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Someone tell me what is the deal? I have a young son who is 11 and would be starting 6th grade next year. I am 32, mixed-black, my fathers side and native american, sierra leonean, irish on my mothers side. My family is a rainbow and relatives of many colors. I am a woman of color, brown-skinned, nowhere near white looking. My sons father is black and native american and my son is very dark skinned. This race thing was never an issue for me with anyone else and I certainly dont want to move somewhere we would not be welcomed. I grew up in a town in PA that had a lot of institutionalized racism. My brothers were not treated very well in the school system and were often treated differently by others in our township. It happened to me here and there from teachers or friends parents or some who would never allow their sons to date me or daughters to hang out with me but overall I had a good experience, my brothers had it worse and our family moved from there when I was in my last year of high school. It was much harder for my brothers growing up in that sort of glazed unspoken racism. This is so very concerning to me. I have talked with various people who keep telling me, theres hardly any blacks or people of color in Laguna Beach and you wont feel comfortable there, your son is asking for it. You will be judged if youre not making as much money as the average and especially because of your skin color. I know its not hugely mixed full of different races, but come on, it cant be that bad, can it??? This is really disheartening if so. I would like to move make friends and not have to deal with my son reliving the experience my brothers had and without being treated different. I have not visited yet, so I have no judgement. Someone tell me something good or please be honest with me.
I think lack of money would big a bigger issue in Laguna Beach. If you're not rich or at least very comfortable, you won't fit in. Orange County is pretty diverse but there aren't a lot of blacks. North OC tends to be more diverse than south. The closest significant black population would be Long Beach.
I think lower class whites react more negatively toward minorities as they perceive they're in competition for the scraps left by the upper classes. I doubt you'll find much of an issue with that in OC. They seem to mainly hate on Muslims and that's often for political advantage.
Two things majorly different between your brother's experiences and what may be the experiences of your son, time and location.
It has been a long time since I was in the SoCal area, but it's generally pretty accepting. Where as the time I spent on the east coast was more of a divided feel.
When I read your post, it was not skin color that set off warning lights, it's lifestyle.
If you are 'poor' an move to a 'rich' area, you will get looked down upon.
If you dress like you shop at Walmart, you will be judged.
However- perhaps the judgement goes both ways.
Perhaps the rich 'flair' of the area has others thinking that the whole community is snooty.
I suggest going there and spend a couple days and nights checking things out. Go to the school that your son might attend and see what it's like, what's the over all attitude that's there. Talk to people and get a sense of what it's like before you make a decision.
But- if you don't, I don't think that the severity of what your brother's faced will be something your son has to deal with. But, at the same time, your son needs to have some exposure to racism so he knows what it's all about (on a personal level) before going out into the big world. It's an unfortunate but useful lesson.
"Fitting in" is not necessary and overrated. If you like an area and can afford it, move there. Who cares what people think. They can stuff it if they don't like it.
Could you visit the school your son would be attending and see what it's like? I'm not from there, but I'm assuming that he would bear the brunt of whatever racism and elitism there is. Laguna Beach is such a beautiful place, I can see why you'd want to live there.
I have talked with various people who keep telling me, theres hardly any blacks or people of color in Laguna Beach and you wont feel comfortable there, your son is asking for it. You will be judged if youre not making as much money as the average and especially because of your skin color. I know its not hugely mixed full of different races, but come on, it cant be that bad, can it??? This is really disheartening if so. I would like to move make friends and not have to deal with my son reliving the experience my brothers had and without being treated different. I have not visited yet, so I have no judgement. Someone tell me something good or please be honest with me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlite
Could you visit the school your son would be attending and see what it's like? I'm not from there, but I'm assuming that he would bear the brunt of whatever racism and elitism there is. Laguna Beach is such a beautiful place, I can see why you'd want to live there.
My husband's family has been living in Laguna since 1950, with three generations attending the same elementary (El Morro), junior high (Thurston), and high school (Laguna Beach). The student body has always been predominantly white but not necessarily due to racism. As EscapeCalifornia has mentioned earlier, the problem the OP would face in moving to Laguna is not the colour of her and her son skin, but the finance situation of her family. There has always been blacks living in Laguna, and there has always been black students in Laguna Beach Unified School District. The percentage for both, however, is very small, with only 1% of the student body is black (my husband's class of '67 had one black student, our daughter's class of '95 had one, our grandchildren, great nieces and nephews have yet to have a black student in their classes.) Most, if not all, black families in Laguna are professionals with very high income. My husband's family home has been on the same spot since Feb 1950, and there has not been one black person living in the neighbourhood in almost 63 years.
If the OP is working in a low paying job and living paycheck to paycheck, I would not recommend her to move to Laguna, no matter the colour of her skin.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 12-28-2012 at 10:26 PM..
Ol', why do you assume the OP is living paycheck to paycheck? Because she's black? Disgusting. I hope she moves to Laguna Beach much to the chagrin of the locals.
Cat-in-Cali, where will you be working, what is your field?
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