Shocked at How Segregated & Stratified American Communities Still Are

[Tropicana]

Lately when going to the USA, I have been attending conferences and trade shows. I really haven't visited friends or family and stayed in homes since before my son was born. That changed this week. I am spending a week with family friends in Long Island, New York.


It's a very nice community and most of the homes are occupied by owners. What I have found surprising is the demographic make-up of the community. It's Caribbean people (mostly Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Haitian) and East Indian. Working in the stores you will also find Hispanic people and a few Asian. That is it. I have hardly seen any White folks. When I have, they have been shopping in some of the stores.

So it seems that not only are Blacks and Whites living in different communities. People from the West Indies are also living apart from African Americans. What's up with that?

Mind you, I can think of some definite advantages for teenagers. They won't have to go through the hell I did in high school and face constant rejection from White kids. But what does this say about the state of race relations in America. It's 2012 and we seem to be no closer to a truly inclusive society. Skin colour and ethnicity continue to be major drivers.

[lonewolf]

But what does this say about the state of race relations in America. It's 2012 and we seem to be no closer to a truly inclusive society. Skin colour and ethnicity continue to be major drivers

Me thinks you fret to much. This is nothing more than tribal instinct. Those that look like one another, or are like minded ,have a tendancy to seek each other out. It is what we do, and it's normal behavior, regardless of what the supposed experts are trying to brainwash us into believing. We are nothing more than an advanced animal species. We maybe a little smarter, and walk on two legs, but that's about the only difference.
Some folks want to make it more complicated than it really is...

[Cultcha]

In any large Noth American city that has a Chinatown it is pretty self evident that the citizens that live in that community do not mix much with the outside world. Many shop, work, have accesss to restaurants, health care clinics, education, entertainment, banking etc... right in their neighbourhood. Many of the older people can only speak a handful of phrases in english because there is really no need to speak in the official language of their adopted country.

Why shoould any other community of expats be any different?

[Emperah]

look pan de city u live in all de chiney ppl inna de same places as well as de indian dem, and there are many places in toronto weh jus blk ppl deh.
Dats why mi love detroit enuh

[blugiant]

yu meen yuh tell mii sey aftah awl de thyme mii chatt bout race tropic yuh tink segregation didd dunn

[Tropicana]

In any large Noth American city that has a Chinatown it is pretty self evident that the citizens that live in that community do not mix much with the outside world. Many shop, work, have accesss to restaurants, health care clinics, education, entertainment, banking etc... right in their neighbourhood. Many of the older people can only speak a handful of phrases in english because there is really no need to speak in the official language of their adopted country.

Why shoould any other community of expats be any different?

As stated, there are language differrences make some communities self-segregate. Patois and ebonics aside, this does not apply to African Americans vs Caribbean people or Black Americans vs white Americans. Last I checked, they all speak English.

[Tropicana]

yu meen yuh tell mii sey aftah awl de thyme mii chatt bout race tropic yuh tink segregation didd dunn

I am alarmed out how extensive it still is and that Caribbean people are segregating themselves from African Americans and living in separate communities in and near some cities.

[Tropicana]

look pan de city u live in all de chiney ppl inna de same places as well as de indian dem, and there are many places in toronto weh jus blk ppl deh.
Dats why mi love detroit enuh

Where in Toronto do "just Black folks" live? I have never encountered this and I have lived there for ages. There are areas with a high concentration of East Indians and Chinese but not exclusively or even predominantly Chinese or East Indian. In Chinatown, you will see a wide variety of ethnic and racial groups. Believe you me...I know.

[kia027]

As stated, there are language differrences make some communities self-segregate. Patois and ebonics aside, this does not apply to African Americans vs Caribbean people or Black Americans vs white Americans. Last I checked, they all speak English.

incorrect.. there are cultural differences too. black people who migrated from other places to the US are culturally different than those who have been in the US for a few generations. Holger Henke wrote a book about this very subject.. I want to say the book is called The West Indian Americans

[RichD]

Where in Toronto do "just Black folks" live? I have never encountered this and I have lived there for ages. There are areas with a high concentration of East Indians and Chinese but not exclusively or even predominantly Chinese or East Indian. In Chinatown, you will see a wide variety of ethnic and racial groups. Believe you me...I know.

If you use the term "toronto " to include the surrounding subbrrbs one coudl make the argument that East side of Brampton is predominantly South Asian and north Markham/Unionville is predominantly "Chinese". The area of Rexdale from dixon/islington - martingrove and north all the way to steels is predominantly black. the block from just west of isonlington over to kipling and north to the 401 is home to about 15,000 Somalis (that's where K'naan grew up)

[Peasie]

Where does Tropicana live? Thunder Bay? You can walk around many areas of Toronto on any given day and not see one of those descendants of the first white settlers. I've seen what RichD said. Not to mention vast communities of recent Russian immigrants. And yeah, I know they are Russians and not white people.

[Tropicana]

Again I ask where. I know of no place in Toronto or the 905 area code where that exists and I get around a LOT! Is lie onoo a tell. Not sure why.

Communities in major Canadian cities are fully integrated. You may find larger concentrations of some ethnic groups in some areas but it would never be a situation in which almost everyone in an area is from a specific visible minority group.

Russians are White and I lived in one of those so-called vast communities of Russians Again this does not exist. In that area, there were a lot of Russians and many of them owned rental property but they were not in the majority, not even close. There were White people from other ethnic backgrounds, Asians, Black people, and East Indian people.

This reminds me of when I first came on the board and spoke of certain realities and people from Toronto lied and said nothing noh go so. Eventually, they had to come on here and speak the truth and some even apologized to me personally.

Why misrepresent reality? I just don't get it.

Since when was Peasie based in Canada. This is de firs' mi hearing bout dis.

[Tropicana]

incorrect.. there are cultural differences too. black people who migrated from other places to the US are culturally different than those who have been in the US for a few generations. Holger Henke wrote a book about this very subject.. I want to say the book is called The West Indian Americans

We are not discussing cultural differences. A point was raised about language differences and that is what I addressed. With respect to cultural differences, why does that have to be a basis for segregation, especially in this day and age.

[RichD]

Again I ask where. I know of no place in Toronto or the 905 area code where that exists and I get around a LOT! Is lie onoo a tell. Not sure why.

yuh read my post?

[kia027]

We are not discussing cultural differences. A point was raised about language differences and that is what I addressed. With respect to cultural differences, why does that have to be a basis for segregation, especially in this day and age.

The thread stated is about segregation and we are discussing varying points of segregation; cultural difference are a reason people would choose to live with those of similar culture, food, religions, etc and access to such.