Least Racist Cities for Medical School

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Dbate

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I recently moved to New York City from Houston, TX for my gap year job, and the culture shock I encountered has been severe.

New York City is the most racist city I have ever visited (and I have visited alot of cities in America and Europe). Before anyone jumps on me, I want to state that this is from my personal experience--so your experience may be different.

Coming from the South, people down there are racist to an extent, but they don't treat you poorly to your face. My white next door neighbor for nearly a decade was a hardcore racist against black people (I know because I went to school with her daughter from 6th grade until I graduated high school and she would tell me about the racist things her mom said), but whenever I interacted with her, she was always nice and courteous. This was the type of racism I have been exposed to my whole life.

In the south people are racist, but because of let's say "Southern Hospitality", most people are extremely nice and polite to people of all races--regardless of whether or not they have prejudice.

In the north (especially New York City), people are overtly racist. In the two weeks since I have been here, I have experienced more racism than I did in my entire life growing up in Texas.

Before I came to visit in person, I applied to several NYC schools (4 out of 21), but I am 100% certain that I would never want to live here any longer than I have to.

When I was making my list for medical school, I put very little thought into the possibility of discrimination, but now I see it is something I have to be very aware of as an African-American male.

I want to add some schools to AMCAS that are in less racist cities in America.

Could anyone provide recommendations based on their experiences at their own medical schools?


I would really appreciate it!

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I recently moved to New York City from Houston, TX for my gap year job, and the culture shock I encountered has been severe.

New York City is the most racist city I have ever visited (and I have visited alot of cities in America and Europe). Before anyone jumps on me, I want to state that this is from my personal experience--so your experience may be different.

Coming from the South, people down there are racist to an extent, but they don't treat you poorly to your face. My white next door neighbor for nearly a decade was a hardcore racist against black people (I know because I went to school with her daughter from 6th grade until I graduated high school and she would tell me about the racist things her mom said), but whenever I interacted with her, she was always nice and courteous. This was the type of racism I have been exposed to my whole life.

In the south people are racist, but because of let's say "Southern Hospitality", most people are extremely nice and polite to people of all races--regardless of whether or not they have prejudice.

In the north (especially New York City), people are overtly racist. In the two weeks since I have been here, I have experienced more racism than I did in my entire life growing up in Texas.

Before I came to visit in person, I applied to several NYC schools (4 out of 21), but I am 100% certain that I would never want to live here any longer than I have to.

When I was making my list for medical school, I put very little thought into the possibility of discrimination, but now I see it is something I have to be very aware of as an African-American male.

I want to add some schools to AMCAS that are in less racist cities in America.

Could anyone provide recommendations based on their experiences at their own medical schools?


I would really appreciate it!

I stopped reading at
images
 
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Most people of color I know find the Pacific Northwest to be a difficult place to live. Which not to say that people don't come here and have great experiences, but I have heard people say that they "have to put a lot of armor on" compared to the South.
 
Most people of color I know find the Pacific Northwest to be a difficult place to live. Which not to say that people don't come here and have great experiences, but I have heard people say that they "have to put a lot of armor on" compared to the South.

Do you mean cities like Seattle and Portland? I had been thinking of Seattle because my best friend from college lives there, so that is sad to hear.

It might be ironic that the best place for blacks to live is in the South.
 
d00d where do you live? I'm native New Yorker, and it depends a lot on where you're living.
 
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I was born in NYC. Honestly, I've never been discriminated against.

While I am not black, I am also not white.

Personally I think its a good experience since it'll help prepare you for all the racism you'll encounter the real life.

Atleast New Yorkers are racist to your face and not behind your back... :p
 
I recently moved to New York City from Houston, TX for my gap year job, and the culture shock I encountered has been severe.

New York City is the most racist city I have ever visited (and I have visited alot of cities in America and Europe). Before anyone jumps on me, I want to state that this is from my personal experience--so your experience may be different.

Coming from the South, people down there are racist to an extent, but they don't treat you poorly to your face. My white next door neighbor for nearly a decade was a hardcore racist against black people (I know because I went to school with her daughter from 6th grade until I graduated high school and she would tell me about the racist things her mom said), but whenever I interacted with her, she was always nice and courteous. This was the type of racism I have been exposed to my whole life.

In the south people are racist, but because of let's say "Southern Hospitality", most people are extremely nice and polite to people of all races--regardless of whether or not they have prejudice.

In the north (especially New York City), people are overtly racist. In the two weeks since I have been here, I have experienced more racism than I did in my entire life growing up in Texas.

Before I came to visit in person, I applied to several NYC schools (4 out of 21), but I am 100% certain that I would never want to live here any longer than I have to.

