Is pittsburgh extremely racist?? (Baldwin, Uniontown: middle-class, buying a house, buying)

[gg]

Originally Posted by Veyron

I need to also make as many black friends as possible....

Here is where I get lost with people. I can't imagine most people saying I need to make as many (add race here) friends as possible. Imagine a white person saying, I want to make as many white friends as possible.

I think I now understand you better. All I can say is good luck to you no matter where you live. I suggest DC. That is one place that is a huge melting pot and a ton of very successful black people, since that is most important to you.

To be quite honest, I find your posts offensive on many levels.

[Uptown kid]

Pittsburgh's got nothing on the South. Even some of Florida's big cities have less diverse jiving than us... Note Texas/Alabama/Louisiana/Mississipi/Georgia easily trump Florida!!!
The racist vibe/racial tension/segregation is bad here, but it's definitely not one of the worst in these categories in the Nation let's get that straight!
To tell the truth some places in the County whites should avoid/some places Blacks should avoid, in some places other non white/black ethnicities are welcome/other places they're given the cold shoulder, you move into a certian area if your black then your unwelcome/initially deemed by many as undesirable & your kids will be victims of prejudice bullying, and black is iterchangeable with all of the other races (although due to the economic demographics of the region & ways of American culture/society white on black is by far the most common, even excluding institutionalized racism)
That's just how it is in SOME places, although most of Pittsburgh is fine and there are many areas that are ride of segregation. There are at least a dozen of diverse neighborhoods in the confines of the City proper alone (though a key point is that not all of them are the safest neighborhoods).

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

Uniontown has a population of 10K and is 18% black. I highly doubt the 1,800 black people living there are miserable and living in fear of racism every day. Commuting from Pittsburgh would be a pain in the ass and needlessly cost you more money. Living in Pittsburgh to avoid racism while working in Uniontown every day would be a pointless endeavor in my opinion.

Thats true.

If Uniontown was extremely racist there would barely be any blacks living there and they would all moved to pittsburgh.

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

To be honest you have no chance in enjoying Pittsburgh. I know a lot of black people at work and they seem to love it here, but you are already looking at Pittsburgh in a certain way and you will find some racism and figure that the entire place is racist. It isn't, but I have a feeling, no matter what your mind is made up and that is that. I suggest you live here a year and move. I don't think it will work out. Once someone makes up their mind as you are showing here, why bother?

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Here is where I get lost with people. I can't imagine most people saying I need to make as many (add race here) friends as possible. Imagine a white person saying, I want to make as many white friends as possible.

I think I now understand you better. All I can say is good luck to you no matter where you live. I suggest DC. That is one place that is a huge melting pot and a ton of very successful black people, since that is most important to you.

To be quite honest, I find your posts offensive on many levels.

Originally Posted by alex_jones

Yeah, it's pretty popular in America today. It's OK to be racist if you're not white...in fact, plenty will argue that ONLY whites CAN be racist. So, there you go.

Nothing racist about that, no sir.

So anyway - in Pittsburgh, which are the "whitest" neighborhoods?

I did not mean it like that.

I have no problems with white people whatsoever.

I just don't want to be out there completely by myself.
The initial impression that I got from some of the posters is that theres a good number of whites out there who do not accept blacks into their social circle/neighborhoods which is why I made that comment I have to find some black friends.

But now I see that it may not be 100% true because of more information being provided.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

My guess would be Lincoln Place, virtually a zero percent African American population and as late as the late 1990's there was a community tradition of sorts for a cross to be burned on Devil's Night on the lawn of Mifflin School.

Just a few years ago someone burned down a house right after an African immigrant closed on it as well.

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by greg42

You know, in general, I think you'll be okay. I mean, it's really impossible for me to say for sure. As a white guy, I don't have to deal with the racism you're asking about. I can look at what is happening in the city and surrounding area with my white guy non-racist point of view and think that for the most part it wouldn't be an issue. But the reality is probably not that clear cut. I don't have any direct info, such as close black friends who have told me stories or anything like that. I can go by what a few of the guys have said on here, but I don't always know what race they are. Nor do I care what race they are, but in this case it's pretty obvious that the direct experience from a black man would be a little more helpful to you.

