What's the racial stuation in Washington for African-Americans? (Seattle, Spokane: sale, to rent)

[3243]

I currently reside in Los Angeles, CA and am seriously considering relocating to a less expensive but still socially and politically liberal city later this year. I have visited Seattle a couple of times and like what I experienced of it. I hope to visit again for at least a two-week stay before deciding where I would like to move to.

What is it like in Seattle and elsewhere in Washington for African-American persons, especially those who are involved in interracial relationships? I know no place on Earth is absolutely perfect, but some places are more tolerant than others.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

[jacqueg]

I would say the urban areas on the west side of the CAscades are as socially liberal as you're going to find in the US. Rural areas will be a bit less so, but then you have the leave-me-alone-I'll-leave-you-alone factor in your favor. Sadly, there are bigots everywhere, but I think you will generally find that Seattle is not much different from LA. I am sure you have thought of this, but if you haven't, see if you can find a "community" of people in place before you move here - for instance a Seattle branch of an organization you already belong to. Everybody can use a little support when moving to someplace new!

[j_k_k]

The racial situation for African Americans? Well, most of those I know are in the racial situation commonly called 'black.' WA has a few white South African immigrants, and some North Africans, to whom that wouldn't apply.

Seriously, though, I think it varies. Like most large cities in any state, Tacoma and Seattle have African American populations that tend to concentrate in particular areas--but not so much that it'd feel like segregation (i.e. that it's unwise for them to live anywhere else). There's racism everywhere, but in the Puget Sound metro area it's not only socially unacceptable, some people will fall all over themselves in a craven eagerness to make sure no one even hints at it. My alma mater, UW, has an administration that is a prime example--all anyone has to is hint the R-word, and they'll curl up and cry and beg for mercy. But on balance, I think you'll find it as congenial as any area in which African Americans are in a decided minority.

Getting outside the main metro area, it'll vary. Vancouver, Yakima, Spokane and Pasco have small African American minorities that don't seem to encounter much trouble, though DWB risk is a fact of existence, police being what they are. The smaller the Washington town, the less black people most of the residents have met, and the more of their notions come from our precious media. It doesn't necessarily mean hostility, but having lived in a small Washington town with precisely one black family, I can tell you it does mean oceans of ignorance. Whether isolated open hostility is less bearable than widespread cluelessness, I guess, is for each person to decide.

I'd avoid Yakima, not because it's prejudiced, but because it sucks for all races. I'd avoid the Skagit Valley and the upper NE of the state near the Idaho panhandle, on the grounds that higher concentrations of religious apocalyptic gun nuts are rarely good news for African Americans. I wouldn't live on one of the Indian reservations simply because any non-Indian is at a disadvantage there (great way for whites to get an idea of the overall black experience, perhaps). jaqueg is right: Washington isn't the sort of place where it's considered seemly to bother someone who isn't bothering anyone, even in the socially conservative areas. I lived in Kennewick (which used to be a fricking sundown town) for sixteen years, and lived as a non-Christian surrounded by Christian neighbors. None of them cared about my religion, and all of them responded to the type of person they considered me to be. I still miss them all. But I did see one time at a hockey game there where the police were hassling some young men, one of mixed race and the others Hispanic, who had done not a single thing wrong that I saw except buy a beer (which I had also done and at which point of sale all IDs were checked, even for grey-bearded fiftyish white guys like me). Eastern Washington's far more prominent racial tension involves Hispanic vs. white or Native American, but even that is pretty mild relative to some parts of the country. I also think that the vast majority of Washingtonians either never had a problem with interracial relationships, or got past that long ago. Same-sex relationships are taking all the heat off you (and there's less of that, too, in WA than in many states), so you can be thankful for the times.

Honestly, I think race is less of a question than economics. It depends what line of work you're in, and where the jobs are, and whether you want to rent or own (Seattle house prices = ridiculous). And when one thinks about it, that's a virtue for Washington. I know of places where racial acceptance or conflict potential is the first consideration, not the second or third. Good luck in your search for a new place.

[ukiyo-e]

The Seattle NPR station, KUOW, aired a series last fall called Black in Seattle. You might find it helpful. This page has links to the stories and topics that were covered.

Black In Seattle | KUOW News and Information