When I was making my list for medical school, I put very little thought into the possibility of discrimination, but now I see it is something I have to be very aware of as an African-American male.

I want to add some schools to AMCAS that are in less racist cities in America.

Could anyone provide recommendations based on their experiences at their own medical schools?


I would really appreciate it!

All of the major cities in California, Seattle, Portland, Chicago
 
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d00d where do you live? I'm native New Yorker, and it depends a lot on where you're living. PM me if you want to talk more, or search up my NetID on Phonebook for my school email: il89

I live on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Racism in NYC is quite ridiculous. Whenever I step outside, women grab their purses as I walk by (mostly its just white women if I am being honest) and when I enter a store the security guards LITERALLY follow me while I shop. In every single store.

This doesn't happen down south. I want to stress that I am just speaking from my own experience, so I don't want to generalize.

But in the south, even when I went to Birmingham, AL and South Carolina, I didn't experience such extreme and overt racism.
 
If you think New Yorkers are bad, watch out for those nasty New Jerseyans. I was fine in NYC when I went there, but my best experience was in the Midwest. Everyone is sooo sweet here.
 
I was born in NYC. Honestly, I've never been discriminated against.

While I am not black, I am also not white.

Personally I think its a good experience since it'll help prepare you for all the racism you'll encounter the real life.

Atleast New Yorkers are racist to your face and not behind your back... :p

I much prefer the behind your back racism.

I don't care if people have racist opinions as long as they don't treat me poorly. I have a real problem with people treating me differently because I am black.
 
Do you mean cities like Seattle and Portland? I had been thinking of Seattle because my best friend from college lives there, so that is sad to hear.

It might be ironic that the best place for blacks to live is in the South.

It's mostly the demographics I think...it's very white up here, and I think a lot of people here don't realize how different it is from the rest of the country/world. If you live here and fly to somewhere like Chicago or DC or even NYC, the difference is a little disturbing. Seattle is a little more diverse than Portland though, and UW is a great school. I've been living in the Portland area all my life and I am moving to Seattle on Tuesday!
 
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I recently moved to New York City from Houston, TX for my gap year job, and the culture shock I encountered has been severe.

New York City is the most racist city I have ever visited (and I have visited alot of cities in America and Europe). Before anyone jumps on me, I want to state that this is from my personal experience--so your experience may be different.

Coming from the South, people down there are racist to an extent, but they don't treat you poorly to your face. My white next door neighbor for nearly a decade was a hardcore racist against black people (I know because I went to school with her daughter from 6th grade until I graduated high school and she would tell me about the racist things her mom said), but whenever I interacted with her, she was always nice and courteous. This was the type of racism I have been exposed to my whole life.

In the south people are racist, but because of let's say "Southern Hospitality", most people are extremely nice and polite to people of all races--regardless of whether or not they have prejudice.

In the north (especially New York City), people are overtly racist. In the two weeks since I have been here, I have experienced more racism than I did in my entire life growing up in Texas.

Before I came to visit in person, I applied to several NYC schools (4 out of 21), but I am 100% certain that I would never want to live here any longer than I have to.

When I was making my list for medical school, I put very little thought into the possibility of discrimination, but now I see it is something I have to be very aware of as an African-American male.

I want to add some schools to AMCAS that are in less racist cities in America.

Could anyone provide recommendations based on their experiences at their own medical schools?


I would really appreciate it!

Atlanta is a nice place to live. We have five med schools in Ga and I think you would be happy at these schools. I've lived here my whole life so I won't say there is no racism, but I can count on my hand how many times I've experienced it.
 
I was thinking about California. LA is spacious and has a car culture like Houston (plus no snow), but I hear segregation is pretty big there though.


In regards to Chicago, I have read that Chicago is actually a pretty racist place http://gawker.com/5948686/the-most-racist-city-in-america-chicago

Here is the thing about Seattle & Portland...there are a lot of white liberal types who will insist to high heaven that they are not racist, but POC will often say otherwise...but it's not overt.
 
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I much prefer the behind your back racism.

I don't care if people have racist opinions as long as they don't treat me poorly. I have a real problem with people treating me differently because I am black.

All jokes aside, I think your residence location largely determines the quality of people.

I lived in Elmhurst which is in Queens. Very nice people there.
I also have lived in Flushing and Long Island. No problem there either.

You will start feeling some problems in Manhattan, Brooklyn (its called Crooklyn for a reason), and obviously the Bronx.
 
I live on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Racism in NYC is quite ridiculous. Whenever I step outside, women grab their purses as I walk by (mostly its just white women if I am being honest) and when I enter a store the security guards LITERALLY follow me while I shop. In every single store.

