Segregation question (Chicago, Evanston, Lincoln: middle-class, home, neighborhoods)

[Va83]

I’m a black older millennial woman. I was reading and watching YouTube videos about Chicago recently. From this I’ve gathered that the city is mostly divided with mostly white people in the NE and mostly everyone else to the West and South. Than again this maybe changing due to black people leaving the area and us millennials moving in. What is your opinion as people who live there currently? Please no racism.

[Bluefox]

You’ve got some pockets of diverse areas in the north like Albany Park, Uptown, Rogers Park, etc. but for the most part it is going to be white and/or white and Asian in the northern neighborhoods. Some NW, W and SW neighborhoods (i.e. Logan Square, Pilsen) are mixed white/Hispanic, some areas like Bridgeport are fairly evenly white/Asian/Hispanic. And then you have places like Hyde Park which are white/black/Asian with some Hispanic. Yes, there are some very “white” areas like Lincoln Park and many neighborhoods on the south and west sides that are nearly 100% black or Hispanic. But there are definitely many areas that are racially integrated.

[mjtinmemphis]

Blacks are not well integrated in Chicago. The disimilarity index as well as block by block integration show Chicago as one of the worst cities for Black integration. Please visit before thinking about a move. It may be a quality of life issue depending upon where you are from and your economic status.

There are a handful of areas that have Blacks integrated with other races like Hyde Park, South Loop, Edgewater and Uptown along with a few others.

[emathias]

There is not an epidemic of overt racism. There is also not as much systemic racism as there used to be.

I'm not entirely sure why, but Chicago gets called segregated more often than many other cities, but statistically it's not that much more segregated than New York City, and is not terribly different from other northern, industrial cities that became destinations during the Great Migration. Which basically means that segregation in Chicago is very similar to segregation in places like Buffalo, Cleveland, Baltimore, Philly, St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Newark, Boston, etc. Whether Chicago is worse or not depends a lot on exactly how you ask the question and how you define the areas you're asking about.

I agree that you should visit the city to see how things play out "on the ground" so to speak. Much of the current segregation is historical - it remains because people like to stay in the neighborhoods they grew up in, and new arrivals in Chicago tend to target some of the most popular neighborhoods, meaning that quieter, less popular neighborhoods have relatively stable populations of original white residents and their children or original black residents and their children. There is some mixing, and gentrification, which being heavily "white" in general, does usually mean that areas end up somewhat more diverse.

But Chicago is a big city. If you want a mostly-black, middle-class area, you can find that. If you want a very racially mixed, professional-class area, you can find that. If you want a white, working-class neighborhood, you can find that. If you want a heavily hispanic area, you can find that. If you want a mostly East Asian area, you can find that. If you want a mostly South Asian area, you can find that. Hopefully your perception isn't that everyone in Chicago lives in either a 99% black or a 99% white neighborhood, because that's not the case. Does Chicago have some 95%+ white neighborhood and 95%+ black neighborhoods? Yes, it does. But not all neighborhood break out that way - there are other options. It's true that if you take the Red Line subway south from the Loop, passengers will be increasingly black until, after about 55th street, odds are good that all passengers will be black. If you take the Purple Line north, after the first stop or two in Evanston there's a good chance of all passengers being white. But a lot of lines will ebb and flow in level of blackness or whiteness and also have an ebb and flow of latino presence, and in certain parts you'll see representations of South Asians or East Asians, too.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask them.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

Blacks are not well integrated in Chicago. The disimilarity index as well as block by block integration show Chicago as one of the worst cities for Black integration. Please visit before thinking about a move. It may be a quality of life issue depending upon where you are from and your economic status.

There are a handful of areas that have Blacks integrated with other races like Hyde Park, South Loop, Edgewater and Uptown along with a few others.

Add Beverly/Morgan Park to that list, too.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

Blacks are not well integrated in Chicago. The disimilarity index as well as block by block integration show Chicago as one of the worst cities for Black integration.

I generally agree with this. There are a fair number of neighborhoods that integrate white/Hispanic/Asian, but not a lot of integrated white/black or other race/black. These are the neighborhoods in my opinion where the black community is most integrated with other racial groups:

Hyde Park
White: 47%
Black: 30%
Asian: 12%
Hispanic: 7%

Uptown
White: 55%
Black: 21%
Asian: 9%
Hispanic: 12%

Kenwood
White: 17%
Black: 68%
Asian: 9%
Hispanic: 4%

Rogers Park:
White: 48%
Black: 24%
Hispanic: 24%
Asian: 6%

Loop:
White: 61%
Black: 12%
Asian: 17%
Hispanic: 6%

Near South:
White: 46%
Black: 24%
Asian: 20%
Hispanic: 6%

Near North:
White: 72%
Black: 9%
Asian: 12%
Hispanic: 5%

West Ridge:
White: 44%
Black: 11%
Asian: 23%
Hispanic: 17%

Edgewater:
White: 54%
Black: 14%
Asian: 12%
Hispanic: 16%

IMO, all these neighborhoods are fairly integrated. At the very least you have 10% black population, so you are guaranteed to not feel isolated or to “stick out” as a black person, much less as a minority, as all are racially diverse and mostly “minority majority.” And most of these are decent or good neighborhoods.

[Bluefox]

I personally think that we should be happy that Chicago still has a robust black community. Chicago hasn’t pushed its black community out of existence the way San Francisco and increasingly LA has. There certainly are problems with segregation but hopefully Chicago can evolve into a city that can accommodate all races in all areas, without pushing any one race out of the city.

[Va83]

Is interracial dating considered taboo or acceptable for black women in Chicago?

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Va83

Is interracial dating considered taboo or acceptable for black women in Chicago?

I can only go by personal anecdote. I have a high school friend who is a black female and ended up with an Asian guy. They are happily married and living in Chicago (River North). Also know two black females in Chicago that ended up with white guys but as far as I know they aren’t married (yet). Again, just my personal anecdote. Interracial dating stats are hard to come by and are often questionable in terms of reliability.

[Master Jay]

Milwaukee is also listed as a hyper-segregated city. A huge difference between Milwaukee and Chicago, however, is we do not even have areas called Chinatown, New Chinatown, Little India, or Little Italy. That said, in terms of being integrated I think all of the above mentioned despite their name are not necessarily segregated. Little India has a blend of Orthodox Jewish families, and Little Italy has Asians. Greektown appears to be mostly called that these days because the row of Greek restaurants remain.... In my own experiences, I have either ridden my bicycle, drove a car, or observed via L train, and can contest that there certainly are areas that appear to be 99 percent Latino (Little Village) or areas that are African-American. And when I go up to Edison Park, I can not recall seeing anything but Caucasian home residents. Again, these are my personal experiences in Chicago, and I've had countless experiences. Therefore, yes, Chicago has integrated areas as well as segregated-appearing areas. Anyone visiting or considering residing in an area, should read up on it, listen to some people's opinions, and walk through it. Follow your instincts on your comfort level!- Master Jay in Milwaukee