Racism really that rampant in Indy? (Indianapolis: living in, move, suburbs)

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

Indy is less racist and polarized than NWI and Chicago thats a given. However i am sick and tired of people saying Indy is still home of the KKK. Honestly this isn't 1920 people and plus were Hosting the Super Bowl this year obiviously a so called KKK Stronghold isn't able to do that. Little Kids and Trollings trying to trash talk Indy cause they are jealous of our success.

And it never even was the "home" to the KKK or where it started.

And for crying out loud, stop picking on Martinsville.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

And it never even was the "home" to the KKK or where it started.

And for crying out loud, stop picking on Martinsville.

Poor Martinsville. People just never know when to leave them alone Heck they had a school shooting there i think the last thing they need is everyone pointing fingers at them.

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

I'm not going to suggest that there's no racism in Indy, but some of your comments lack historical or statistical basis, or are just plain hyperbole. You may want to accuse me and others here of being on the inside looking out, but that would be forgetting that many of us here, myself included, are not native to the area and can offer a basis of comparison.

I find it peculiar, too, in light of your comment in another thread that the Indy area is less polarized than NWI.

It's not a matter of being on the outside looking in in terms of original locale, it's skin tone. The stories, I could tell you whew and yes despite Indy's problems in that regard, NWI is way more polarized than Indy, they are just more upfront about it.

On a historical basis, seriously, while Indiana wasn't the birthplace of the Klan, their power base was actually in Indiana, Indianapolis to be exact as D. C. Stephenson was Grand Dragon for 22 states. He was a Irvington resident and a well connected one in the state and local government. The Klan lost steam after his murder conviction. There's a lot of historical reference with regards to Indiana, even in NWI, at a height of 250k or so white male members alone in Indiana. My family was one of the first black families to integrate into the Miller section of Gary, which was considered not so bad compared to the rest of the City as blacks started moving out into Glen Park and the west side. We were supposed to always be stuck in midtown and all go to Roosevelt and don't dare step foot on the beach. Nevertheless integration into Miller was bad enough.

As far as Hyperbole, no, just from my own personal experiences in Martinsville, Lake and Marion Counties. Most out of malice but there were a few out of sheer ignorance like a child's father who I used to coach Youth basketball with calling my wife and myself colored in my own darn house. Granted when he saw the scowl on my face, he really didn't know that was an unacceptable term and we're about the same age so it wasn't an issue of being from a "different" time. That's just how he was brought up and didn't know any better.

[Kind0fsmiles]

Matters where you go. North side and West side is very affluent and people there are not racist. South side is toward neutral. East side and around the intersection of 38th and Keystone is where it is very segregated and disgusting.

Best cities (Or areas): Carmel, Downtown, Castleton, Broad Ripple

Good cities (or areas): Westfield, Avon, Fishers, Meridian Hills, Zionsville, Noblesville

Neutral cities (or areas): Southport, Clermont, Speedway

Racist Cities (or areas): Warren Park, Near 38th & Keystone, Sections of Lawrence, Beech Grove

[bertrandandjules]

Originally Posted by Kind0fsmiles

Matters where you go. North side and West side is very affluent and people there are not racist. South side is toward neutral. East side and around the intersection of 38th and Keystone is where it is very segregated and disgusting.

Best cities (Or areas): Carmel, Downtown, Castleton, Broad Ripple

Good cities (or areas): Westfield, Avon, Fishers, Meridian Hills, Zionsville, Noblesville

Neutral cities (or areas): Southport, Clermont, Speedway

Racist Cities (or areas): Warren Park, Near 38th & Keystone, Sections of Lawrence, Beech Grove

And yet by the time you get to 46th and Keystone (and definitely by 52nd and Keystone) you're again in a racially mixed area. Yep, real segregated.

Beech Grove ain't lily-white either. Warren Park hasn't been for ages. Don't know enough about Lawrence, but since it's about 25% minority, I'd hardly say it's a stronghold for racial purity.

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by Kind0fsmiles

Matters where you go. North side and West side is very affluent and people there are not racist. South side is toward neutral. East side and around the intersection of 38th and Keystone is where it is very segregated and disgusting.

Best cities (Or areas): Carmel, Downtown, Castleton, Broad Ripple

Good cities (or areas): Westfield, Avon, Fishers, Meridian Hills, Zionsville, Noblesville

Neutral cities (or areas): Southport, Clermont, Speedway

Racist Cities (or areas): Warren Park, Near 38th & Keystone, Sections of Lawrence, Beech Grove

I find this funny. Do you actually believe the suburbs you listed are less racist than the city areas you listed? People in Carmel may not be overtly racist (and many aren't any kind of racist), but a large percentage of them would never want to live next to Blacks, Mexicans, or Arabs.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by wh15395

I find this funny. Do you actually believe the suburbs you listed are less racist than the city areas you listed? People in Carmel may not be overtly racist (and many aren't any kind of racist), but a large percentage of them would never want to live next to Blacks, Mexicans, or Arabs.

Perhaps he/she means that in areas such as 38th/Keystone and sections of Lawrence, blacks don't want to live next to whites?

Not sure I get why Warren Park is being painted as racist.

[Dyadic]

[quote=grmasterb;27215808]Perhaps he/she means that in areas such as 38th/Keystone and sections of Lawrence, blacks don't want to live next to whites?

Or that people in Carmel, Downtown, Castleton, Broad Ripple, Westfield, Avon, Fishers, Meridian Hills, Zionsville, and Noblesville don't want to live next to blacks?

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Dyadic

Or that people in Carmel, Downtown, Castleton, Broad Ripple, Westfield, Avon, Fishers, Meridian Hills, Zionsville, and Noblesville don't want to live next to blacks?

But these are the areas the poster states are not racist.

[tollfree]

It's impossible to quantify what percent of a particular city is racist, and to what extent they are racist. They may just be racially ignorant (believe all racial stereotypes are completely true - there's no exceptions) opposed to being a racist, who has a strong dislike for particular races.

I think it's a fair assumption by the modern world that Indiana as a whole, is generally a more racist/racially ignorant state than most.

You know when posters have trouble admitting racism exists - it's something they've been conditioned to believe. There's a lot of cognitive dissonance in this topic regarding racism. In larger cities, while there is much more diversity and integration, people generally can admit racism still exists.

It's something mid-sized cities still struggle with, proof they still hold onto Main Street USA somehow.