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Maybe you are a minority but probably not. If you are in the majority (White) you still experience racism but your ability to avoid it in your personal life is probably a lot easier and not one that would influence your decision to locate to a state. You can avoid more easily when not at work than minorities usually can and that is a number thing. I understand your point and don't disagree but most White folk aren't as conscious about racism when picking states to live in.
There are many, MANY threads in this forum if you search by "racism" or "diversity". BUT, I am confused as to what you mean by this:
Quote:
We are thinking about moving from Chicago and keep hearing things NC being somewhat more racist then other states.
Do you think the level of racism is exactly the same among all 8 million residents of the state? You will find some who are very racist, some who are completely the other end of the spectrum, most being somewhere in between, but much closer to the "non-racist" end [in one sense, at some level, everyone is "racist" in assumptions about their own "race" and others", just as everyone has some degree of sexism, regionism, and stereotypes about other "groups", whatever they may be, even if they are very, very subtle].
Overt racism that you should "worry" about is rare in NC, being much more of a small-town thing (this is true not just in NC, of course). The Raleigh area, being a city (though nothing compared to Chicago, of course) has people who've been exposed to many others who aren't "like them", including of different races (and I don't mean just black or white). It is impossible to characterize "the state" as X degree racist from one end to the other; like anywhere, it depends on the locale and, of course on the individaul people you meet. Most people, whatever their race, no matter how minority, do not complain about significant racist incidents here--check out the many other links someone else has provided.
Hmm... From what I've heard, Chicago has its own fair share of racism. Can't call it though.
My family is from Chicago and though I have never lived there, I have visited many times. My parents moved when they got married. Interestingly enough, I find all of my Chicagoland relatives to be much more racist than the people I have met in the Triangle area.
I believe that racism is correlated to ignorance. And, when I say ignorance, I am not just talking about formal education. I am also talking about the type of ignorance that results from people being segregated and not understanding each other. This is the reason why I think that many of my relatives in Chicagoland are racist. They are completely segregated from those that are like them.
In the Triangle, there is definitely sorting by income that often time manifests itself in race. But, in the Triangle, I don't find the social segregation that I find in the burbs where my relatives live. No matter where I go in the Triangle, I see people of different ages, races, religions etc. interacting with each other in a very civil manner. And, I am one of those people who also believes that public actions and behavior shape culture. Additionally, the Triangle is one of the most educated metros in the nation. That is an added bonus in my book as education typically reduces presumption and misunderstanding. A reduction in presumption and misunderstanding usually results in less cultural fear... and less cultural fear usually means less racism. At least that's how I see it.
The OP may well be transferring their Chicago experience to the Triangle and is trying to ascertain if the fact that it is in the south enhances the Chicago experience. Research on the developmental history of the Triangle will probably help them see the difference in new urban/suburban v old urban/suburban. Cary has attracted diversity and I am not sure the Chicago suburbs have to the same degree.
Racism is everywhere....and no, it's not any worse then Northern States and in many ways it's much better. NC racists then the 49 other states? Where the daylights have you heard that? Not even close to being true.
The South has had to confront it's racist past...and it does so a lot more honestly then the very subtle, hidden (and just as destructive) racism you have up North.
I wonder how many of the people responding would themselves be likely to be the victims of racism or whether they are in the majority. Hypothetical question. But, can those of us who are not minorities really judge the relative effects of racism in one place vs another, when we never ourselves directly see or experience it?
As a minority, I can say the Triangle, in my experience, isn't any more racist than any other state I've lived. With that being said, there are incidents of racism that do exist here (the racial slur that was written about Pres. Obama on the free expression wall at NC State comes to mind), but it's not something that would make me decide not to live here. When I first moved here there were two separate incidents, on two separate days that gave me pause. They both involved white men yelling obscenities and racial slurs while my daughter and I walked down the street of downtown Durham (they were driving by). My daughter has experienced racism while at school (she and other minority students were cleaning up the school field when a busful of students drove by and called them the n-word) and while I hate that it happened, it created an environment for me to teach her that while some people are ignorant, others aren't and we have to take the good with the bad. Neither incident would cause me to decide not to live here.
As a minority, I can say the Triangle, in my experience, isn't any more racist than any other state I've lived. With that being said, there are incidents of racism that do exist here (the racial slur that was written about Pres. Obama on the free expression wall at NC State comes to mind), but it's not something that would make me decide not to live here. When I first moved here there were two separate incidents, on two separate days that gave me pause. They both involved white men yelling obscenities and racial slurs while my daughter and I walked down the street of downtown Durham (they were driving by). My daughter has experienced racism while at school (she and other minority students were cleaning up the school field when a busful of students drove by and called them the n-word) and while I hate that it happened, it created an environment for me to teach her that while some people are ignorant, others aren't and we have to take the good with the bad. Neither incident would cause me to decide not to live here.
Owow! I didn't see your post before. I'm so sorry your daughter experienced those two situations. That's exactly what I hope to not see or ever experience if we end up moving to NC.
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