Racism in Chicago? (East St. Louis, Washington, Manhattan: house, unemployment, high school)

[CHICAGOLAND92]

I always hear people talking about racism in Chicago. I spend quite a lot of time in Chicago when I can, and I'm "African American". I have never had a problem with anyone being racist, yet whenever I hear people talk about Chicago, they will say how friendly the people are, but then go on about race issues. Everytime I'm here, I only see friendly people. Now that I think about it, I haven't had any major race issues yet.


So here's what I'd like to hear from people. .

What kind of racism issues are there exactly in Chicago?
Any personal experiences (If you don't mind sharing)?
Are friendly people a majority or minority in Chicago?


Please, no boosterism involved. I love Chicago, it's one of the greatest cities in the U.S. in my opinion, but to make things better about a place, you shouldn't hide them, but rather discuss them and see what can be done about it.

[cdrobert]

Well to be 100% honest chicago is probably one of the most racist places in the country save maybe the former confedracy. I can say this as some one who lived in chicago, and lived other places. Most people probably have no clue because they are white and so more times than not they are not on the recieving end of racism.

To be honest this is a really rhetorical question and i can already feel the pot brewing...racism is deep and prevelant in american culture, always has been, always will be. Most people who went to college know that the indians didnt exactly great the pilgrims with open arms.(Much less why this indiginous population ceases to exist)

I mean hell martin luther king couldnt make headway in chicago back in the mid 60's and he made headway in selma alabama, burmingham, atlanta, etc. The reason i am rambling is because whats the point, there are 3 types of people. 1- those who see, acknowledge, and accept the complications of racism. 2. those who don't or can't see racism, for what ever disturbing reason. 3. Those so fargone in their own little world that they not only misunderstand and misdefine the concept of racism, but they misunderstand and misdefine virtually every other concept in life.

As far as friendly midwestern people...WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP. Everytime(save the internet) I hear some one in real life say "nice midwestern people", they are usually midwesterners! That says somthing in itself when these people feel the need to compliment themselves. On a whole I find mindwesterners to be more personal and intimate than say where i live in northern california, on the same level i find midwesterners to be much more obnoxious.

and not new york obnoxious (like getting pushed out of a line for a subway during rush hour) where its rude, but more of a petty childish obnoxious to get attention.Like when you go to bars and you hear the girls talking really loud like truck drivers so that everyone can hear their voices, or when people drive like manaics.

On a last comment on racism, heres what i do everytime i visit my mom in ***** county for the hollidays.(mind you if you are not white this expiriment may be difficult). I go to parties, bars, and social gatherings, and i count how many times i hear the N word. Somthing about people in chicago and the N word its so bizzarre, almost like they have an obsession i found. Ive been here since the 17th and i have heard the N word twice at a bar, once at a party, another time with some garbage truck workers when i offered to smoke a joint with them.

the most bizzarre time i was going to play some golf up in shaumburg my first day back and i over hear some white guy say: "look there he is..speak of the ****er devil...and the guy he was talking about was WHITE!! thats when i realized chicago is just outragously stupid. Ive never heard a white person address another white person like that. I was like am i in Shuamuburg or South Carolina.

[coldwine]

Moderator cut: post you were quoting was deleted

There's very little real racism in Chicago. What there really IS, is a deep-seated ignorance amongst a largely uneducated black populace that was abandoned by a historic shift away from manual labor (commonly misinterpreted as "white flight"). They will moan about being unfairly treated, but no one can really point a finger at just who is unfairly treating them these days.

There are ignorant, stupid, rude and shallow people wherever there are people. California doesn't have the monopoly on materialistic, shallow people; the Midwest doesn't have any more racist people than anywhere else.

Racism isn't bad here. These days, the only people pointing fingers are pointing them squarely at their own foreheads.

[mdz]

First of all, I don't think that anywhere was a great place to be to avoid racism if you were African-American before 1970. Even the perfect state of California had its Watts...

There was overt racism that I can remember as recently as the mid 80s. Our first black mayor, Harold Washington, won the democratic primary after the current Daley and Jane Byrne split the white vote. Harold ended up running against the republican Bernard Epton, and one of the campaign slogans was "Vote Upton, before it is too late". Ugly, ugly race. Washington won (probably was the highest percentage that a republican got in 50 years), but honestly I do think things started changing around here after that. there were all of a sudden more african-americans in power, and the city did just fine, alleviating the unjustified fears of white Chicago,

Chicago has changed. A lot. All you have to do is look at the people in power in the city or in the city's businesses. Whether you're white, black, hispanic, whatever, if you work hard here you're going to be respected and you're going to have a good chance at being quite successful.

