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I keep hearing this and I know blacks in Atlanta are all about "the scene".
Of course that what makes Atlanta so unique. Ive lived in Atlanta for more than a decade. Ive NEVER been a part of that seen and the black friend I do are a mixed bag.Some are some arent Most of then grew up in the Atlanta suburbs like me where diversity is all around you.
People go there looking for it and expecting it. Your sister had to know that was a biart of the allure of Atlanta for many blacks but she was let down because thats what she chose to be around because she didnt know any better.
Its simple : if you go to a swanky upscale black club or restaurant,what do you expect to find?
I can guarantee you if you move to the Westend its going to be different than Cascade . Buckhead black (or white)crowd is a crowd I avoid and have no problems doing so.
Its filled with the Cristal types. Is that a thing still?
Shows how much I know.lol
Clayton County blacks will be more average middle class blacks than those in parts of Southwest Delkab in some very swanky established black neighborhoods that have been around as long as some of those in downtown Atlanta.
Carrolton blacks vs Marietta blacks will be more low key and like most other groups as well so on. Your(your sisters actually) statement is just not reality at all.
You cant have a big House music or Afro Punk festival if mostly Greek types or ballers are mainly here.
Look at the people in this video. You see a mostly black crowd that is not seen wearing Gucci this or Versace You see eclectic styles and dancing that is way out of black mainstream style of dressing in the house scene.
I hate to say it but the "Hotep" scene represents in force. Especially in the Westend as well as the Rastafarians as well.
You have resturants that have been around for over a decade that is owned and caters to black vegans.The whole area in the Westend .
Atlanta is the Southern version of Philly in regard to its alternative black /Neo soul community.
Agebra Bissett,India Arie,Avery Sunshine,Donnie,Anthony David,Janelle Monet etc came from the scene in Atlanta. A scene still strong today
Good points I guess a place like Atlanta you really have to live there for a while and keep an open mind. Also have venture out to see all the different sides and crowds the place has to offer. As a tourist or visiting family you may be limited as far as your experience
And see that’s my point. The Dallas Cowboys and it’s “America’s Team” and that whole extension of “White Texan culture” overshadows the ethnic enclaves that make up and have contributed to Dallas. See I know better than most because I’m from East Texas. Grew up a hour and 45 mins away from DFW so ppl in Northeast Texas know what Dallas Black culture is all about.
I give credit where credit is due. Dallas does have an African American museum that’s much older and larger than Houston’s. Dallas does have a Malcolm X Blvd(which I think is very impressive). A lot of Blues players that came from East Texas migrated to Dallas and really established Deep Ellum which is now one of the most popping neighborhoods in Dallas and the state of Texas(and honestly I wish Houston had a neighborhood with a social scene as walkable as this).
Dallas also lays claim to the Father of Texas Blues in Blind Lemon Jefferson. Originally from East Texas but was established in Dallas. Erykah Badu, D.O.C. (Even though he’s looked at as a Westcoast artist he’s originally from Dallas)
You also got T.D. Jakes and Potters House and a TON of famous Black athletes that come out the area. Civil Rights Lawyer and activist Lee Merrit is based out of Dallas. He was the spokesman and legal adviser for the Botham family and he’s doing the same for Ahmuad Arbery’s Mother.
So Dallas has it but I think on a national level imo it’s in its “infancy come up” stage of arriving as a respected cool place for Black millennials in Black America. It’s still going to take awhile to get the respect of its neighbor down south but it’s not like how it was 10 to 15 years ago when several Black transplants complained about the lack of Black spaces for Black professionals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But see thats just it. Were all biased toward our own in a way. We all want to be surrounded by enough of our own kind to at least feel accepted. For me, Im a bit lucky. Im culturally Arab, do pass for that visually, and my family is from Lebanon, but sometimes people think Im Hispanic and sometimes they think Im white. My last name is French (they colonized Lebanon) so no one could really tell that way either. I dont exactly look like Saddam Hussein.
You know my wife shares a lot of the same sentiments you do but toward Asians. Being around them (especially Southeast Asians), having the restaurants, and cultural institutions is very important to her. One of the reasons we live where we do in Southwest Houston is because its so close to Chinatown and Little Saigon. The reason we lived in Plano was because it was the closest to the Asian amenities in Dallas. My wife would find Atlanta the least appealing of these three cities for the same reason you find Dallas the least appealing. It has the least amount of amenities and culture for her ethnicity/race of these three. That said she would definitely choose Atlanta over a city like Miami or Phoenix for that reason too. I guess for me, since the only place in America that has such a high per capita of my people is Detroit and I hate cold weather, Im good with wherever. Even growing up in LA there were almost no other Arabs in the schools I went to.
Since you are black and being able to be around other black people and black cultural institutions is very important to you, of course Dallas will seem the most white. For me, I dont find much difference between which city feels more white because what Im looking at/for is different. Dallas is also a bit more diverse than Atlanta overall.
And to be honest if Austin had a couple more Black people or atleast a percentage of 12% I’d probably choose Austin over both Houston and Dallas if I wanted to stay in Texas.
Real talk, I need a couple more of us to move to Austin and make more paper, increase their net worth, and help bring our collective metrics up. But it's a chicken-and-egg situation there as there aren't enough Black people there to give it a strong Black cultural vibe and Black people won't move there because the Black cultural scene is relatively weak. At least Austin has a small nucleus of Black history and culture to work with and it's not far away from other places in the state with larger Black populations and more Black culture.
