"Real life" for African Americans in Washington State (Seattle: low income, appointed)

[west seattle gal]

Originally Posted by ken brookins

I am a black man who lives in Kentucky , but I have travel to Washington state a lot in the past 20 years and I have a lot of white friends from Bellingham to Spokane, a few years ago some of my white friends came to ky . to visit and they said they would never come back again , they were treated very poor, I am ready to move to wa. state ,I have always consider Washington state my second home,i like Bellingham a lot. my question is would you recommend a black man to relocate to Whatcom,county ?

I also love Bellingham and want to move there eventually! I sure as heck see no reason race would even be an issue there, for it's a very liberal town. But as the President's recent speech highlights, there may be a hidden black experience of racism even in the Pacific NW of which I am not qualified to analyze. But it would really, really surprise me if racism does exist in Whatcom or in Seattle.

[cocaseco]

Racism is alive and well in the PNW as well as everywhere else in the US. The difference is that it is not your fathers racism. Nobody ever sees thgemselves as a racist and almost everyone will say they are not racist. But the fact is that all of the events President obama talked about last week are true. Good God feering Christians will tense up just a bit when a black man approaches them. Add in a dark night and a deserted location and it will be even more obvious. Black men in America get treated differently every single day in every city. Its human nature to like and be drawn to those who look like you. The difference today is that it is passive racism, meaning it is subtle differences and behaviors as opposed to racism of the 50's and 60's where it was blatent discrimination. I believe it will continue to get better, but there will always be some element. IMO, the important part is to be aware of it and try to minimize the impact in your daily life and in all interactions with people of color.

[skrude1]

I live about an hour south of seattle. For what it's worth, I've never thought about a person's skin.

ONe thing to remember is that people are couped up in their houses for majority of the year and they just watch television which totally halts any train of reasonable thought. Just my view since I believe that hollywood is also a subliminally racist. After too much TV, the weaker minded will feel that TV is their world. Effing sad.

Yes, there are people who are racist, rude, obnoxious, overly-pushy, etc., but compared to few east coast places I've been, Washington is far more laid back. If anyone gives you flack about anything, just ignore them. Also, I've met more shady white folks than I have black folks out here to be honest. Idk what all the fear is about, there are shady people of every color.

[MichaelDante]

I came late to the party but in my personal experience areas in west WA were far more open to diversity (and we're talking even outside of AA), or at least more cordial and polite, than east. It seems the more east you go the more there's not as much diversity (although Yelm has a growing Latino population) so people treat you a bit... let's just say weird no matter how nice you are to them. Please do not think I'm accusing all east WA I'm just speaking from personal experiences and it wasn't a one time thing and was in different areas. I still find it funny that the worse case of racism I got (talking face to face not online) was from a fellow AA and a Latino. Ironic huh? I loved the diversity of West WA/ especially Tacoma and never had any issues myself during my time staying in West Seattle, Des Moines, Tacoma, Lakewood and Federal Way but if I could move somewhere I loved the views of the Sound and mountains from West Seattle and some parts of Des Moines.

The biggest advice I give to people who ask this question is many don't start looking at you sideways or double takes unless you act/ dress like a walking stereotype. I'm sure someone somewhere I was at in West WA at some point may have had inner thoughts about my presence but they had to respect me as someone who respected himself, treated others with respect, and tried to get along with people there without being fake about it. I say just enjoy the company of ones of every background and just remember sometimes people may not like us simply because they just don't like us and has nothing to do with the color of your skin. Hope this helped.

[remoddahouse]

Originally Posted by yescandycan

I am an African American single mother of a thirteen year old (in April, 2011) young man. For some reason, I have had a huge desire to live in Washington State since I graduated from High School nearly thirty years ago. Finally, I may have my chance since I am a recent (rather sizable) lottery winner! And I need help. I've done some research of the PNW on the internet, but I still have no idea where to live. I prefer a smaller community relatively close to the ocean. Key points: I love nature and I love open spaces! And I don't mind rain.

My primary concern is (obviously) how welcoming the people are overall to African Americans. My son and I are decent, God-fearing Christians, and I have taught him to see "people" not their color. My second concern would be the school districts. Which city in my preferred demographic area has the best? Of course I could look this up on the internet, but I don't want statistics and numbers; I want to hear from real people. And last, even though I don't have to worry about money, I am not lavish. I don't need a huge mini-mansion on a hill. I just want a decent home in a relatively safe community where my son and I and our two dogs can live happily, so what area of town should we consider? We are hoping to travel to Washington in the Spring and will check out all of your suggestions.

