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tough question. looking at census data alone can be deceiving because just because there's a 50/50 racial makeup does not mean that the races interact often in that area. take for instance charleston. 2/3rds white, 1/3rd non-white but when you go down there and drive around you know immediately that there is a racial division based on neighborhoods, schools, etc.....
same thing in greenville in some instances and i'm sure Columbia has its racial division.
go to sumter sometime. that county is pretty much 50 / 50 according to their census estimates but if you look at their public schools the white enrollment at sumter, crestwood and lakewood high schools is less than a 1/3 at best.
one of the best statistical ways to describe a counties racial division is to look at their overall ethnic makeup then look at their public school make up. it tells a big story when the county itself is 75% white and less than 60% of the public school enrollment is white. (Laurens County). although it could also mean that the white population has fewer kids or has an older population. dont get me wrong the stats shouldn't be taken at face value but there is definitely a story behind them.
also check out Jasper county sometime. the public schools down there are like 15% white at best and the white population in the county over all is over 50%.
Should I be concerned about any of that 1950's era racism here? My business would involve me being in a clients home either while they are home or away for a minimum of 4 hours each visit.
well remember 1950s racism was "legal racism". separate facilities, etc.... that obviously doesn't exist and obviously if you're black or asian you probably dont wanna go wondering into a bar with a rebel flag out front at night in the middle of nowhere. but no signs in stores that say "colored need not apply" haha. honestly IMO i think racial division in SC in 2011 is no different than it is in any of the other states or DC. it has its pockets where it may be more intense and in some cases racism may not be in your face but its intensity is strong underneath.
well remember 1950s racism was "legal racism". separate facilities, etc.... that obviously doesn't exist and obviously if you're black or asian you probably dont wanna go wondering into a bar with a rebel flag out front at night in the middle of nowhere. but no signs in stores that say "colored need not apply" haha. honestly IMO i think racial division in SC in 2011 is no different than it is in any of the other states or DC. it has its pockets where it may be more intense and in some cases racism may not be in your face but its intensity is strong underneath.
I contend it has turned away from racism into classism (yes, I just made that word up!). I can never know what it's like to be black since I am not. But, I do know that I see families looking at neighborhoods and areas based on socio-economic factors rather than race. If someone thinks unkindly of hte poor, they are likely to think unkindly of a poor white person that is ignorant equally with a poor black person that is ignorant.
I would imagine it's like that anywhere else though, come to think of it. People generally want the "best" for their families that money can buy when it comes to where they live and I have not seen really any difference in any of the places I have lived (11 states so far but born and raised in the South). Well, except maybe California. They were just different all together.
I lived in Columbia a few years back. I felt the racism was not that bad as I was used to in Maryland. Up here it goes both ways and can get quit ugly.
One of the things I loved about Columbia and the areas surrounding it was how my son did not pick up on the racism. My son came home from school one day telling about his friend and how he had brown skin. I loved that because even though he notice a difference (not everyone is the same) he didn't refer to him as being "black". It wasn't until we moved back to Maryland where my son began seeing and hearing all the racial slurs and the ugliness of it.
The closer to the city such as Columbia, the more tolerable people were and probably the less you will encounter it. Out in the country, further away from the city I got a different feel. I have some family that live in the country that have no problem saying certain words that are derogatory. But I do have to say that alot of those small towns don't like outsiders.
But as a white person, I can't say for sure how an african american may see it. It might be different from their point of view.
I am an African-American male from Michigan. I have been living in South Carolina for about a year in the upstate. I want to be completely fair in my assessment. I have not been all over the United States so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
While I have met many friendly whites here. I have also come across a few that were very rude and down right nasty, the kind of people who will barely look at you or give you the time of day. This is a staunch republican red state. ( what was I thinking?) As far as opportunities for black people I don't see them in abundance, and blacks here seem kind of used to the system. No one seems to really complain about anything here. I've seen a lot of homeless people around town, both black, white and hispanic and people don't seem to really can, but I guess that's everywhere.
A local white woman contacted me as a possible romantic interest and when she found out I was Black she changed her tune quickly. " I must be honest I'm just not attracted. I'm not racist I was married to someone from another race", she went on the say. I took the high road and left it at that. Maybe I shouldn't have. Perhaps she really just wasn't attracted, but still her comments seemed like a rather jerky thing to say from someone who had been almost desperate to meet me, prior and from a woman who wasn't exactly God's gift to mankind.
With all that said having lived in Michigan it could be racist too, only people just tended to hide it more or were in denial more. So I guess I can give SC kudos because if someone doesn't like you here they willl surely let you know it. However, I think Michigan was a place where a person of color had more opportunity to prosper and Michigan was more multicultural at least before the economic crash.
Determining the level of racism that exists in a state/city you must not just look at a snapshot of daily interactions with people, you must look at the whole picture. Anyone that wants to know what the racial climate is like in SC should not just look at the black or white take a look at the green.
Take a look at who is prospering, who is living in the nice homes and driving the nice cars, who has most of the better paying positions in the workplace....then and only then will anyone who wants to know get a clear understanding about the racial climate in SC. For example: one can ask themselves, "are the Black people prospering there? Lived in Greenville a few years myself and quickly saw where the line was drawn according to race. I watched things like who was riding the bus, who was working the low wage positions. Each time the answer was the same....black people are not prospering in SC the way they do in other states across America. Like another poster said....they don't complain and tolerate anything....and when they do complain they do so amongst themselves.
Take a look at Greenvilles downtown and what the racial makeup is for those who live there.......there is a definite racial problem when Blacks are forced to live in certain parts of town because the majority of them don't make enough green to live anywhere else!
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