Black Population In Seattle (Federal Way, Kent: middle-class, buy, private schools)

[la_fuerza]

It's not just Seattle. Blacks are getting squeezed out of their neighborhoods all along the West Coast. SF, Oakland, LA, Compton, Watts. The list is endless. I lived in the Bay Area for many years and I witnessed the black exodus with my very eyes. At first the blacks would leave for places in the Central Valley, like Fresno. Then I found out alot of blacks were leaving California altogether for states like Louisiana and Georgia. Oakland which was at once 55% black now hovers around 25% black. I would hate to see the same thing happen to Seattle, with blacks leaving. I think Seattle is a great place for African Americans to live and raise families. I work with a few black guys and they are not thuggish at all. We have great cameraderie on the job.

A bit off topic but since the title of the thread is "Black Population In Seattle" what is your opinion on the growing African Population? I'm not talking about African Americans, but instead the sizable populations of Ethiopians and Somalians in Seattle.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

African-American history in Seattle goes back almost to the beginnings, though. Seattle's first Black resident settled in Seattle in 1852 when the city was barely a year old.

One of the first in Washington was actually George W. Bush ...not Dubya but George Washington Bush.

Not being able to settle in Oregon because of laws prohibiting blacks from settling there, Bush moved on to what is now Thurston County and settled there in 1845.

That would explain why Portland's black population is smaller than Seattle's black population.

[Seatown206]

I grew up in the Central District when it was primarily a Black neighborhood. I remember coming back to Seattle from college a few years ago and moving to Kent because it was cheap. I was surprised at how many Black people lived out there. When I was growing up nobody lived out in Kent. As I get older and more of my friends are settling down and buying houses or condos it seems like everybody is moving out to Kent or Federal Way. Even buying in Renton is getting expensive.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Seatown206

I grew up in the Central District when it was primarily a Black neighborhood. I remember coming back to Seattle from college a few years ago and moving to Kent because it was cheap. I was surprised at how many Black people lived out there. When I was growing up nobody lived out in Kent. As I get older and more of my friends are settling down and buying houses or condos it seems like everybody is moving out to Kent or Federal Way. Even buying in Renton is getting expensive.

What about Lakewood, Tacoma, and parts of Pierce County?

My father(and the rest of his family) enjoyed Seattle, but housing was not cheap, so we left. Other than that, I would happily return.

[geek girl]

I Would love to live in seattle, I am stuck in texas right now. I love the beautiful scene and people. Do not get stuck in the south!

[Xenobion]

I think its an important note to bring up about how Blacks fit in Seattle and the Northwest culturally. My experience in the South and selective areas of the east coast (PA, NY, NC, TN) is that there is there remains to be a lot of racism in those areas (varying of course). Many Sociologists have noted some unique qualities of Seattle. Since no particular group of people other than Native Americans have existed in the area for a long time Washington is largely a big immigrant oriented state that hasn't had the chance really to set up entrenched social classes, economic classes, and areas of prestige or "ghettos." Many places on the East Coast have sectioned parts of the city that are mainly German, Irish, Ethiopian, ect. While this exists to some extent in Washington with many different Asian groups of people (China Town, Little Korea or Vietnam) everyone seems to live everywhere and many of these places only act as business hubs that also cater to anyone of any race.

With that said I'd say that most of the Metro area of Washington is somewhat Colorblind because so many different nationalities exist in non-sectioned off areas of the city. The area has a very cosmopolitan feel to it and while I can't say Washington is racism-free, things like inter-racial dating/marriage are prolific and frankly most people don't even care whereas I experienced the opposite on the East Coast (not everywhere obviously).

I don't know if I'm articulating it correctly but I do not want to offend anyone. I am happy about the diversity in Seattle. There aren't a lot of Black people there but I feel like no one recognizes race as a reason to treat someone good/bad.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Xenobion

I think its an important note to bring up about how Blacks fit in Seattle and the Northwest culturally. My experience in the South and selective areas of the east coast (PA, NY, NC, TN) is that there is there remains to be a lot of racism in those areas (varying of course). Many Sociologists have noted some unique qualities of Seattle. Since no particular group of people other than Native Americans have existed in the area for a long time Washington is largely a big immigrant oriented state that hasn't had the chance really to set up entrenched social classes, economic classes, and areas of prestige or "ghettos." Many places on the East Coast have sectioned parts of the city that are mainly German, Irish, Ethiopian, ect. While this exists to some extent in Washington with many different Asian groups of people (China Town, Little Korea or Vietnam) everyone seems to live everywhere and many of these places only act as business hubs that also cater to anyone of any race.

