I'm Black and was born in Seattle. Why was I? (Vancouver: transplants, condo)

[ST CRoix To Seattle]

I'm black and was discrimated against in Atlanta,My caribbean accent combined with proper english resulted in me "Talking like a white boy" as I was told. I would not live in the South even if I was paid to do so,Normally I take discrimination with a grain of salt as it is near impossible for me to be offended,but black on black discrimination takes the cake. As Dr.King said in far better terms -a poor education is a cycle that repeats itself,poorly educated students become teachers and recycle the substandard education they recieved onto the next generation of students-thus the cycle continues.

[beenhereandthere]

Originally Posted by pwright1

Speaking of reviews I have to say this, Atlanta does not get rave reviews in my book. I'm black but I would pick Seattle over Atlanta anyday. Its simply not about black and white but what a city has to offer. Seattle offers so much more for me. I really could not ever imagine living in Atlanta. The only thing Atlanta has is cheaper housing. No
thanks.

I lived in Seattle/Tacoma for almost over 6 years and currently live just down the road in Portland. Thanks to my parents living in Atlanta (I've lived there to, even though it has just been for a couple of very short stints), I know Atlanta for sure. Yes, I can see blacks from ATL, punking blacks form Seattle because they, just don't get them and secondly, they think there are no blacks in Seattle.

[Mzfloridagurl]

Im black and im thinking about going to UW, the lack of blk ppl in seattle wouldnt discourage me from attending

[Haakon]

Originally Posted by FashionD

It may be because most of Washington seems to be middle class white people. It's a lot of loggers, people who love nature, people with cars in their backyards; no culture, little diversity, etc. Kind of a narrow-minded place overall - except for Seattle.

Loggers? LOL, you must not spend any time outside of Seattle. Nearly everyone who doesn't live in Seattle sees the people who do live there as narrow minded, latte drinking, liberals who have no problem taxing the entire state to pay for problems in their city and force their political views on the rest of the state.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I think it has more to do with the fact that blacks from Seattle are often thought of as "not black enough".

There is alot of aversion towards Seattle in the eyes of many Atlanta residents, black and white.

Wow. Just amazing that a black person has to conform to a standard of "how" black they should be, but I've heard it before. Most of my black friends are college educated and do the "coat and tie" thing, so it seems most of their friends are white because some black people might not like hanging out with them. Sad that upward mobility has to be squelched by those of the same background who are either jealous, threatened or cannot achieve the same things. Whatever.

I lived in "the ATL" for 2 years and loved it! I didn't think I would as a product of L.A., but I did. I lived in the Ashford-Dunwoody area but in a REGULAR house...about 1400 sf brick ranch. ATL was very free-wheeling compared to Seattle, so actually more in line with what a Californian would expect. The only thing most Californians in the Southeast missed was the beach. For that, we made REGULAR trips to the Florida Panhandle and got beaches that could kick a$$ on any California beach...for usability, that is.

I didn't think Seattle was even on an Atlantan's radar screen, being so far away. What exactly is it that made ATL folks averse to Seattle? This is interesting so I'd like to hear some of the underlying reasons.

[fastsix]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Part of why Seattle gets less than rave reviews among people in Atlanta has to do with it's perceived "rainy" reputation. While it does rain more consistently in Seattle, you will find more cloudy days in Seattle, and sunshine during the summer. It rains more in Atlanta and harder. I believe the rain repuation is not so much an urban myth but more a way to keep potential residents from moving to Seattle, thus trying to kepp Seattle from being overcrowded.

Yeah, it doesn't rain a lot in Seattle if you measure your rain in inches. It just rains a little...all the time, or at least 9-10 months of the year. So, if your problem with rain is the amount of water it deposits on the earth, than Atlanta is worse. If your problem with rain is the cloudy skies, damp conditions, cool temperatures, and lack of sunshine that go with it, then Seattle is worse.

I think most people have more of a problem with the gray days than the amount of water in their rain gauge.

[rikki_5]

There is a huge african american community in Seattle. Just not a ghetto scene, although there are sketchy areas (as with any city). Tacoma has a ghetto I guess but nothing compared to ATL. I've never been to ATL, but I like Outkast and other rappers from that area. I actually really like dirty south rap, and I am white.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by rikki_5

There is a huge african american community in Seattle. Just not a ghetto scene, although there are sketchy areas (as with any city). Tacoma has a ghetto I guess but nothing compared to ATL. I've never been to ATL, but I like Outkast and other rappers from that area. I actually really like dirty south rap, and I am white.

I wouldn't say there was a "huge" African-American community in Seattle (slightly under 50,000 inside city limits), but there has been some influence. Jimi Hendrix is from Seattle and Quincy Jones onced lived near Seattle(Bremerton though). There are many blacks living throughout the Puget Sound region in areas like Renton, Kent, Bremerton, Skyway, Tukwila, Federal Way, Lynnwood, Lakewood, University Place, Spanaway,etc. I would agree there isn't a large "ghetto" presence there, especially compared to Atlanta. Tacoma does have a sketchy reputation, especially due to all of the violence from the 1980's, but that is subsiding. Tacoma actually has a higher percentage of African-Americans than Seattle, but more African-Americans live in Seattle simply because Seattle is larger.

[Ira500]

Quincy Jones lived in Bremerton, but he also lived in the Central District and went to Garfield High.

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by rikki_5

There is a huge african american community in Seattle. Just not a ghetto scene, although there are sketchy areas (as with any city). Tacoma has a ghetto I guess but nothing compared to ATL. I've never been to ATL, but I like Outkast and other rappers from that area. I actually really like dirty south rap, and I am white.

You might want to reconsider your love of dirty south rap. You will have to deal with the shame years down the road. It would be akin to looking at yourself in a yearbook picture from middle school with a bowl cut and/or mullet, or seeing yourself in a picture from the early nineties with a Vanilla Ice jacket.