I've been lucky enough to travel around the country, and I've never been to a place that doesn't have its fair share of racism, and I've seen MANY places worse than here. Stuff I've seen and heard that scares me.

There are still idiots out there that are racist, and yes, we have our fair share of them here. It's a learned behavior and passed down from parents and from friend to friend. I do truly feel that it is much less prevalent here than even 25 years ago. Unfortunately, as long as there are people who think like the deranged man two posts ago, there's going to be racism.


Whatever the case is, welcome to Chicago, I'm glad you've not felt the sting of racism while being here (and that is a telling statement about what the majority of Chicago is like, I hope you realize), and I hope Chicago will be as good to you as it has been to me.

[Xing]

Chicago is a very racist city, with many people who pretend it isn't. I grew up in the East St. Louis area, a place where people present their racism and ignorance up front.

Chicago is a city where no one speaks of their racism, or says words that are racists, until you push them to the point where their true colors shine. Often, what is most racists about Chicago are actions and not words.

Still, it's a mixture, and there are plenty willing to fight for the rights of all people. Hopefully, you will not confront someone willing to expose their ignorance.

[Southside Shrek]

if one is looking for racism, he can indeed find it anywhere. the key is to rise above it and move on.

[cdrobert]

I love when i hear someone who tries to compare the plight of blacks over the past 100 years to the plight of irish or italians. HAHAAH anyone who tries to argue these are similar plights probably hasnt got much more than a high school education. I gurantee all the people who have said there is no racism in chicago are all probably white. While Chicago may not be alabama or texas, it certainly is not Manhattan or San Fran. And pretending its no more racist than anywhere else is simply ignorace.

[mdz]

nobody said there is no racism in Chicago

[chitown68]

Originally Posted by CHICAGOLAND92

I always hear people talking about racism in Chicago. I spend quite a lot of time in Chicago when I can, and I'm "African American". I have never had a problem with anyone being racist, yet whenever I hear people talk about Chicago, they will say how friendly the people are, but then go on about race issues. Everytime I'm here, I only see friendly people. Now that I think about it, I haven't had any major race issues yet.


So here's what I'd like to hear from people. .

What kind of racism issues are there exactly in Chicago?
Any personal experiences (If you don't mind sharing)?
Are friendly people a majority or minority in Chicago?


Please, no boosterism involved. I love Chicago, it's one of the greatest cities in the U.S. in my opinion, but to make things better about a place, you shouldn't hide them, but rather discuss them and see what can be done about it.

The racism that exists in Chicago today is far more covert than the racism that existed when I was a child growing up during the 70's. I can remember when my parents first moved into their house located on the SW side in what was a predominately white area at that time. Within a year, that predominately white area became a predominately black one. Whites and blacks simply did not live next to each other except in a few instances. Back then, there were simply certain areas that black people did not venture into for fear of being verbally and physically attacked.


Today, blacks and whites are more likely to work together than 40,30 or even 20 years ago. People belonging to both groups may even intermingle socially with each other more today than they did in the past depending upon the circumstances. But the bottom line remains that Chicago is still one of the most segregated cities in this country. If a new resident or visitor spends most of his or her time in areas such as the south loop, hyde park , uptown or rogers park, he or she will come away believing that Chicago is a diverse, tolerant and integrated city. Keep in mind that there are only a handful of communities considered to be truly integrated out of 77 communities that comprise Chicago.


The racism that exist in Chicago also occurs on an institutional level. A person who comes to Chicago whenever he or she can is not going to see this type of racism at work. It can been seen by examining statistical information such as high school dropout rates, rates or unemployment and etc.


The vast majority of people living in Chicago are people who are 2nd, 3rd, 4th (and so on) generation Chicagoans. Many of whom are all too familiar with the racial tensions that existed during the 60's and 70's. What can be done about it?To be honest, I don't know how willing people would be to come together to talk about this issue.

[chitowner]

Xing is right, people of all colors are equally racist