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Also, you would think Atlanta was nothing but black folks and wouldn’t know that it had a larger white population than Houston. The city’s branding as a black mecca is very strong.
In California, if you mention that Houston is more diverse than Austin to a white or Asian American person, their response is usually something on the line of "that cant possibly be right". But if you mention it to a Hispanic or African American, they arent surprised.
I was talking to a girl on IG. She was telling that she moved to Dallas from California. After being in Dallas for a while, she moved to Houston. She said that she experienced a lot more racism in Dallas and didn’t feel welcomed as a black woman with kids. She feels that Houston is blacker and embraces her more.
Also, I talked to couple from New Orleans who moved to Dallas (before Katrina) years ago to give their children a better life. After Katrina, they moved to Houston from Dallas to be close to their family who evacuated to Houston. They said they liked Houston much better because Houston has more black culture than Dallas.
Lastly, this guy from the Bahamas randomly hit me up on IG to ask me about Houston. He said that he wants to finish school in States but wanted to focus more on Houston because Houston is known as a black hub in the Bahamas. He did suggest that Dallas was more white to him and that he didn’t want to move to Atlanta. Also, he did just move back to the Bahamas from Miami and felt that Miami wasn’t for him.
Wow...you discuss Dallas more than I do with people....I wonder why Dallas always come up in all of your conversations......
DM me and I can secretly tell you what black hood to move to once you get here.
I mean I get why you responded the way you did but 3rd Ward gentrification is not necessarily because Black people are selling their homes to white people. Gentrification is the same in every city across the board and it has less to do with Blacks selling their homes. Not to mention that 3rd Ward is still predominantly Black and has a plethora of Black owned businesses throughout the Ward. Matter fact Black businesses started booming back in the community before covid-19. Don’t know what will become of those businesses after all this is over though.
So why does Houston Get a pass and Dallas Is whitewashed because deep ellum is for EVERYBODY and not just Blacks anymore......
Yes. They don’t mind being around white people and assimilating.
I actually hear this more than usual now.
THIS...is the definition of DIVERSITY......because its not just white people US Blacks in Dallas assimilate to.
Dallas makes it easier for a transplanted black person to feel comfortable ASSIMILATING with all races.
....AND...They still have the option to live in a black neighborhood if they choose to.....If thats not good enough to be considered desirable then who cares.
I’ve always felt like the “marketing” of Dallas has been very come as you are, there’s something for everyone. Rather than targeting specific groups Which can lead to segregation and feelings of exclusion by other groups.
This conversation is somewhat interesting to me. At what point does a cities demographics not match its culture?
Ive had this conversation about Austin a number of times. Austin is certainly nowhere near as diverse as the three cities in this thread, but it is more diverse than many of its peer cities like Portland and Denver. Yet, Austin's culture seems overwhelmingly white. Its as if the whole city was set up to be a utopia for white liberals. But Austin is still home to a significant Latino and Asian community.
To me, Austin does "feel" as white as Portland but in reality its nowhere near that white.
Bringing the discussion to Dallas, I honestly dont get that feel. It feels more white than Houston but I honestly dont know if I think it feels more white than Atlanta. They feel relatively similar in "whiteness". I really think it boils down to who you look for in your surroundings. If you look specifically for African Americans and institutions that cater to them, Dallas will feel a LOT more white than Atlanta. But when you take into consideration institutions that cater to Hispanics and Asians, it all evens out IMO.
Thats why Im pretty cautious on the way things "feel": we all have biases and were all looking for specific groups even if we think we arent.
There are people who may be an ethnic minority and check the appropriate box on their Census forms but can "pass" for or present as White due to their physical characteristics. Those individuals would certainly contribute to how "White" a city feels. And as far as I know, unlike plaaces in the Northeast and out West, none of the PR/immigrant Hispanic and immigrant Asian communities or their children in Southern cities really identify with or have a large share of cultural exchange with their local Black populations and significant aspects of Black culture (e.g., hip hop). Perhaps the PR population of Florida is something of an exception but it still wouldn't be like what you see in NYC.
With your being an Arab, Dallas may not feel as white as Atlanta to you. It’s similar to how Houston feels more black to a black person than Dallas does. From an overall perspective, Dallas seems the whitest of the three, Atlanta feels the blackest, and Houston feels the most diverse. Perception is everything, especially how each metro brands themselves: Dallas’s brands highlight a lot of what’s exclusive to whites, Atlanta brands itself as the Black Mecca, and Houston brands itself as this diverse utopia with a strong black presence.
What parts of Dallas's brand are overwhelmingly appealing to White people? Although Black non-Texans may not get it, even the image of the cowboy is inclusive of Black folks and in parts of Texas, they embrace it.
This shows how resilient Houston is. It’s crazy how the area can boost crazy growth will being economically challenged.
Houston certainly is resilient but population growth always takes a while to catch up with the economic reality, whether you're talking about a slump/bust or recovery/boom. That's because economic data is already outdated by the time we get them plus it takes a while for word to circulate about significant economic changes that have happened in a city. And this current pandemic has only complicated things, particularly for Houston. Of course it wouldnt be preferable if it wound up suffering more then most other cities, but the good news is that local assets can be scooped up pretty cheaply and whoever can take advantage of that, they will be in very good shape once Houston gets its mojo back, which it will in any case.
THIS...is the definition of DIVERSITY......because its not just white people US Blacks in Dallas assimilate to.
Dallas makes it easier for a transplanted black person to feel comfortable ASSIMILATING with all races.
....AND...They still have the option to live in a black neighborhood if they choose to.....If thats not good enough to be considered desirable then who cares.
I agree. Senses of community and familiarity are important to most people of the respective demographic. It’s very natural and appropriate to feel this way.
Also, you would think Atlanta was nothing but black folks and wouldn’t know that it had a larger white population than Houston. The city’s branding as a black mecca is very strong.
I mean the thing with Atlanta is that much of the southern side of the metro is basically 80%+ black. There's even a decent amount of black people in the northern half too like Marietta, Roswell, and Gwinnett County. The northern side of Atlanta is definitely the more diverse side. The southern half of Atlanta metro feels "old south" to me and the northern side feels like the "new south" which is diverse and global.
Atlanta is definitely the most segregated of the three, I'll tell you that much. I recently watched a video of a luxury car parade in a neighborhood in the Houston area and I was shocked at how diverse the neighborhood was...I was seeing White, Latino and Black in it. I think I even saw an Asian teen in the video. Even before I saw the guy's channels name "Cars Across Texas", I knew it was either Houston or Dallas....Houston was more of what I was guessing and I ended up being correct. You pretty much don't see that in Atlanta...you just don't.
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Wow...you discuss Dallas more than I do with people....I wonder why Dallas always come up in all of your conversations......
