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Who is actually refuting the fact that Boston is and has been racist as a city??
The point is moreso that in 2023 the city isn't leagues more racist or worse for Black Americans economically and socially compared to other large American cities.
But even if that's the case, stories of racism in Boston make people in other parts of the country practically salivate with confirmation bias. Whereas when the LA city council is caught on tape literally conspiring against the city's Black residents and representatives, it gets talked about for a few days and then is quickly forgotten by people outside of California.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 05-04-2023 at 10:08 AM..
Who is actually refuting the fact that Boston is and has been racist as a city??
Many people. There is no factual basis that Boston is a racist city when every city is has racism in it... with massive and glaring inequities.
You'd have to define and agree upon a threshold of what makes a racist city and what makes a non-racist city. Assuming every city has racism what's the point where it boils over and become a racist city? What amount if racism is that?
I recently went to New Orleans Louisiana I went to Bourbon Street and I noticed that all of the bars every single one had white people playing music so are you going to a bar it's all white people crowded around the bar listening to music there was no R&B or hip-hop played live in fact what you see is poor black children drumming in dirty streets begging for change while middle-class white people perform indoors in the city’s most valuable real estate.
In a city that 60% black how come in my four nights in the French quarter I saw no blacks performing on bourbon street? Would that be enough to qualify as a racist city?
When Katrina hit and people said that the levees in the lower ninth ward have been blown up that they had heard explosions- was that enough to be considered a racist city?
Or are Chicago and Milwaukee the most segregated cities in America racist cities because when you go to the Loop you see very very few black faces.
We all want to know- at what point do you become a racist city?
No one. The point is moreso that in 2023 the city isn't leagues more racist or worse for Black Americans economically and socially compared to other large American cities.
But even if that's the case, stories of racism in Boston make people in other parts of the country practically salivate with confirmation bias. Whereas when the LA city council is caught on tape literally conspiring against the city's Black residents and representatives, it gets talked about for a few days and then is quickly forgotten by people outside of California.
Add to that Rodney King, add to that Lebron James’ garage having the n word spray painted on it, add to that black population loss in Los Angeles and California, add to that
The subway murder is definitely getting a lot of attention, I wouldn’t measure attention based on Buzzfeed and SNL.
But What is Boston doing to combat the stereotype and is it working ? Highlight racist incidents in other cities does not to combat Boston’s stereotype.
But What is Boston doing to combat the stereotype and is it working ?
We've been over this maybe 100 times. I've given at least 20 examples. I've given you specifically at least 5 examples over the years. In this thread and umpteen other threads. I've basically written dissertations and linked out to probably 50+ sources. I've provided video evidence of ad campaigns, organizations, anti-racism center, municipal apologies, anti-racist PSA messages, new tourism hires, diversity initiatives, contracting quotas, conventions, and a host of other things. Obviously, as evidenced by your comment, none of it resonates. Suffice to say it is not working.
I would share if I felt it would be remembered. But the truth is- it will not. And I've got to make better use of my time than answering questions that I've answered repeatedly over years. I hope this doesn't come off as snarky, but it really is about my time and energy.
When the Karen called the cops for a black man walking her unleashed dog- it wasn't pinned on New York City's entire populace. When the two men in Philadelphia were asked to leave the Starbucks it wasn't pinned on the Philadelphia populace. One of the issues is you can't get people to admit Boston is covered differently- which would be a good starting point. So it keeps the confirmation bias strong.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 05-04-2023 at 12:55 PM..
We've been over this maybe 100 times. I've given at least 20 examples. I've given you specifically at least 5 examples over the years. In this thread and umpteen other threads. Obviously, as evidenced by your comment, none of it resonates. It is not working.
I would share if I felt it would be remembered. But the truth is- it will not.
I’ve seen plenty of folks talking on social media and on the most recent Washington post article about the murder calling in a lynching etc. But in any case, if Bostonians care about its perception then it’ll just have to keep trying to change that image. It won’t happen over night. Or it can take the New Jersey approach and embrace its image
I’ve seen plenty of folks talking on social media and on the most recent Washington post article about the murder calling in a lynching etc. But in any case, if Bostonians care about its perception then it’ll just have to keep trying to change that image. It won’t happen over night. Or it can take the New Jersey approach and embrace its image
The city will keep trying, I will keep trying but not today. It's honestly not that important. It would be nice to have but the city does well and functions well, and the stuff going on-socially- is great. The more pressing issues up there revolves around housing affordability first and foremost. You've got black people fighting tooth and nail to remain in Boston.
But the Crux of the thread was never supposed to be is Boston racist or not it (although I suppose that is unavoidable).
it was is it a social indicator or signal to display a dislike towards Boston because of the sitgma attached to it. It conveys a certain level of social awareness, pro-black attitude, and intelligence level to confirm that - which I found to be true and written outright in multiple articles by black journalists and shared them here. One actually said any self-respecting black person dislikes Boston. Idk I always thought I was self-respecting and pretty pro-black.
What is ironic about that is the creator Woke, Keith Knight is a black man born and raised in Malden, about 2 miles north of Boston.
I’ve seen plenty of folks talking on social media and on the most recent Washington post article about the murder calling in a lynching etc. But in any case, if Bostonians care about its perception then it’ll just have to keep trying to change that image. It won’t happen over night. Or it can take the New Jersey approach and embrace its image
If the Mayor of Boston and Governor of Massachusetts responded by saying “he had it coming” like the NYC leadership the reaction would be a tremendous outcry everywhere. (Well that’s generally true outside NY/LA) But because it’s New York it’s fine.
