I'm just going to ask.. (San Jose, San Francisco: neighborhood, school districts, place to live)

[maaci]

After my visit to Stanford this past week, I discover that there are so many different communities to live in that would be a reasonable commute. My strategy for deciding on a place to live is to find a community with great schools. I have found many. The problem that I am having is that many have less than a 1% African American population. I don't want my child to be the only African American in the class. Are there any school districts that are still considered great that have several African American kids in each class. The move itself is going to be major for him, I don't want him to in total culture shock. The school he currently attends doesn't have a large population of African American kids but there are several in each class.

I have also posted this in the San Francisco forum, because I don't know where I want to live.

[krudmonk]

While many areas of the south bay have small AA communities, it's not quite as noticeable as in other places. Really, there is a difference between being the only AA kid and being the only non-white kid. Even with a small population, African Americans are represented in many areas. You never drive down the road and think, "We're entering the black neighborhood now." People really just blend in. Then again, I grew up on the Eastside. Palo Alto is not the same thing.

At the same time, if you're seeking out a rich, specifically African American experience, you'd have to find that in a place like Oakland, where the population is significantly higher.

[maaci]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

While many areas of the south bay have small AA communities, it's not quite as noticeable as in other places. Really, there is a difference between being the only AA kid and being the only non-white kid. Even with a small population, African Americans are represented in many areas. You never drive down the road and think, "We're entering the black neighborhood now." People really just blend in. Then again, I grew up on the Eastside. Palo Alto is not the same thing.

At the same time, if you're seeking out a rich, specifically African American experience, you'd have to find that in a place like Oakland, where the population is significantly higher.

I can live with the answer being no I just had to ask.

In high school I moved from a predominantly AA school to a school where I was one of three. That was a traumatic experience for me. Granted I was in a very racist area of Cincinnati. I don't want my son to experience that. However, I am told it is not like that in California. Is that true?

[hsw]

My sense is racism/other forms of discrimination tends to be more sophisticated/subtle, but def present, in allegedly more well-educated, supposedly sophisticated regions like SF/SV or NYC....

For ex., know several younger hedge fund execs of Asian descent who feel "uncomfortable" w/racial dynamics of raising kids in affluent Marin suburbs...

Know several <40yo Jewish hedge fund/pvt equity/investment banking guys who view SF's PacHts as somewhat anti-Semitic and prefer to live in Atherton and drive to their SF office...

Given how "diverse" and tolerant SF region claims to be, interesting that many younger, rather well-educated people of means choose to segregate themselves in various urban/suburban corridors....

[Melody74]

You may want to consider San Jose. Even though the Black population here is a small 3%, chances are, your child will not be the only Black student in the classroom. There are some districts that have a higher Black population than others. Despite the overall small population, the Black students here seem to be happy and well adjusted, whether elementary, middle, or high school. Now it could be because they are being raised in a very integrated environment, and this is all they know.
When I say integrated, I'm not just speaking of Black and white. I'm speaking of Black, White, Latino, Asian in as many varieties that these groups have. That is essentially the Bay Area experience.

[StandingRoomOnly]

Having previously lived in the south bay for some time up until this past year, I found it rare to see African Americans in San Jose (and much of the south bay for that matter)--including in the local schools that I visited while working a job that took me from school-to-school for SJUSD. Having grown up in the East Bay, there is a huge disparity (in numbers) between the AA population in the East Bay versus the AA population in the South Bay. But IMO I think your son's experience going to school in the south bay will be much more accepting one (better schools also!) than if you were to go to a "more diverse" school in the East Bay, even with the very small AA population in the South Bay schools.

[sonarrat]

As I stated in the SF forum, Menlo-Atherton has a 7.4% AA enrollment. They have a number of feeder schools in Redwood City, Menlo Park, Atherton and East Palo Alto - some good, some pretty horrible, but MA itself is one of the best high schools around overall.

[treedonkey]

The South Bay is very ethnically divers, but for some reason our AfrAm community is very small compared to Hispanic, Asian and Indian communities. For some reason the East Bay (especially up toward Oakland) has always had a larger AfrAm community.

[Melody74]

While I will agree that the AA population is much smaller in San Jose, it is not small enough to render us a rarity. As an AA who lives in SJ, teaches in SJ, and goes to church in SJ, my eyes tell a different story. I see AA on a daily basis. To the many who think we don't exist, our presence and influence in San Jose actually runs quite deep.