Does Being Black in Chicago Automically Equal a Rough Life? (Arlington Heights: house, neighborhoods)

[Atlanta_BD]

With all the recent killings, especially that of Hadiyah Pendleton and the infant recently killed, more of my black friends speak of how bad of a place Chicago is for black people. One recently said black people need to leave Chicago. Chicago has already been losing much of its black population over the years as previously discussed on this forum.

Black kids who are good kids and do well in school and have a future still end up being victims of violence.

So my questions to black Chicagoans:

Do you feel that being black in Chicago automatically makes you a target for violence in the city?

[Chicagoist123]

NO, being black in a poor black neighborhood will but not being black alone. A black person living in Lincoln Square, Roscoe Village, Jefferson Park, Lakeview will experience as much violence as a white person would in those neighborhoods which is practically no violence at all.

[Ninetails]

Move to the east coast. They treat African Americans
better out there. Segregation and racism is noticable
west of Ohio(especially if you are a black male). No
lie.

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by Ninetails

Move to the east coast. They treat African Americans
better out there. Segregation and racism is noticable
west of Ohio(especially if you are a black male). No
lie.

I'm sorry but the segregation in Chicago now is not about race but class.perhaps 40 years ago it would be different.

In my moms neighborhood (avondale) black professional families have been moving in. No one is raising any eyebrows and everyone is generally friendly. Even a local celebrity (Dean Richards) moved in the house next to the black family. The black kids there now play with the white kids, the Latino kids etc. no one cares that they are black. I don't think Chicago is a racist city, maybe 40 years ago yes. It's becoming more of a classist city. I think now its more to do with if you are upper and middle class and not lower class.

[Ninetails]

Alright, fair enough on class. But being poor and
black is much much much better out in the east
coast states than in Chicago.

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by Ninetails

Alright. But being poor and black is much
much much much better out in the east coast
states than in Chicago.

That you might be right in, I don't know. But IMO Chicagoans (especially those born post1970s and 1980s) are not racist at all. Classist, yes, Chicago continues to trend that way, but racism IMO is really dying in the city. Not so much a color of your skin deal, more of what class/how professional you are.

[ProgMichael]

Originally Posted by Ninetails

Alright, fair enough on class. But being poor and
black is much much much better out in the east
coast states than in Chicago.

How so? And can you quantify "better" when you're still "poor and black" from place to place? Why don't you ask the "poor and black" in Chicago/Cleveland/Milwaukee and ask the "poor and black" in New York/Baltimore/Newark and see if they'd like to switch?

[Ninetails]

Originally Posted by ProgMichael

How so? And can you quantify "better" when you're still "poor and black" from place to place? Why don't you ask the "poor and black" in Chicago/Cleveland/Milwaukee and ask the "poor and black" in New York/Baltimore/Newark and see if they'd like to switch?

Believe it or not you can quantify better among the poor, just
like you can among wealthier people. The poor out east often
have superior social services and are thus much more likely to
improve their situation than a poor soul stuck in a crappy
Midwestern town with little or no amenities that cater to
people like them.

And if one did a poll, I'm sure more poor people would
find places like Baltimore and Newark livable than places
like Chicago, Gary, Indianapolis where high white culture
keeps poor blacks in a funk.

The only thing that stays the same across all regions is the
drug culture, but if you don't involve yourself in that the
poor clearly got it nicer on the eastern seaboard.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by Chicagoist123

I'm sorry but the segregation in Chicago now is not about race but class.perhaps 40 years ago it would be different.

In my moms neighborhood (avondale) black professional families have been moving in. No one is raising any eyebrows and everyone is generally friendly. Even a local celebrity (Dean Richards) moved in the house next to the black family. The black kids there now play with the white kids, the Latino kids etc. no one cares that they are black. I don't think Chicago is a racist city, maybe 40 years ago yes. It's becoming more of a classist city. I think now its more to do with if you are upper and middle class and not lower class.

No, the segregation is about race too. This is fact just like it's fact that Santa Claus doesnt exist. There are tons of middle class black families in the south suburbs but they don't move to Arlington Heights or even Shaumburg. It's the same way in the city. There are definitely well off blacks who choose to live in the hood where the heart is. And professional blacks are way more likely to move to Hyde Park or the South Loop than any of the neighborhoods you listed.

[ProgMichael]

Originally Posted by Ninetails

Believe it or not you can quantify better among the poor, just
like you can among wealthier people. The poor out east often
have superior social services and are thus much more likely to
improve their situation than a poor soul stuck in a crappy
Midwestern town with little or no amenities that cater to
people like them.

And if one did a poll, I'm sure more poor people would
find places like Baltimore and Newark livable than places
like Chicago, Gary, Indianapolis where high white culture
keeps poor blacks in a funk.

The only thing that stays the same across all regions is the
drug culture, but if you don't involve yourself in that the
poor clearly got it nicer on the eastern seaboard.

That's a fair point. Would you share some of these numbers and services for me that aren't offered in Chicago or Indy or Gary? If the ability to improve their situation is that much better out East, why is poverty still an issue out there? Maybe it's not, and that's just an assumption on my part. What about the fact that cost of living is better in Chicago than most Eastern seaboard cities?