Whenever something bad happens in New York it’s either an individual incident or an indictment of the whole country. Alabama, Florida, Boston it’s cause the city/state is fundamentally broken.
I see both sides actually. And I'm only speaking from a Black American raised in Texas, who lived in Atlanta , spent some time in the Bay Area and is very familiar with how a significant amount of Black Americans think in states like Louisiana and Arkansas. JCP123 location say's Tyler which is located in a region of Texas I grew up in. Boston is not a city that's talked about or thought about at all where I'm from. And I believe most Black Millennials, Gen Z, hell even Gen X at least areas that I'm familiar with are not that familiar with Boston all together to know that it is a racist stigma.
Like if I went around Houston for example, and asked Black people what do they think about Boston I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't be aware of it's racial stigma. I think most people would make the assumption that "Boston is very WHITE" or some reference to sports or history. So I do believe that a significant amount of Black Americans don't really have a lot of interest in Boston and I don't think the racial stigma is the main reason why.
Now I know Boston has this reputation because I'm a person that's fascinated with cities and so I paid attention to certain stuff like that. Not every American especially Black Americans are city "nerds". I also don't understand why people are calling out southerners when from my perspective most times I've heard Boston was racist was from media. And largely media based out of NEW YORK CITY. I know Michael Che who's a New Yorker has made quite a few jokes aimed at Boston being racist. I can recall Spike Lee throwing a jab at Boston on Do The Right Thing. Which leads me to another point.
Most Americans identify cities with what they see in the media and pop culture. So when you look at Boston and it's relation to Black America from a tv,film, music and sports perspective what is it known for? And Boston unfortunately hasn't exported a local Black culture via tv,film, and music that resonates with the rest of Black America. Now there are famous Black Bostonians who have left an impact in all those areas of entertainment and pop culture. New Edition, Donna Summer, Jazmine Guy, Louis Farrakhan to name a few. But the problem is outside of New Edition, Boston wasn't a city that these popular entertainers heavily pushed out to the public. And even New Edition and Bobby Brown were more known for their music than where they actually came from.
So then you look at tv and films set in Boston and you realize right off the bat, most of the representation of Boston from a tv and film perspective are largely White. The stereotypical working class Irish Americans with the thick Boston accent dominated what people perceived Boston to be. When it comes to Black Boston yeah you have films like Blue Hill Avenue, The Inkwell, Squeeze but those aren't really classic films especially in Black America.
Cheers, The Town, Good Will Hunting,etc. are just way more abundant and proudly showcases Boston without showing Black people in these tv shows and films.
Then you have the famous Bostonians who proudly rep Boston but they are largely White. And even famous Bostonians like Bill Burr and Benzino make it a point to tell people how racist Boston is.
And then you have sports. And Boston seems to come up in the news every now and then when it comes to their treatment against Black athletes. And Black athletes seem to express how different it is playing in Boston as a Black athlete compared to other cities in America.
So in a perfect society where everybody uses common sense, we wouldn't judge places based off tv, film, music,sports, and the news. But most Americans in general don't think like that. Most Americans judge cities based off these things and stereotypes.
Boston isn't the only city or place that's known as a racist haven. The South gets it all the time and states like Mississippi for instance gets it worst than anybody. Rather it's earned or not, I find it funny how people aren't concerned on how Black Mississippians feel when people always stereotype Mississippi as a state you shouldn't pass thru in the day time and night time because you might get lynched.
It's acceptable to think that way about Mississippi though because it's in the deep south. And because we know Deep South is racist. But what sticks about Boston is that it's a Northeastern liberal city and it should get the same amount of respect at least among Black Americans as New York or Philly. But when I look at New York and Philly compared to Boston, both of those cities have had more of a Black presence in tv, film, music and sports than Boston. Donna Summer is originally from Boston but got her start in New York so she's associated with the disco scene in New York.
Now if Boston doesn't want the racial stigma than you gonna have to do what every other popular city amongst Black Americans did which was export their local culture in tv, film and music. Because if they don't have that than all they can think about when it comes to Boston is the few times it makes the national news for racist incidents at sporting events. If that's all Black America see's of Boston than you can't blame them completely.
Y'all don't think Texas has a stigma especially when we make the national news for our wacky conservative politicians or a mass shooting,etc.
Agreed. No one in the south really thinks about Boston tbh - it's a completely different world. But anecdotally, the black people I know who aren't particularly fans of Boston dont dislike it due to racism, we just dislike it due to the fact that Boston kind of sucks by many of our standards. Cold, depressing winters, bland food, a rather "dry" populace, etc. That's not to say Boston doesn't have redeeming qualities (it does), but the average black person in the south doesn't dream of moving to Boston and many of us actually kind of dread the prospect. It's not about Boston being too white imo. Seattle, for example, is just as white and isn't seen in the same lens as Boston is. Boston just has a unique set of urban features that aren't that appealing to most of us. It is what it is.
If the Mayor of Boston and Governor of Massachusetts responded by saying “he had it coming” like the NYC leadership the reaction would be a tremendous outcry everywhere. (Well that’s generally true outside NY/LA) But because it’s New York it’s fine.
Whenever something bad happens in New York it’s either an individual incident or an indictment of the whole country. Alabama, Florida, Boston it’s cause the city/state is fundamentally broken.
That Part! Thats was crazy, one of my new york friends just shared that. I saw it like 10minutes ago.
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