Pittsburgh, one of the worst towns for interracial dating? (Wilkes-Barre: transplants, neighborhoods)

[beenhereandthere]

Hi there, I visited "the Burgh" 2 Novembers ago and was very impressed by it. With the hills and rivers, it's a little bit like Portland (OR), the area where I live right now. I often think about moving back to the East Coast for family reasons and Pittsburgh seems intriging. However, I cannot stand bigotry (and that means anyone who uses race in just about any reasonable decision) and even though this survey is 10 years old, Pittsburgh rated one of the worst 10 towns for interracial relationships in the US. If that's the case, for me that's a red flag. I don't have plans to move there (or just about anywhere else) tomorrow, but this concerns me, particulary after I liked the town a lot. Does anyone "see" the ranking (does it make sense, can you put it past Pbugh?)?
On a side bar, if the Penguins ever left, that would knock it's appeal as well. Thanks.
PS. I know someone people can say, I'm just not attracted to a black men, I not attracted to, whatever....but usually most people against that think that it's wrong, which is so 1950's.

[Hopes]

I can't compare it to anywhere else, but I don't see it as a huge problem here in Pittsburgh. I have neighbors who are interracial couples. I used to be part of an interractial couple myself back in the 80s. The worse I ever experienced was black women giving me dirty looks. I'm sure older people might be less tollerant, but I think you'd find that just about anywhere since they are literally from the 1950s.

Sorry, I can't help you with those Penguins. Perhaps you might want to look at Kansas City.

[streetcreed]

The situation for African-Americans has never seemed poor on any of my visits to the Burgh. But my family and friends who have lived there their whole lives, all say that the city is not the most diverse. Also, Pittsburgh's stable economy and little growth contributes to the city having a older median age and less immigration. Pittsburgh is one of the whitest metros in the US.

I study urban geography. I would love to see the full potential that Pittsburgh has be realized.

I also live in Columbus.
The economic growth in Columbus has created a city that is very different than it was just 20 years ago.

Columbus has one of the largest concentrations of gay populations, 2nd largest Somali population in the us, fastest growing Asian population in Ohio, and stable/growing Indian and Mexican population. While the city is a majority of white, it is a place where diversity is starting to become a way of life.

Comparing two cities, one is not better, they are just different. Columbus has many transplants, college educated, coming to the city from many places around the US or as immigrants. The average age in Columbus is 31, this does not count college students. This younger population has been transplanted to the city for jobs.

The people who come are not already connected to the area and bring with them more progessive thoughts. Sometimes this means the city can feel a lack of tradition, on the other hand the people of Columbus are VERY open to change and the modern day progressive liberal political issues.

Columbus is run by an African-American mayor, and has become a place that is welcoming to African-Americans. The cities family-oriented neighborhoods are racially integrated.

Another factor that comes into play; Columbus was much smaller and did not have a large African-American during Industrial decline. This means that there is a very small percentage of the black population that has been in the city for some time and has suffered the effects of the 50s-80s. Most of Columbus' black population has immigrated to the city and already has a college education and job placement.

In a sense the playing field in Columbus is more leveled on an economic level.

Some newer suburbs of Columbus are actually seeing subdivisions which are marked to well-off blacks.

I also have many friends here who are from Pittsburgh. Almost every single one has also noted how they cannot believe the diversity difference here. For some reason most seem to realize how many more asians there are. Columbus is hardly the most diverse city, but it does state that there is a very large different in the racial makeup of Columbus and Pittsburgh in 2006.

[stevo6]

Pittsburgh is 27% african-american so black/white interraction is a fact of life. I arrived here from Denver via Wilkes-Barre which are much "whiter" cities and one of the first things I noticed is that there were quite a few interracial couples. I hadn't seen that very often before. On reflection I think one sees that more in the upper and lower ends of the social spectrum, and not so much in the middle class. I also think that despite the high number of blacks, and the day to day interraction, racism is still evident...its not lolipops and gumdrops for the black community. That could be because this is an older, middle class, blue collar community.

[PROJECT PAT]

i am not racist in any way but pittsburgh is very much a racist town, i can vouch for that.

[fadein2us]

We recently got flagged (YAC) for sharing our opinion on how racist this city is. This is unfair. How can a moderator delete an opinion about a city? Many others here have expressed similar POV's. We weren't trying to offend anyone. Oh well... Pittsburgh is a racist city. It's on the top 10 list of racist cities. There have been many broadcasts about Pennsylvania in general about the high-level or racism here. Listen, the KKK marched in town a few years ago. There are good parts of this city. No doubt. However, it is a racist town. It is starting to slowly change.... but overall, Pittsburgh is not what one would consider a "diverse" place to live and interracial dating is NOT accepted well here. It's important that a forum of this caliber share all points of view and tell the truth. This is not considered bashing a city. This city has many great things. However, in terms of race relationsions, it isn't great...

[PPG]

Yes, I agree>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Drover]

Couple of points regarding fadein2us:

a) You can't really judge a city's degree of racism by whether or not the Klan marches there. They marched in Gary Indiana too, which isn't exactly Crackerville. They deliberately pick places designed to provoke a response and generate press coverage.

b) Whose "top ten" list are you referring to, and what is their criteria? This is a fallacious appeal to authority, and without even stating which authority, its credentials, its criteria, its methodology, its metrics, et cetera.

It's not easy to objectively measure racism in any given city because what constitutes racism is often subjective and personal. My personal experience is that the observations of Pittsburgh not being particularly diverse or progressive are well-founded, and this doesn't appear to bother anyone there. Draw your own conclusions.

[Loveallrace]

Originally Posted by Drover

Couple of points regarding fadein2us:

a) You can't really judge a city's degree of racism by whether or not the Klan marches there. They marched in Gary Indiana too, which isn't exactly Crackerville. They deliberately pick places designed to provoke a response and generate press coverage.

b) Whose "top ten" list are you referring to, and what is their criteria? This is a fallacious appeal to authority, and without even stating which authority, its credentials, its criteria, its methodology, its metrics, et cetera.

It's not easy to objectively measure racism in any given city because what constitutes racism is often subjective and personal. My personal experience is that the observations of Pittsburgh not being particularly diverse or progressive are well-founded, and this doesn't appear to bother anyone there. Draw your own conclusions.

I have lived in Pittsburgh for a year now and I have to say that the people here are not very friendly. Everything is just on the surface and very superficial. There is racism here when compared to Rochester, NY. It's an entirely different species living here. I have bene working in a company for a year now and ever since they hired more whites, I am starting to feel the racial discrimation. I guess it's more like follow the crowd or be an outcast. Needless to say, I am looking for jobs out of state where I am wanted. Singapore Gal

[princesspolamalu]

Interacial relationships are so common here. No one even pays attention. Especially if you are in or near the city. You will shop in the malls or eat at restaurants in the suburbs and see tons of interracial relationships. As Hopes mentioned the only problem you might have is a black woman giving dirty looks to a white woman with a black man. And I am a black woman and agree with this statement. I am not guilty as I am often involved in interracial relationships, but I have many friends who are. This city is very tolerant.
I dont understand where ppl get this information about Pittsburgh being such as racist town. Maybe its way out in the suburbs or something. There is a black man and a white woman walking downtown holding hands every ten seconds and in my experience no one cares. Unless, these racist conversations are being held behind closed doors I dont know what any of these ppl are talking about.