Is Kearny, NJ “racist”? (Montclair: best town, crime, house)
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Well...if white people rapidly left Kearny after Latinos started moving in, then the town wouldn’t be so racist, would it? Wherever those people moved to would now be the “racist towns.”
Towns aren’t racist...people are. There’s nothing in the air or water in Kearny that turns people into bigots.
In the case of the two families I knew from Kearny, both were of either Irish or Irish and Scots descent, as were a lot of other families in the town at one time. Their parents had moved to Kearny from the Bronx and other urban areas to live in a more suburban setting. They grew up, their parents died, and the generation that was my age (and five years or so younger) moved elsewhere, too.
Now a different demographic trend has taken their place, people who are looking for the same type of housing and neighborhoods that the old Irish and Scots once did. It's just a natural shift as immigration patterns have changed.
In the case of the two families I knew from Kearny, both were of either Irish or Irish and Scots descent, as were a lot of other families in the town at one time. Their parents had moved to Kearny from the Bronx and other urban areas to live in a more suburban setting. They grew up, their parents died, and the generation that was my age (and five years or so younger) moved elsewhere, too.
Now a different demographic trend has taken their place, people who are looking for the same type of housing and neighborhoods that the old Irish and Scots once did. It's just a natural shift as immigration patterns have changed.
Exactly. Kearny is not the best town, but it’s definitely a good working-class town and a great transition place for upwardly-mobile people who were once poor. The old residents probably have either moved up socially or gotten out of the state altogether. People live where they want. “White flight” is such an antiquated term.
Exactly. Kearny is not the best town, but it’s definitely a good working-class town and a great transition place for upwardly-mobile people who were once poor. The old residents probably have either moved up socially or gotten out of the state altogether. People live where they want. “White flight” is such an antiquated term.
Exactly. The newer residents probably had parents who came from wherever and lived in the city and now they are adults and want a house and a less-urban area. Their kids will probably grow up there and then move turn their eyes to somewhere else. That's how it works.
I'm not too familiar with the history of Kearny. It's definitely possible that white flight occurred since this was very common in NJ and all across the country. However, it's also possible that as more of the original working class inhabitants attained middle class status and started families that they sought out areas with bigger homes and more land. Whites also have a lower birth rate than most other groups so this eventually equates to an increasingly smaller share of the population.
By the way, i've never understood how entire towns could be categorized as racist or not. Your experience in a town will probably vary on a block-by-block basis. Within any town, one block could be completely accepting while the next block over could be racist. And even within a certain block, there might be a mix of accepting and racist neighbors.
My advice to somebody house-hunting and concerned about neighbors giving them a hard time would be to consider moving to a place with as much privacy and distance between homes as possible - since this would lessen your interactions with them. Luckily, the majority of people who are racist these days just vent online, on social media or to their close family; and probably wouldn't bother you in-person.
Last edited by OceanDude; 09-19-2020 at 11:45 AM..
I love Kearny and I love the area but cannot help but to realize there’s a hint of racism, at least that’s how I see it.
Walk around Kearny Ave. and most of the businesses are Latino owned.
Now I have no problem with that.
But it seems that “white flight” happened overnight.
Why is that?
Noise and crime aren’t so prevalent there.
Crime is everywhere and I know Kearny, NJ is no exception but why did so many whites leave Kearny all of a sudden?
If you have to ask, maybe it's you with the problem?
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