Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Check out the Buffalo Challenger newspaper online and perhaps the Buffalo Barfly website. I take it that you're a Q(Omega Psi Phi). You could possibly see if there is a chapter for Q's in the area and there are plenty of organizations in the community too. WBLK and WUFO may publicize community events and club dates too. When I listened to WBLK on Friday night sometimes, they would do on location broadcasts from say Toronto, Hamilton or perhaps local spots on the NY side too.
The East Side is where most of the Black population in Buffalo resides, however that's if you are looking for the highest concentration. It isn't the nicest of areas and youll find black people in every area and every suburb to some degree.
For a middle class Black population, it seems like some areas just south of UB 's South Campus in the city and east of there in Amherst, as well as parts of the Cleveland Hill area of Cheektowaga. So, basically, this somewhat continuous area near UB's South Campus seems to have a concentration of sorts. Like mentioned before, there are other parts of the city and suburbs with anywhere from a sprinkle to a decent amount. Hamlin Park historically is where many professional Black residents live/lived.
To use school districts, I'd say that Amherst Central, Sweet Home, Cleveland Hill and perhaps parts of Cheektowaga Central, Maryvale, Williamsville and Kenmore-Tonawanda will have some concentration of some middle class Black residents. I believe that some Bills players live in Orchard Park and Hamburg too. Lackawanna has a decent amount, but it is more blue collar and the bulk of the Black population there lives where the steel mills were located.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-15-2014 at 08:45 AM..
I feel like there's nothing here for an upwardly mobile black person. I'm doing an internship and the boss really likes me and will probably ask me to stay but I seriously don't know what i'm gonna do.
Being a black person in Buffalo reminds me of the 1960's since the racial inequality is so rampant and solid. I know inequality is everywhere but at least where i'm from [Long Island], you still find lots of black ppl represented on all income levels: middle class, upper middle class, working class, lower middle class, rich, etc; while in Buffalo it seems like almost every black person is either poor or working class. I'm a black grad student and there are so few decent areas in Buffalo to choose from where a black person won't stand out.
1. I heard of Hamlin Park and it was alriiiiight. I feel like the main reason why it's respected is only b/c it's actually intact unlike the rest of the eastside. I know it has a rich history which is nice but you can tell it's a shell of it's former self.
2. I heard about the part of Cheektowaga west of Harlem Rd but when I looked it up on this site, it was being bashed for a variety of reasons. I'm not looking for an area ripe with racial tensions and drama. The area seemed to be in good condition and looked no different then the other Buffalo suburbs on google maps but I haven't drove through there so I guess I truly don't know. Gosh, can't we at least have [or even share] a tiny portion of the suburbs w/o ppl throwin fits!?
3. Then there's Amherst but it seems like the only source of diversity there are college students and a large apartment complex near Niagara Falls blvd. I really don't know what kinda apartments those are?
Last edited by JasmineFinest; 01-26-2014 at 08:44 AM..
I feel like there's nothing here for an upwardly mobile black person. I'm doing an internship and the boss really likes me and will probably ask me to stay but I seriously don't know what i'm gonna do.
Being a black person in Buffalo reminds me of the 1960's since the racial inequality is so rampant and solid. I know inequality is everywhere but at least where i'm from [Long Island], you still find lots of black ppl represented on all income levels: middle class, upper middle class, working class, lower middle class, rich, etc; while in Buffalo it seems like almost every black person is either poor or working class. I'm a black grad student and there are so few decent areas in Buffalo to choose from where a black person won't stand out.
1. I heard of Hamlin Park and it was alriiiiight. I feel like the main reason why it's respected is only b/c it's actually intact unlike the rest of the eastside. I know it has a rich history which is nice but you can tell it's a shell of it's former self.
2. I heard about the part of Cheektowaga west of Harlem Rd but when I looked it up on this site, it was being bashed for a variety of reasons. I'm not looking for an area ripe with racial tensions and drama. The area seemed to be in good condition and looked no different then the other Buffalo suburbs on google maps but I haven't drove through there so I guess I truly don't know. Gosh, can't we at least have [or even share] a tiny portion of the suburbs w/o ppl throwin fits!?
3. Then there's Amherst but it seems like the only source of diversity there are college students and a large apartment complex near Niagara Falls blvd. I really don't know what kinda apartments those are?
I agree. As a black undergrad student, I didn't feel like Buffalo had much to offer in terms of quality of life regarding black success. I just came back from staying over the winter holidays and break for over a month and stayed in the east side of Buffalo where it's a mix of section 8 and low income housing and lower socioeconomic families live. To see their struggle everyday was disheartening. It really opened my eyes to the poverty around Buffalo and the area.
I live in Lancaster and yes its mostly white but there are a few black families in this neighborhood in $220000-$300,000 houses. Black people who move up or come here for good jobs don't move to the east side of Buffalo. That area is a bad representation of Buffalo as a whole, but it was at one time actually a very nice area and was predominately white. I think that area is a good example of "white flight"
Yes, according to the 2000 census, Lancaster was 0.81% African American. To be sure, if I were African American, I'd have to think twice about living in WNY. There are many other areas that are more integrated with respect to both race and class.
I'd say to look into Parkside, parts of Cheektowaga north of Cleveland Drive in the Cleveland Hill neighborhood into Eggertsville to about Main or so, as well as Elmwood Village, parts of North Buffalo and some areas just south of South Campus. Perhaps the part of the Kensington Heights neighborhood that touches Cheektowaga and Amherst too. To put things into perspective, the Black-White per capita income gap in Buffalo is similar to that in DC and Atlanta. You can view it here: Study finds broad income inequality - Buffalo - Business First
If you go by SD's in the suburbs, Amherst Central, Sweet Home and Cleveland Hill have decent sized Black student populations and with some that are Middle Class. Maybe some in the Cheektowaga Central SD too.
There are some others and the 2006-2010 numbers were better than the 2008-2012 numbers in terms of income for Blacks in some census tracts/block groups. So, considering that, the official numbers may be different/better.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-28-2014 at 08:27 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
