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I see more authentic interaction between white and black citizens in North Carolina than Atlanta.
In Atlanta the onus lies with the black majority. I don't experience as much automatic pleasantries or courteousness like, say in a grocery store. There's more avoidance unless spoken to.
I'll never forget one Sunday morning driving on Oberlin Rd. and witnessing a black crossing guard and white church-goers asking about each other's families.
I see more authentic interaction between white and black citizens in North Carolina than Atlanta.
In Atlanta the onus lies with the black majority. I don't experience as much automatic pleasantries or courteousness like, say in a grocery store. There's more avoidance unless spoken to.
I'll never forget one Sunday morning driving on Oberlin Rd. and witnessing a black crossing guard and white church-goers asking about each other's families.
Human beings interacting with human beings.
You'll never forget this? It's a pretty common instance all over the world. It's sad that this normal interaction sticks out to you in any way.
You'll never forget this? It's a pretty common instance all over the world. It's sad that this normal interaction sticks out to you in any way.
I think it's more sad that this isn't necessarily a normal interaction in many places. The black/white avoidance & "tension" is way more evident to me in Miami than it is in Raleigh. Since I go back and forth between the two cities, I have a lot of opportunity to juxtapose the cultures between them and the racial interactions is one that sticks out to me. In general, the people and general culture in Raleigh stands out to me as one of the city's advantages. Is it perfect in Raleigh? No. Is it better in Raleigh? It is in my experience.
You'll never forget this? It's a pretty common instance all over the world. It's sad that this normal interaction sticks out to you in any way.
I think this is pretty uncommon in many areas of the US, not just Raleigh. Even in Boston where I grew up - a supposedly diverse area, lots of races self-segregate.
I think this kind of interaction is more common because of desegregation in the South. When you go to school with a lot of different kinds of people you are more comfortable talking to all sorts of folks. Re-segregation under the guise of the "neighborhood schools" movement is a damn shame, IMO.
I think this kind of interaction is more common because of desegregation in the South. When you go to school with a lot of different kinds of people you are more comfortable talking to all sorts of folks. Re-segregation under the guise of the "neighborhood schools" movement is a damn shame, IMO.
i see that more as an issue of economic segregation than racial but the two are linked
I think it's more sad that this isn't necessarily a normal interaction in many places. The black/white avoidance & "tension" is way more evident to me in Miami than it is in Raleigh. Since I go back and forth between the two cities, I have a lot of opportunity to juxtapose the cultures between them and the racial interactions is one that sticks out to me. In general, the people and general culture in Raleigh stands out to me as one of the city's advantages. Is it perfect in Raleigh? No. Is it better in Raleigh? It is in my experience.
OK, you all reading too much into this.
Perhaps I should have said, "An example that comes to mind is..."
And to elaborate about that Sunday morning, I witnessed the exchange because the crossing guard had stopped traffic starting with me for the church-goers to cross the street.
That moment doesn't lend itself to engaging in polite conversation, but because both parties did ask about each other's families in hurried situation (crossing a busy street) that's why it's memorable to me.
North Carolina is very well integrated on a genuine level.
My rural public schools in Franklin County were 70% black, and everybody's circles of friends included both races.
A black woman essentially raised me while my mother worked until I started school.
My father and I took grocery bags of food from our garden to her and her family for the next 25 years.
My father and I were the also only two white people at her funeral in the late '80s.
If you ask me the real difference in how people act is RURAL versus URBAN.
North Carolina is still very rural in nature, and small-town folksl treat each other as equals by default.
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