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated! We are very excited!

Seattle is pretty color blind. Nobody really cares about it. I can't even think of different neighborhoods and their levels of acceptance of different rates. There are some neighborhoods that are definitely more ethnic, but you could move anywhere and your neighbors aren't that likely to care much about the color of your skin.

I wouldn't throw out the god fearing idea in Seattle. It sort of assumes that you have to be god fearing to be decent and it implicitly seems to judge others based on what may be a lack of religion.

[j_k_k]

There's always subconscious racism. Some of it isn't maliciously meant. I rode many a bus in Seattle where the last available seat was next to a black person, and people stood rather than sit there. Then I went to DC, and for a week rode a bus on which I was the only white person. The last available seat on the bus was the one next to me, and people would stand rather than sit by me. I understood. No one was being deliberately unkind to me; it was just subconscious.

[David32]

Originally Posted by yescandycan

Thanks so much to everyone who responded to my post. Your comments were all helpful and thought-provoking. I found it very interesting, however, that one person indicated that "we would probably receive more flak for being Christians than for being African-American". This was news to me because I've never heard anything about Washington State being anti-Christian. But no matter. We are still looking forward to visiting this beautiful state, and if we like what we see and experience, we may soon be calling it home. Again, thanks everyone!

I'm not sure where you're from but I'm black and in Vancouver wa. I've visited Seattle. You have to be here to get a good idea. It doesn't really translate well on the Internet IMO. I agree it is what you make of it. The culture is more of an issue than racism. For example I hope you like pop or country because those are your only options. My hardest cultural time was finding a barbershop. :P

You'll constantly see interracial couples here on Vancouver Wa. I didn't see much of it in Seattle.. By being in Seattle during the day it felt like more blacks were (concentrated) there than here though so maybe it's enough for black/black.

Don't let the Internet twist your opinion, keep in mind most families are not going to be on citydata but outside enjoying it out here. If you're from the south like me I'd definitely recommend it. I feel out here is less about race and more about the region as a whole. Honestly it's not so much as whites everywhere, but seeing the huge influx of Asians and Hispanics IMO.


Edit: lol Seattle is far from racist. Also Im sure there are still many Christians up here, it's not like the entire state is atheist..

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by David32

I'm not sure where you're from but I'm black and in Vancouver wa. I've visited Seattle. You have to be here to get a good idea. It doesn't really translate well on the Internet IMO. I agree it is what you make of it. The culture is more of an issue than racism. For example I hope you like pop or country because those are your only options. My hardest cultural time was finding a barbershop. :P

You'll constantly see interracial couples here on Vancouver Wa. I didn't see much of it in Seattle.. By being in Seattle during the day it felt like more blacks were (concentrated) there than here though so maybe it's enough for black/black.

Don't let the Internet twist your opinion, keep in mind most families are not going to be on citydata but outside enjoying it out here. If you're from the south like me I'd definitely recommend it. I feel out here is less about race and more about the region as a whole. Honestly it's not so much as whites everywhere, but seeing the huge influx of Asians and Hispanics IMO.


Edit: lol Seattle is far from racist. Also Im sure there are still many Christians up here, it's not like the entire state is atheist..

Can you get KBMS 1480 AM? I believe that it is an urban radio station for the Portland OR area.

[David32]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Can you get KBMS 1480 AM? I believe that it is an urban radio station for the Portland OR area.

Honestly I don't even try anymore. I enjoy C89.5 these days.

Moving here at first was a bit isolating but eventually I just started to embrace new things. There are still "minority centers" or things like this if op needs that kind of support system.

[cocaseco]

Originally Posted by acm122

Seattle prides itself on "celebrating diversity", but that is only partially true. I work with a lot of aging hippie, bleeding heart liberal types....but they are actually closet racists. I'm not sure how common that is, but it is there. I guess the good thing is at least no one will be rude to your face...

Glad to hear that you see it. It is prevalent everywhere in America, though very few see themselves as racists. They were raised to be polite, and for the most part are. But watch the subtleties of how they clutch their purse a bit tighter, change sides of the street or make assumption solely on color...they are racists.