Entire suburbs that are black (and pretty much black only); my cousins telling me that their white school was subdivided by religion and ethnic ancestry (eg, Italians who are Catholic one section, Irish Catholics another, white Evangelicals of unknown ancestry yet another, gays separated from everyone else, etc.). You people east of Denver love to subdivide yourselves into cute little boxes of who is fit to hang with. I find that sad and a tad bit ridiculous. Please keep your boxes east of Denver.
The closest I've seen to the subdividing to absurdity out west (and I've lived in four western states and visited the rest) are Mormons in Utah asking if you (generic) are Mormon like they are.
Its true, if you are looking for a segregated enclave of whatever, be it based on race, ethnicity, what country ones ancestor came from, sexual orientation, religion or lack of it, meat eating preferences, etc,, you won't find it here. If you want to just meet people, live among people, and not care what religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, etc, they are, then the west is for you. Several news magazines have frequently rated the west as the most diverse and several western cities have ranked among the highest in terms of how integrated they are (in fact the last list of most racially integrated cities I looked at did not have a single midwestern, southern or eastern city on it).
The black population has been on decline for a while in California. Several news articles from the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times have talked about why. Among the issues were that blacks are having fewer kids (as are whites) blacks are leaving the state for lower cost of living areas (as are whites) and that the net migration of Americans born in the US (most of this immigration being of whites and blacks) has been in decline for nearly 15 years. Most of the immigrants replacing the declining white and black populations have been of Hispanic (not just Mexican), Asian, or Middle Eastern origin.
California is pretty La Raza racist against black Americans but most of the West is not yet dominated by Mexicans. Black Americans will be denied jobs in certain regions with the excuse that they couldn't speak fluent native Spanish but other than that, the West is fine.
The only thing is that if someone wants a good radio station that plays jazz or blues, they won't find many out west. If you like the culture of the urban black, you won't find much of it -- the good or the bad. If you like pop, rock, country or especially Mexican music, then it woudn't be a problem. Same thing with night clubs, you'd have to live without some of the things you have back East. And hair salons -- there may not be any that cater to the kind of hair or styles that you can find back East.
California is pretty La Raza racist against black Americans but most of the West is not yet dominated by Mexicans. Black Americans will be denied jobs in certain regions with the excuse that they couldn't speak fluent native Spanish but other than that, the West is fine.
The only thing is that if someone wants a good radio station that plays jazz or blues, they won't find many out west. If you like the culture of the urban black, you won't find much of it -- the good or the bad. If you like pop, rock, country or especially Mexican music, then it woudn't be a problem. Same thing with night clubs, you'd have to live without some of the things you have back East. And hair salons -- there may not be any that cater to the kind of hair or styles that you can find back East.
These statements are ridiculous.
Music - the music industry is based in Los Angeles
Nightlife - no shortage in any of the major cities
Hair salons - again this is not an issue
The West Coast lifestyle is different than the East Coast but that does not mean that the same (or even better) amenities are not available. The West tends to be less racially segregated by neighborhood (in general) so there is more freedom is how one is able to move about.
I lived in California and I've lived in a couple of states in the south. My experience was that California was less hospitable to my family, the schools less willing to accept my children as gifted, and I was ignored or glared at more in stores. My experience, for what it is worth.
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Where I was from, there was some brown-black tension that I'd hear about from time to time but it wasn't a huge thing. Black kids had more to worry about from the Nazi Lowrider Peckerwoods or whatever they call themselves now. My area was more "trailer park-ish" than "hood-ish", let's say.
Southern California was his natural home.
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