But I'd really like to think, and really do believe that most of the time, with the attitude this you said up thread, you'd be in good shape. You said "I'm hoping to advance my career, make an honest living, further my education and maybe make a few friends. I'm hoping everything will fall into place." That's cool. And most people are going to respect that and not worry about race coming into it. Or at very least, I certainly would. But I could also understand how few idiots it could take to make life miserable, so obviously there's no way to promise you a perfect trouble-free experience. I will say in the 21 years I've been here I personally have NOT witnessed overt racism, n-words or anyone even making suggestive remarks that way. It might be a pretty sheltered circle, I don't know. Worst I've seen is people saying avoid xyz neighborhood, which may be at this point mainly about race even if the person saying it doesn't think so. But I really can't think of times anyone has even so much as whispered something worse to me. And I DO know what it is like to experience that; I can remember some instances in the place where I grew up where there were whispered remarks, n-words, racist jokes, crap like that. All among whites I mean. So it's not like I would miss such instances, but it is possible that I give off the proper vibe to not attract those remarks or something. Who knows.

It sounds like you're going to be coming here (or are already here?) regardless. Make the best of it, great luck to you, I hope it goes well.

Well this makes me feel better about my decision.

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

Pittsburgh's got nothing on the South. Even some of Florida's big cities have less diverse jiving than us... Note Texas/Alabama/Louisiana/Mississipi/Georgia easily trump Florida!!!
The racist vibe/racial tension/segregation is bad here, but it's definitely not one of the worst in these categories in the Nation let's get that straight!
To tell the truth some places in the County whites should avoid/some places Blacks should avoid, in some places other non white/black ethnicities are welcome/other places they're given the cold shoulder, you move into a certian area if your black then your unwelcome/initially deemed by many as undesirable & your kids will be victims of prejudice bullying, and black is iterchangeable with all of the other races (although due to the economic demographics of the region & ways of American culture/society white on black is by far the most common, even excluding institutionalized racism)
That's just how it is in SOME places, although most of Pittsburgh is fine and there are many areas that are ride of segregation. There are at least a dozen of diverse neighborhoods in the confines of the City proper alone (though a key point is that not all of them are the safest neighborhoods).

Which parts of pittsburgh is the most racist?

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by Clint.

Glad to hear you're moving to the region, Veyron. Uniontown is still in Pittsburgh's orbit, but at the outer limits; much farther and it would be a real stretch to say you're 'moving to Pittsburgh'...now it's just a little bit of a stretch. Truly, though, Uniontown is significantly closer by drive time and mileage to Morgantown, WV than it is to Pittsburgh. Morgantown is populated enough to have its own C-D subforum (although it is much less active and demonstrably inferior to Pittsburgh's, ha!).

I've been to Uniontown a few times, but not enough to provide much useful first-hand information. I'm white, too, so I guess I couldn't give actual first-hand info about what it's like to be a minority in a white area. I've heard Connellsville, which is about 11 miles north, described as "klan country", but that was 15 years ago and may have just been rumor (or wishful thinking, I don't know). It's not saying much, but nowhere anywhere is as overtly racist as it used to be.

I think you'll be fine. Of course some places are bound to be better than others, but the same is true almost anywhere. Maybe it's more true in Pittsburgh than in other comparably sized cities.

You may be interested in reading a couple stories published recently in a local quarterly:

African Americans in Pittsburgh: The newcomer experience | Regional Indicators | BUSINESS
African Americans in Pittsburgh: The data in black & white | Regional Indicators | BUSINESS

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the links.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Just a few years ago someone burned down a house right after an African immigrant closed on it as well.

I heard about that, of course.

But I don't think anyone was busted for it,so attributing it to the community as a whole, or for any particular motive seems unfair without more facts.

[Veyron]

Originally Posted by Clint.

It can be a complex and sensitive subject about what influences what and where blames lies, etc., but a higher number of educated and career oriented black males in the region will go a long way toward making Pittsburgh more like the cities you mention (to wit: "Pittsburgh has the highest poverty rate among working-age African Americans of the 40 largest regions in the country." - African Americans in Pittsburgh: The newcomer experience).

So, you can also take a bit of satisfaction in knowing that you can help transform underlying opinions in Pittsburgh by changing the underlying reality, especially if, after a few years, you end up working and residing a little closer to Pittsburgh than Uniontown.

Reading the article made me a little weary....

I just have to be extremely careful...