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.
"Being Arab." Not an Arab. Its like saying "being a black". Im just playing but you sound like my Southern relatives.
Houston btw feels a more diverse but it also has a strong Hispanic feel and other time white
But see thats just it. Were all biased toward our own in a way. We all want to be surrounded by enough of our own kind to at least feel accepted. For me, Im a bit lucky. Im culturally Arab, do pass for that visually, and my family is from Lebanon, but sometimes people think Im Hispanic and sometimes they think Im white. My last name is French (they colonized Lebanon) so no one could really tell that way either. I dont exactly look like Saddam Hussein.
You know my wife shares a lot of the same sentiments you do but toward Asians. Being around them (especially Southeast Asians), having the restaurants, and cultural institutions is very important to her. One of the reasons we live where we do in Southwest Houston is because its so close to Chinatown and Little Saigon. The reason we lived in Plano was because it was the closest to the Asian amenities in Dallas. My wife would find Atlanta the least appealing of these three cities for the same reason you find Dallas the least appealing. It has the least amount of amenities and culture for her ethnicity/race of these three. That said she would definitely choose Atlanta over a city like Miami or Phoenix for that reason too. I guess for me, since the only place in America that has such a high per capita of my people is Detroit and I hate cold weather, Im good with wherever. Even growing up in LA there were almost no other Arabs in the schools I went to.
Since you are black and being able to be around other black people and black cultural institutions is very important to you, of course Dallas will seem the most white. For me, I dont find much difference between which city feels more white because what Im looking at/for is different. Dallas is also a bit more diverse than Atlanta overall.
I don't know where your wife grew up but I agree with her sentiment. In Tyler and south Texas, I was the only Asian kid in my class most grades. I didn't want my kids to go through the same things I did. That's why I prefer the coasts.
I don't know where your wife grew up but I agree with her sentiment. In Tyler and south Texas, I was the only Asian kid in my class most grades. I didn't want my kids to go through the same things I did. That's why I prefer the coasts.
My wife grew up in Hollywood in LA. East Hollywood off Western between Beverly and Melrose.
Its fine to prefer the coasts, but you dont have to be there to be with a very large Asian community. Houston and DFW have roughly the same sized Asian populations as Seattle and its larger in Chicago. Here are the numbers. The percentage number is the percent of the total population:
In terms of Asian growth from 2013-2018, the top ten nationwide are below. Bear in mind, this was during an oil crash for Houston:
San Francisco: 163,198
Los Angeles: 158,433
New York City: 144,983
Dallas/Fort Worth: 144,870
Seattle: 115,216
Houston: 109,341
San Jose: 99,194
Atlanta: 74,041
Boston: 71,317
Chicago: 70,738
DFW had the fastest growing Indian and Korean populations in the US in that time period and Houston had the fastest growing Vietnamese population by the same metric.
Being from Tyler, Asian culture is non-existent there so I can understand that feeling.
But see thats just it. Were all biased toward our own in a way. We all want to be surrounded by enough of our own kind to at least feel accepted. For me, Im a bit lucky. Im culturally Arab, do pass for that visually, and my family is from Lebanon, but sometimes people think Im Hispanic and sometimes they think Im white. My last name is French (they colonized Lebanon) so no one could really tell that way either. I dont exactly look like Saddam Hussein.
You know my wife shares a lot of the same sentiments you do but toward Asians. Being around them (especially Southeast Asians), having the restaurants, and cultural institutions is very important to her. One of the reasons we live where we do in Southwest Houston is because its so close to Chinatown and Little Saigon. The reason we lived in Plano was because it was the closest to the Asian amenities in Dallas. My wife would find Atlanta the least appealing of these three cities for the same reason you find Dallas the least appealing. It has the least amount of amenities and culture for her ethnicity/race of these three. That said she would definitely choose Atlanta over a city like Miami or Phoenix for that reason too. I guess for me, since the only place in America that has such a high per capita of my people is Detroit and I hate cold weather, Im good with wherever. Even growing up in LA there were almost no other Arabs in the schools I went to.
Since you are black and being able to be around other black people and black cultural institutions is very important to you, of course Dallas will seem the most white. For me, I dont find much difference between which city feels more white because what Im looking at/for is different. Dallas is also a bit more diverse than Atlanta overall.
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.
My wife grew up in Hollywood in LA. East Hollywood off Western between Beverly and Melrose.
Its fine to prefer the coasts, but you dont have to be there to be with a very large Asian community. Houston and DFW have roughly the same sized Asian populations as Seattle and its larger in Chicago. Here are the numbers. The percentage number is the percent of the total population:
In terms of Asian growth from 2013-2018, the top ten nationwide are below. Bear in mind, this was during an oil crash for Houston:
San Francisco: 163,198
Los Angeles: 158,433
New York City: 144,983
Dallas/Fort Worth: 144,870
Seattle: 115,216
Houston: 109,341
San Jose: 99,194
Atlanta: 74,041
Boston: 71,317
Chicago: 70,738
DFW had the fastest growing Indian and Korean populations in the US in that time period and Houston had the fastest growing Vietnamese population by the same metric.
Being from Tyler, Asian culture is non-existent there so I can understand that feeling.
This shows how resilient Houston is. It’s crazy how the area can boost crazy growth will being economically challenged.
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