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Off-topic, but why do people say this? Blatantly false information.
Queens is the only county in the United States where black households have a higher median income than whites. Queens' median income is above national average income, clearly there are tons of middle-class blacks in that borough alone.
And there is only one other city with as many upper middle, upper-income blacks as NYC and that's Washington DC and its suburbs (in percentage only). In sheer numbers, that goes to the NYC and its suburbs, which is also #2 in terms of percentage.
My math may be wrong (I was a liberal arts major), but 10,000 out of 8,391,881 is .1%. I'd say that is a novelty to the majority unless you are part of that .1%.
All you have to do is spend a few days reading these boards to see how many people think black=poor. I wish it weren't true.
My math may be wrong (I was a liberal arts major), but 10,000 out of 8,391,881 is .1%. I'd say that is a novelty to the majority unless you are part of that .1%.
All you have to do is spend a few days reading these boards to see how many people think black=poor. I wish it weren't true.
I wouldn't worry about what these boards read like. 33% of Black people in this country are poor. This includes people of African descent from all over the world, that live in the US.
This majority is made up mostly of single women and single grandmothers with children. in the case of the grandmother no parents are present in the household.
While this means that Black people are the largest group that is poor in the US, it also means that 67% are not poor.
Out of the 33% this can be a wake up call for some, to make better choices. Some poverty can be prevented. Single parenthood doesn't have to be detrimental but should be a thought decision after gaining education, and marketable skills. If it has already happened, it cannot be a deterent to gaining education, and marketable skills.
It's more about your outlook than your race, IMO. As long as you carry yourself with poise and confidence, you shouldn't have any problems. I find that some closed-minded people will always assume that "one size fits all" when it comes to certain people of color, but as long as you know who you are and what you bring, just ignore them. Try to find an affordable place to live that's safe. There are lots of AAs here from other places. I think the variety adds to making NYC more of a special place. Good luck with your move.
I'm African American (parents immigrated from Ghana) and haven't had any problems. I currently live in Harlem since it's all I can afford (early twenties, just out of college) but I'd rather move somewhere a bit nicer and safer. A lot of times I walk around and see walking stereotypes, but they're outnumbered by blacks who don't fit the mold. It's comfortable for other people to assume that we're all dirty, poor, and uneducated, but as a black person you know that's far from the truth. Don't worry about what other people think and come to NYC!
I definitely agree with there being so many blacks who don't fit a mold. I love riding the subway and seeing boho blacks, rastas, techies, finance/banking types, media types reading Variety, new immigrants, church ladies, etc. I'm even sometimes amazed by the hood rats. I saw a guy wearing a leather jacket covered in a rhinestone tribute to some dead narco trafficker and it killed me. I mean there is so much homophobia in the community and this jacket was straight out of Liberace's closet.
I'm African American (parents immigrated from Ghana) and haven't had any problems. I currently live in Harlem since it's all I can afford (early twenties, just out of college) but I'd rather move somewhere a bit nicer and safer. A lot of times I walk around and see walking stereotypes, but they're outnumbered by blacks who don't fit the mold. It's comfortable for other people to assume that we're all dirty, poor, and uneducated, but as a black person you know that's far from the truth. Don't worry about what other people think and come to NYC!
While I don't think its your responsibility to rehabilitate a neighborhood, what if every young African American person had your mindset, can you see why there are not a lot of "NICER" black neighborhoods. A big part of the reason that blacks don't have the status/respect in society is because we are always sprinkled in to the society of other races. I am personally not a big fan of the whole race thing in general, its mostly ignorance to me, but "perceived race" plays a major role in our society, can't control that, and this is one of the reasons blacks are at a disadvantage. With that being said, you did mention safety and that trumps any advice I could give, but I was just giving food for thought.
In my experience, it’s a mixed bag with more pro than con. One of the biggest pros is that there is a mix of everyone here, so I rarely feel like I stand out (except when walking around the Upper East Side). But because there is a mix of everyone, I encounter tensions that I wouldn’t have to deal with in a less diverse area of the country, like Africans vs. Americans of African decent.
Am I going to get in trouble for mentioning that in mixed company? Oh well.
I still get followed by store security at lower-end places, but have no problems at places I expect to be snooty. And I like that I don’t have to go to a rough neighborhood to buy hair products; they carry Kinky Curly at Whole Foods. Amazing.
I have never felt that I have been discriminated against in the NYC professional world, but I’m accomplished in my field, have a good education and have worked in non-profits and media where everyone is a bit odd.
Oh, I have definitely faced housing discrimination. I went to fill out an application for a place in Manhattan and the manager immediately gave me an application for a place in the Bronx (nothing wrong with the Bronx, just didn’t have the view I was looking for). I had to be firm that I was applying for a certain apt in a pretty white Manhattan neighborhood. Although my name is Arabic, it is considered a “Black” name and I used my initials or use my husband’s bland name when making initial inquiries over the phone or through email. It made life easier. (My parents did the same when bought their last house and boy was the banker surprised when they showed up at closing.)
Sadly, because there are so many poor blacks in NYC, too many people think that is all we are. There aren’t wealthy black enclaves here like there are in other cities and middle class black folks are a novelty to too many.
There are black middle class enclaves in Queens though, like Cambria Heights.
Many gentrifing areas actually have a good subsection of upper class professional blacks mixed in with the rest of the gentry. Places like Greenpoint and Astoria used to be bereft of AAs until the yuppies came in. It's nice to see more mixture nowadays.
(My parents did the same when bought their last house and boy was the banker surprised when they showed up at closing.).
How were your parents able to go from purchase talks all the way to closing without showing their faces? Did someone operate on their behalf?
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