Interracial family thinking of moving to Hays, KS (Manhattan, Washington: home, elementary school)

[1332mass]

I went to high school in Hays and if you're looking to live in western Kansas, it is well educated considering the hospital and university. I live in Lawrence and I love Lawrence, but Hays is what it is. There are nice folks and there aren't nice folks. I enjoy Hays but I wouldn't move back there. There are good schools and a bunch of good people though.

[GraniteStater]

Compared to other towns in western Kansas, Hays is by far the best option.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Compared to other towns in western Kansas, Hays is by far the best option.

Agreed. If I HAD to live in the western half of the state, I'd pick Hays. But given the options further East, I'd choose Manhattan, Lawrence or JoCo.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by KevK

Kansas is racially liberal and you should not have any trouble there but it is not likely there are many other blacks there for you to socialize with. Probably the only city west of Wichita that has any blacks is Dodge City. Maybe a few in Garden City.

What about Liberal? I know there is a decent sized Black community there, along with a huge Mexican population.

[ckhthankgod]

This is interesting......I thought Kansas was a state where many Blacks migrated to from the South after the Civil War and lived in many small towns.

Nicodemus Kansas -- A Black Pioneer Town

JoCoHistory

Exodusters: Black Migration to ... - Google Book Search

Willing to Die for Freedom, An Online Exhibit, Kansas Historical Society

Dunlap, a ghost town in Morris Country, Kansas* -* Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

This is America?: The Sixties in ... - Google Book Search

The Great Plains region - Google Book Search

[thriftylefty]

I think if some one want's small town Kansas with SOME diversity . I would look at South East Kansas . Its got some economic problems all over but there are a few African Americans (some professional) spead out all over ,Ft.Scott 5%, Pittsburg3.3%, Parsons 8.2% , Coffeyville 12%, Independence 7.%, Oswego 3.3%, Chetopa 2%, Most of these small towns are losing population . Land is cheap. but only a few major employers. At one time most of the African Americans in Kansas Lived in SEK. one of the exodusers towns was Baxter Springs, and Also a Colored regiment was there along with one in Ft. Scott.

[athfo]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

I don't know about KCK, but if you try Wichita, while you will find a black population I think you'll find that it's surprisingly segregated. I don't think Kansas is necessarily more racially backward than most other parts of the country, but a lot of Kansas is rural and rural and racially backward do sort of tend to correlate most places.

As for Wichita, I don't think it is surprisingly segregated. From my experiences, racial prejudice is few and far between (of course it exists, but I do not encounter in my day-to-day life). The African-American population is about 40k in Wichita (11.4% of the population). You'll find that Wichita is actually more diverse than you think. In fact, it has the third-highest Vietnamese-American population in the Midwest.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

What about Liberal? I know there is a decent sized Black community there, along with a huge Mexican population.

That is because Liberal is..... well liberal!

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by robertjohnson

As a certified member of an interacial marrage I object to these posts of manufactured content that cast stink and suspission upon large areas of our great nation. Speaking for the Midwest I disagree with your false, foul and libelous post.

I disagree with your post, I'm also in an interracial marriage and can say that We've experienced racism in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and even here in Tennessee. The only place we haven't faced open " in your face " racism is Florida.

We've even faced open racism in California and New York.

There really is no place to escape racism. If you live in the country you get racism from whites, if you live in the city you get racism from all other ethnicities.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by athfo

As for Wichita, I don't think it is surprisingly segregated. From my experiences, racial prejudice is few and far between (of course it exists, but I do not encounter in my day-to-day life). The African-American population is about 40k in Wichita (11.4% of the population). You'll find that Wichita is actually more diverse than you think. In fact, it has the third-highest Vietnamese-American population in the Midwest.

I didn't say it wasn't diverse. I just said that the black population seemed pretty segregated, which has been my firm impression during my visits there. That isn't too rare outside the South in my experience. I once heard a black man quoted as saying: "In the South, they don't care how close I get, long as I don't get too big. In the North, they don't care how big I get, long as I don't get too close."