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I'm planning a trip soon. It's essentially going to be a business trip (spending a lot of day light hours in cafes with a business partner structuring a technology startup and building a site). At night, we will want to have fun in the city.
I'd like to check out some of the city's black businesses and we want to experience a decent amount of black culture while there (ie: going to cafes,clubs,restaurants,lounges etc that are either blk owned or have a high % of black patrons preferably a 20-40yr old crowd)
Now I'm sure most will say, go to Atlanta and atl is an option if the weather holds up but I absolutely love LA. Guess I'm just trying to see if LA is a feasible option.
Where would be some great places in the LA area to visit with diverse (decent % of blk patrons) crowds. Cafes,lounges,bars, restaurants etc. Also, where would be a good area to stay for about five days.
Thanks in advance. I saw a similar post tht gv great information but that was from 2014.
Sorry guys,
Didn't know this thread picked up. I took a couple of screenshots of the first few pages and suggestions and ran with that. My time in LA came and went.
LA's black scene:
I had a good time. Stayed in WeHo at an AirBnB. I frequented Baldwin Hills, Culver City and Inglewood. I did go to a few black businesses but I'd have to conclude that the black scene in LA is foreign to me. I'm not going to say it doesn't exist but it's definitely not on an Atl/Dc/NYC level. I'd even put Dallas and Houston over it when it comes to that blk pride/mecca type of feeling. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just different. LA's black scene is one based more on assimilation (which is why I said it's not necessarily a bad thing esp if the non blacks are as welcoming and open minded as they appeared to be in LA). I remember asking many blk ppl for suggestions and everyone pretty much suggested a venue in West Hollywood or Santa Monica where blacks are the obvious minority. One blk person was even puzzled as to why we wld want to check out a black venue. Saying that it usually starts off good but ends bad. We did go to some of their suggestions and it was cool, open minded people with decent numbers of black people. The other thing that puzzled us was the mentality of the blk people there. It was more of a laid back, go with the flow, just want to fit in and assimilate type of mentality. Or it was the hood types with tats all over there face and body (women too) idgaf about anything mentality. Not too much of that highly ambitious, black power, rise to the top and be a boss type mentality. And I know this is all generalizations on a miniscule % of the blk population in LA.
I just don't think LA is the type of place for a blk mecca type of feeling. That era seems to have came and went for LA. It definitely has the history and a lot of older people had that type of blk pride mentality you'd see in DC or Atl. One older business lady that owns a shop at the mall in Baldwin Hills told us LA changed a lot and it's not like it used to be. She said that many people she know has moved (a lot to tx and other parts of the south).
LA as a guy trip destination:
As far as LA for a guy trip from a black upper middle class millennial's perspective:
There's plenty of better options out there for someone of my socioeconomic class level (approx 80k give or take). LA would be a great guy trip for ballers willing to splurge and keep up with the G wagons, VIPs, etc. People are very friendly and open minded there. But it doesn't work for a guy trip if spending only a few days. It definitely seems like a funner place to live than visit. I would have a blast living there and if you're single, there are plenty of options out there and they are very approachable. A huge problem is the traffic and the logistics aspect of being a short drive away from whoever you end up meeting. The beach area seemed like a place where locals went to spend a day at the beach (or regional tourist from CA). Hollywood was mostly full of people wanting to see the stars. Drinking isn't allowed on the strip and it's mostly souvenir shops. Hollywood's club scene was full of materialistic types looking for a baller in a G wagon.
Better options for a guy trip from my own experience was definitely SoBe, Miami or the Vegas strip. I'd even pick Nyc (logistics is everything), Austin TX, New Orleans, and Atl (esp for a straight blk male). LA's guy trip problem is the same for most sprawling cities (Dallas and Houston included): There's so much going on everywhere, land mass is too massive, and car culture doesn't make it a feasible option for a guy trip. People are too spread out. Hence why: New Orleans (everyone on Bourbon street), LV(everyone on the strip), Austin (everyone on 6th street), Miami (everyone on SoBe) are better guy trips. NYC is spread out but the population density and amount of ppl walking/doing public transportation makes it a great place.
LA is the perfect place to visit on a couple trip. Those types of trips just require a beautiful place with tons to do and that you actually like the person you're going with. It would also be a decent family trip. I honestly couldn't think of a much better place to live if you were a baller. I love LA and if business ever affords me the opportunity to be filthy rich, I'd prob move there for sure.
FJB327 is this how college educated black millennials think, particularly the ones from DC? As a college educated black man myself, though a little older than you, I had to get out of DC for the same reason why you love it. Black educated people back there act like they can only socialize or be around other educated blacks and no one else. Even when my DC friends come out here to visit, they are just like you. Only black restaurants. Only black clubs. Only black this and that. I had to get away from all of that because in DC you start seeing the same people over and over. Plus I never found DC people to be that friendly. Plus, why hang out on the Potomac River when you can hang out at the Pacific Ocean. Do I miss my blackness I had in DC? No, because wherever or whatever I did back there I can certainly still do here. And no city is like it use to be including DC. You being a millennial probably have no idea as to what DC was like years ago.
I mean, yes, I would agree that in a perfect world that we should all be able to go about things and mingle without race involved.
