The area that I grew up in was mostly black and hispanic. The two groups didn't (still don't; it's where I teach, now) much mix and tend to view each other with suspicion, if not outright hostility. White people in the area are viewed even more suspiciously.
The area where I went to high school was mostly white. My school had, when I was there, a grand total of three black kids in it, one of whom I was good friends with. It was a little horrifying to notice that people who would normally speak to me wouldn't even acknowledge that I was there if I was with Missy.
It's not as bad with little kids, especially in less affluent areas. (For the record, the first area that I talked about was -- and is -- solidly working class. The latter was upper middle.) The kids in my school, for example, don't so much view each other with hostility or suspicion as they just tend to stick with kids of their own race. And we're talking about three and four year olds, here. Given the option, the two black girls in my class will always pair off with each other, and if one of them is somehow occupied, they'll take the black boy as a second. (Out of eight kids, there are three black and five white. The school itself is probably 35% black, 40% white, 15% hispanic, and 10% Asian or mixes that aren't identified on our forms.)
There are a lot of places, especially in larger cities, where it is simply not safe to be if you're a certain ethnic group. A lot of this is probably connected to gangs, which tend to be comprised of members of a given background who assume that anyone from another given background is obviously associated with the rival gang.
As a rule, the more impoverished the area, the more likely that they're going to view someone of a different race with outright hostility. The more affluent areas will pretend to be above it, though as I commented above, it's not really something that translates to actions. I can think of two times in recent memory (being the last few years) where this really came to a head in a middle class neighbourhood. The first time, a black family moved into a predominantly white neighbourhood. Within a month, the family's home was broken into; their walls were spraypainted with racial slurs and obscenities; their furniture was slashed open; their property stolen or destroyed. More recently (last month?) a white family who'd lived in an area that was once predominantly white but is not predominantly black had a very similar thing happen. (Side note that it's not just a racial issue -- the same thing happened to a family who adopted a baby with AIDS: house broken into, slurs about fags all over, 'AIDS BABY MUST DIE' in huge red letters across their wall.)
The majority of the tension in the areas that I've lived in tend to be very clearly divided black/white/hispanic. Asians somehow seem to avoid a lot of this, though I'm not sure how much of that is because statistically, an Asian family in this country is far, far less likely to be living in poverty than any other group. (Also worth wondering if the statistically higher rates of education amongst Asians would contribute to that, and the fact that in many places 'Chinatown' is something of a draw.)
I think that it's telling that I feel guilty writing this, talking about it. There's no reason for me to -- I've lived in all the areas that I'm talking about, I don't think that I'm saying anything especially inflammatory towards anyone. But I feel guilty writing this, talking about something that we're not meant to talk about. It's sort of telling that we as a country are less comfortable talking about race than we are about sex or money, even, isn't it?
two parts, because i can't shut up
The area that I grew up in was mostly black and hispanic. The two groups didn't (still don't; it's where I teach, now) much mix and tend to view each other with suspicion, if not outright hostility. White people in the area are viewed even more suspiciously.
The area where I went to high school was mostly white. My school had, when I was there, a grand total of three black kids in it, one of whom I was good friends with. It was a little horrifying to notice that people who would normally speak to me wouldn't even acknowledge that I was there if I was with Missy.
It's not as bad with little kids, especially in less affluent areas. (For the record, the first area that I talked about was -- and is -- solidly working class. The latter was upper middle.) The kids in my school, for example, don't so much view each other with hostility or suspicion as they just tend to stick with kids of their own race. And we're talking about three and four year olds, here. Given the option, the two black girls in my class will always pair off with each other, and if one of them is somehow occupied, they'll take the black boy as a second. (Out of eight kids, there are three black and five white. The school itself is probably 35% black, 40% white, 15% hispanic, and 10% Asian or mixes that aren't identified on our forms.)
There are a lot of places, especially in larger cities, where it is simply not safe to be if you're a certain ethnic group. A lot of this is probably connected to gangs, which tend to be comprised of members of a given background who assume that anyone from another given background is obviously associated with the rival gang.
As a rule, the more impoverished the area, the more likely that they're going to view someone of a different race with outright hostility. The more affluent areas will pretend to be above it, though as I commented above, it's not really something that translates to actions. I can think of two times in recent memory (being the last few years) where this really came to a head in a middle class neighbourhood. The first time, a black family moved into a predominantly white neighbourhood. Within a month, the family's home was broken into; their walls were spraypainted with racial slurs and obscenities; their furniture was slashed open; their property stolen or destroyed. More recently (last month?) a white family who'd lived in an area that was once predominantly white but is not predominantly black had a very similar thing happen. (Side note that it's not just a racial issue -- the same thing happened to a family who adopted a baby with AIDS: house broken into, slurs about fags all over, 'AIDS BABY MUST DIE' in huge red letters across their wall.)
The majority of the tension in the areas that I've lived in tend to be very clearly divided black/white/hispanic. Asians somehow seem to avoid a lot of this, though I'm not sure how much of that is because statistically, an Asian family in this country is far, far less likely to be living in poverty than any other group. (Also worth wondering if the statistically higher rates of education amongst Asians would contribute to that, and the fact that in many places 'Chinatown' is something of a draw.)
I think that it's telling that I feel guilty writing this, talking about it. There's no reason for me to -- I've lived in all the areas that I'm talking about, I don't think that I'm saying anything especially inflammatory towards anyone. But I feel guilty writing this, talking about something that we're not meant to talk about. It's sort of telling that we as a country are less comfortable talking about race than we are about sex or money, even, isn't it?