How can we make Iowa more appealing (Waterloo, Iowa City: section 8, neighborhoods)

[urza216]

Originally Posted by iowegian

This kind of statement is why stereotypes about Iowa and the midwest exist. Eliminating this sort of mindset would certainly make Iowa more appealing...

My suburban area in The Midwest actually has more black people than white people.

And come to think of it. It's typical for a big city in the Midwest to have a large population of blacks. Chicago, Saint Louis, Clevelend, Detroit, ect. Just because Iowa is lily white, it doesn't mean that's how the rest of the Midwest is.

A little bit of diversity would make Iowa more appealing. Unfortunately, a lot of minorities are a little afraid to venture out that way.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by urza216

Please please don't speak of "The Midwest" in a manner that is clearly exluding Chicago and its suburbs.. Because yeah, my suburban area of Chicago actually has more black people than white people. ANd actually, come to think of it.. Chicago aside, it's typical for a big city in the Midwest to have a very high population of blacks. Saint Louis, Clevelend, Detroit, ect. Just because Iowa is lilly white, doesn't mean that's just how "the Midwest" is.

A little bit of diversity would make Iowa more appealing.

No no no, I agree with you. I'm saying that this is how the Midwest is perceived in other parts of the country, not how it actually is. I agree that diversity is good, and would only benefit Iowa. I am just saying that some people have xenophobic attitudes that discourage diversity, and that is certainly not acceptable.

[Alicia Bradley]

I AM black (ok, half black) and grew up in the Midwest, and I never experienced any racism (that I noticed, anyway) even once. I am absolutely 100% serious. In fact, I was born in Davenport, and my black mom grew up there and loved it and returns to her high school reunions with wonderful memories and tons of enthusiasm. The only time in my entire life when I have felt uncomfortable because of a racist situation (or one in the making, rather) was in Elkins, West Virginia. My roommate (who is part fillipino - he looks sort of Latino) and I had driven there from Alexandria, Virginia, where we live, to go hiking and such, but it rained all weekend we were there, so we ended up spending most of the time wandering around in the small downtown, checking out the few little stores and such. There were a couple old white guys in pickups who kept driving past us really, really slowly, and it started to make me very uncomfortable, so we spent the rest of the weekend watching the Disney Chanel in our hotel room.

Anyone who thinks Iowa is a racist state has her/his head up her/his.. you know. Just look at the breakdown on how Obama vs. H. Clinton fared in the '08 Democratic primary. And ponder who the first state was to vote for Obama, for god's sake.

You are what you are - not what some twenty-two-year-old guido film directory from Long Island says you are.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Anyone who thinks Iowa is a racist state has her/his head up her/his.. you know. Just look at the breakdown on how Obama vs. H. Clinton fared in the '08 Democratic primary. And ponder who the first state was to vote for Obama, for god's sake.

You are what you are - not what some twenty-two-year-old guido film directory from Long Island says you are.

I'm certainly not saying that Iowa as a whole is a racist state. But there are certainly people, and vocal people at that, who I would not describe as being pro-diversity. I've seen several posts on this forum recently about Hispanics, and now the first post on this page about African-Americans, that do not reflect positively on this state.

Even in Iowa City right now, and other cities across eastern Iowa, many people are raising concerns about minorities moving in from Chicago. This kind of attitude does not encourage people to move into the state. There are certainly many people who are fully welcoming these people as well, and they probably vastly outnumber those opposed. However, there are some very outspoken people who are quite discriminatory. Read the comments on the Press-Citizen website. This certainly isn't a completely fair reflection of Iowa, but it's what people will see, and that will affect what they think of us.

And sure, we aren't our stereotypes. I agree. But our stereotypes are important in dealing with "how we can make Iowa more appealing." This is seriously what people think of us, and we have to fight that until their views match up with reality.

[fezzador]

I think urban Iowa has made great strides in the past couple of decades when it comes to diversity. The African American community is growing steadily, the Latino population is booming statewide (in the 1990s, less than 2% of Iowans were Hispanic, now it's pushing 4% and that's probably a huge undercount. I wouldn't be surprised if it was closer to 6%, and it might hit 10% by 2025). And there's the non-visible minority community - eastern European refugees in DSM, and a large, vocal gay community in Iowa City.

Iowa will never be as diverse as say, San Francisco or NYC, but I think it's doing alright for itself. It's a lot more diverse than say, New Hampshire or North Dakota.

[TygrrEyzz]

Two HUGE things that Iowa would benefit greatly from. Legalizing medical Marijuana. And creating MORE PUBLIC TRANS. Iowa sucks when it comes to public trans.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by iowegian

I've seen several posts on this forum recently about Hispanics, and now the first post on this page about African-Americans, that do not reflect positively on this state.

well...that's on them then. I'd have little respect for someone that would judge an entire state based on a few anon posts on a forum. That is their problem, not Iowa's.

[h20loo-iowa]

Originally Posted by urza216

My suburban area in The Midwest actually has more black people than white people.

And come to think of it. It's typical for a big city in the Midwest to have a large population of blacks. Chicago, Saint Louis, Clevelend, Detroit, ect. Just because Iowa is lily white, it doesn't mean that's how the rest of the Midwest is.

A little bit of diversity would make Iowa more appealing. Unfortunately, a lot of minorities are a little afraid to venture out that way.

Iowa be on some slave type bs, they kidnap brothers to keep and make jobs or to build new prisons so that rural lily white's can have jobs.

[DMRyan]

And with that post it's safe to say this forum has gone completely stupid.

[h20loo-iowa]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

I AM black (ok, half black) and grew up in the Midwest, and I never experienced any racism (that I noticed, anyway) even once. I am absolutely 100% serious. In fact, I was born in Davenport, and my black mom grew up there and loved it and returns to her high school reunions with wonderful memories and tons of enthusiasm. The only time in my entire life when I have felt uncomfortable because of a racist situation (or one in the making, rather) was in Elkins, West Virginia. My roommate (who is part fillipino - he looks sort of Latino) and I had driven there from Alexandria, Virginia, where we live, to go hiking and such, but it rained all weekend we were there, so we ended up spending most of the time wandering around in the small downtown, checking out the few little stores and such. There were a couple old white guys in pickups who kept driving past us really, really slowly, and it started to make me very uncomfortable, so we spent the rest of the weekend watching the Disney Chanel in our hotel room.

Anyone who thinks Iowa is a racist state has her/his head up her/his.. you know. Just look at the breakdown on how Obama vs. H. Clinton fared in the '08 Democratic primary. And ponder who the first state was to vote for Obama, for god's sake.

You are what you are - not what some twenty-two-year-old guido film directory from Long Island says you are.

Iowa voting for Obama did not fool anyone,it was the white racist who voted for him,(see i voted for obama,i'm not racist).please.