However, next time you see an African American, ask them what part of Africa they are from. Most of the time they couldn't even tell you. You ask most non black people in the USA, they can identify exactly where they are from. I have Korean ancestry. I have Mexican ancestry. I have German ancestry. Russian, French, blah blah blah. Ask an African American....I'm from Mississippi. I'm from Texas. My family is from Georgia. People don't even consider how damaging that is or even care TBH.
Ask them that, hear their answer, and think why that's messed up. Some of the only culturally relevant things that AA's can identify with a lot of the time are their church, college, food, music, friends, an immediate family. That's a big reason.
Anyone can Black American via genetic testing can find out their ancestry. No one Black person comes from just one part of Africa, usually there are multiple African ancestries in there, and many people have at least some European, Asian, or Native in there.
Personally I just bemoan the fact that in 2017 we still have to discuss black anything. Why do black people need their own neighborhood, their own clubs, their own restaurants. It's reverse racism and it perpetuates historical segregation and isn't very "progressive". All Americans should live where they want, eat where they want, drink and dance where they want
For the same reason immigrants live in neighborhoods with people of similar ethnic origins. People generally feel more comfortable with people similar to them and that includes white people. This will likely never go away.
And while I'm all for genuine acceptance of others, no one is interested in forced tolerance. Meaning if someone has a preference to be with people they feel are similar to them, they have every right to do so. There are both straight and gay bars, for example.
Let's get back to the program please. This isn't about the plight of black people or race relations. It's about a black guy tryna pick up black chicks. Stay focused.
Good point. And he has the right to his preference for Black chicks, or any other kind of chicks should his preference change. It's a personal decision either way.
Ah, makes sense. I guess it's like having a country within a country to call home? It's not that much different than Native Americans to be honest. I guess I was just wondering since blacks have had a similar history in Brazil but black Brazilians only see themselves as Brazilians for the most part. I figured at some point possibly in the future a similar transition would happen with newer generations? Do you see that ever happening?
You've never been to a Latin American country, or if you have you just hung out in a hotel. People give people nicknames based on their color and appearance throughout Latin America.
FJB327 is this how college educated black millennials think, particularly the ones from DC? As a college educated black man myself, though a little older than you, I had to get out of DC for the same reason why you love it. Black educated people back there act like they can only socialize or be around other educated blacks and no one else. Even when my DC friends come out here to visit, they are just like you. Only black restaurants. Only black clubs. Only black this and that. I had to get away from all of that because in DC you start seeing the same people over and over. Plus I never found DC people to be that friendly. Plus, why hang out on the Potomac River when you can hang out at the Pacific Ocean. Do I miss my blackness I had in DC? No, because wherever or whatever I did back there I can certainly still do here. And no city is like it use to be including DC. You being a millennial probably have no idea as to what DC was like years ago.
Can FJB327 speak for all college educated Black millennials, or all young Black people from DC? Does he know them all? Can he read their thoughts?
What's your issue with the preferences of the ones you know? You don't have to share them!
If you own a house in Inglewood, you're automatically "adjacent" to Silicon Beach, so yeah...probably.
It's great that your "AA friends and family" are interested in STEM subjects, but please do us both the intellectual favor of not pretending that what I wrote was in any way false, or that -- somehow -- this was the case all along.
It may not tickle your ego, but nothing I wrote was false.
Indians and Asians get hired by tech because their cultures are centered on mathematics and numbers. Their religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Sikhism) emphasize the importance of numbers from the time they are born. This is why they are good at science, math, physics and engineering. They are also held to higher academic standards in their native countries and households. This is why they get hired.
It's life. Deal.
You also have well over one billion Indians, and by the way professional Indians don't all work in tech. You'll find many in the medical professions, in finance, in real estate, and in the film industry in India and increasingly in the US. I could say the same for Chinese. Don't stereotype them as only working in one profession or one industry.
Re: African Americans in tech and in finance. They are there, but they are comparatively rare. I'd say there are more Latinos in these industries than AAs.
I think part of it maybe the colleges they go too. The people in tech and in finance (even the Asians) disproportionately go to Ivy Leagues, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Oxford, Cambridge, and a few other top schools.
There's the issue of Black people who do go to college feeling obligated in going to Black colleges. Unfortunately for them these colleges are in the South and have weak alumni networks, and this can hinder a person long term. Obviously if Barack and Michelle had gone to black colleges they never would be President and first lady. Going to black colleges is okay if you want to be a teacher, a nurse, or a social worker but in the private sector they simply don't have the prestige to do anything significant. I'm Black and it's a reason why for both undergrad and grad I went to Ivy league universities, and I had no interest in going to a HBCU. However I would never impose my perspective on anyone else and if that's what they want to do, for those that attend HBCU the choice is theirs and not mine.
In terms of just socializing with people from your background, while they can be good in the sense that you're more familiar with your people, it can also be damaging.
In industries like tech, finance, media, you gain business and jobs by referrals from personal and professional networks. Even a white person wanting to be around all whites for example could be shooting himself in the foot if they can't cope that these industries have lots of Asians and growing numbers of Latinos (with a few Blacks).
There are people who were total anti immigrant nutcases who had to move out of cities like New York, Los Angeles, SF because they couldn't handle diversity and are now living in way out areas where they don't have access to the best jobs or business opportunities.
Similarly if someone Black is too obsessed with being around other Black people, there will be financial and career tolls there, and I just mentioned some of them. But people have to figure those things out for themselves.
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