With that said I'd say that most of the Metro area of Washington is somewhat Colorblind because so many different nationalities exist in non-sectioned off areas of the city. The area has a very cosmopolitan feel to it and while I can't say Washington is racism-free, things like inter-racial dating/marriage are prolific and frankly most people don't even care whereas I experienced the opposite on the East Coast (not everywhere obviously).

I don't know if I'm articulating it correctly but I do not want to offend anyone. I am happy about the diversity in Seattle. There aren't a lot of Black people there but I feel like no one recognizes race as a reason to treat someone good/bad.

I am not going to say that Seattle is paradise, because every place has a degree of racism in it. That includes Seattle. With that said,there seems to be a uniqueness in its history of blacks living there. There is some good here. For some reason even the Mardi Gras riot of 2001 doesn't make Seattle discouraging. I guess its because I'm partial to Seattle and I can love the place with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Seattle is a nice place in my opinion.

[swsha4]

Seattle City, Washington Statistics and Demographics (US Census 2000)

Seattle Population: 563374 100.00%

Sex
Male 280973 49.87%
Female 282401 50.13%


Race

White 394889 70.09%
Black or African American 47541 8.44%
American Indian and Alaska Native 5659 1%
Asian 73910 13.12%
Asian Indian 2843 0.5%
Chinese 19415 3.45%
Filipino 15867 2.82%
Japanese 8979 1.59%
Korean 4863 0.86%
Vietnamese 11943 2.12%
Other Asian 10000 1.78%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2804 0.5%
Native Hawaiian 409 0.07%
Guamanian or Chamorro 364 0.06%
Samoan 1391 0.25%
Other Pacific Islander 640 0.11%
Some other race 13423 2.38%
Two or more races 25148 4.46%
Hispanic or Latino(of any race) 29719 5.28%

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by swsha4

Seattle City, Washington Statistics and Demographics (US Census 2000)

Seattle Population: 563374 100.00%

Sex
Male 280973 49.87%
Female 282401 50.13%


Race

White 394889 70.09%
Black or African American 47541 8.44%
American Indian and Alaska Native 5659 1%
Asian 73910 13.12%
Asian Indian 2843 0.5%
Chinese 19415 3.45%
Filipino 15867 2.82%
Japanese 8979 1.59%
Korean 4863 0.86%
Vietnamese 11943 2.12%
Other Asian 10000 1.78%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2804 0.5%
Native Hawaiian 409 0.07%
Guamanian or Chamorro 364 0.06%
Samoan 1391 0.25%
Other Pacific Islander 640 0.11%
Some other race 13423 2.38%
Two or more races 25148 4.46%
Hispanic or Latino(of any race) 29719 5.28%

That was 7 years ago. Things have changed.

[Cheeto]

[quote=jamochabeans;1900930]I am a black female born and raised in Atlanta and have lived in Seattle for 2 years. Growing up in a city with black mayors, leaders, lawyers, doctors, and examples of strong black families, I felt a certain pride that I have not felt since moving to Seattle. After living in the so called prejudiced South my entire life without incident, I had to move out to Seattle to get called a ******. I just don't want anybody to get the impression that Seattlites are all holding hands. White Seattlites will have you belive that because it assuages their liberal white guilt. By the way, people who make mention of their black friends are usually the biggest racists of them all. Every time you do it, people of color immediately mentally label you as a racist.

Jamochabeans,
Why would someone be considered racist for mentioning a black friend when discussing a black/white issue. If that's the topic, then it seems to be appropriate to mention your friend's race to relate to the subject being discussed. If you would label somebody as racist for doing such a thing, then maybe you are the one who is racist, or at least guilty of making stereotypical judgements based on race. Sure plenty of white people over play the liberal status to overcompensate, but a person who is truly a liberated thinker has nothing to feel guilty about. A liberal person is somebody with an open mind, maybe you should lean that way a bit yourself. You hit the nail on the head with the BET analogy. (That black youth take cues on gangsterism from BET). Corporations and media conglomerates are the new slave masters and green is the color of superiority. And nobody, regardless of skin color is exempt from this. People like you perpetuate racial divisions in a society where we all face the same enemies. BET, hip hop record labels, the so-called "war on drugs", these are far worse enemies to black people than the average white Seattlite. If anything a white person from Seattle might have an ignorance towards another culture due to lack of exposure to any minorities. But that doesn't make somebody racist, just un worldly. I grew up in Detroit, and in many cases, I was the only white person some people actually ever got to know. When some of these people or their families, made racially charged remarks, I chalked it up to the fact that the white people in the history books and on the police force, were the only white people they've ever came in contact with. Sorry about your experiences with white people in the paciific northwest, but you should really use your brain before letting your emotions warp your perception of why things are the way they are.