This doesn't happen down south. I want to stress that I am just speaking from my own experience, so I don't want to generalize.

But in the south, even when I went to Birmingham, AL and South Carolina, I didn't experience such extreme and overt racism.

I have lived in the UES for my whole life. The UES is not representative of all NYC. It is a bubble. NYC is definitely one of those most diverse and accepting cities out there. Just have to venture out a little bit. There are just so many people in the city that you are just likely to run into racist people. You are more likely to encounter people that are not racist though. Also, people in NYC are a little more vocal about how they feel...so you just have to deal with that I guess.
 
As another person living in the Pacific Northwest (Portland), I have to second everything Ellie said.
 
In my experiences its usually always the liberal leaning cities that have the issues, everyone is jammed up in small communities and ghettos start. Like a little mexico, or china town or just the ghettos for blacks or trailer parks for whites. conservative cities tend to be a bit more spread apart and fewer people to deal with.

I'd keep it down to parking, if there is enough parking to facilitate the staff and students then the school isn't too bad. If not, then the school was probably built in a bad area and wasn't planned well enough. It is more likely your vehicle will be broken into.
 
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Atlanta is a nice place to live. We have five med schools in Ga and I think you would be happy at these schools. I've lived here my whole life so I won't say there is no racism, but I can count on my hand how many times I've experienced it.

I applied to Emory and I have heard very good things about Atlanta, so it is definitely high on my list of desirable places.
 
In my experiences its usually always the liberal leaning cities that have the issues, everyone is jammed up in small communities and ghettos start. Like a little mexico, or china town or just the ghettos for blacks or trailer parks for whites. conservative cities tend to be a bit more spread apart and fewer people to deal with.

I think the overt displays of racism has to do with the liberal political climate.

This is just my opinion, but I think people become more racist when they live in an area that tells them they can't have racist opinions.

For example, in high school back in Texas people would say racist jokes out loud and then they would be challenged or everyone would laugh about it (including the black kids). It really diffuses racial tension when people can just admit to being somewhat prejudice and not fear being ostracized or judged.


If people can't vent racial opinions (which pretty much every person holds), then they will express their racism in different overt ways.

I think this is what I am experiencing.
 
Hey Dbate,

regarding the overtly racist stuff, look at it like they are doing you a favor by letting you know up front how they are. imo, the beyond your back stuff is much worse. and it will be that way in the job market.

regarding atlanta, i havent been there in a long time, but from what i remember, it was pretty nice. it also helps that it has a sizable black community:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Atlanta
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/1304000.html

take a visit. Good luck, and sorry to hear about this.
 
I have lived in the UES for my whole life. The UES is not representative of all NYC. It is a bubble. NYC is definitely one of those most diverse and accepting cities out there. Just have to venture out a little bit. There are just so many people in the city that you are just likely to run into racist people. You are more likely to encounter people that are not racist though. Also, people in NYC are a little more vocal about how they feel...so you just have to deal with that I guess.

What's really difficult for me is that people I encounter here automatically assume that I am a criminal or want to harm them because I am black.

If you could see me, I am the least threatening person imaginable. My most common clothes are Polo collared shirts (because my Aunt always buys them for me) and I was regularly mocked as "Carlton Banks" in school. I recently graduated from a HYP school (got a degree in Molecular Biology, like every generic premed, lol).

I mention this because growing up I was always told that if you work hard and do the right things, then America is a land of opportunity. I don't know what else I could have done to be the antithesis of black male sterotypes, but I guess in the end it didn't really matter. .

When I walk down the streets of NYC, people just see a black man and believe that I am up to no good.

In the south, there is much more interaction between white people and black people. So even if people in the south are racist, they also interact with enough black people to know that most black people are not criminals or threats.

But in NYC, there is such extreme race and class division, that it seems as if white people in NYC rarely interact with black people. And their fear of black men is very apparent on their face every time I walk by them.

It is absolutely disgusting.
 
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Hey Dbate,

regarding the overtly racist stuff, look at it like they are doing you a favor by letting you know up front how they are. imo, the beyond your back stuff is much worse. and it will be that way in the job market.

regarding atlanta, i havent been there in a long time, but from what i remember, it was pretty nice. it also helps that it has a sizable black community:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Atlanta
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/1304000.html

take a visit. Good luck, and sorry to hear about this.


Thanks, alot! I appreciate the help. :thumbup:
 
I think the overt displays of racism has to do with the liberal political climate.

This is just my opinion, but I think people become more racist when they live in an area that tells them they can't have racist opinions.

For example, in high school back in Texas people would say racist jokes out loud and then they would be challenged or everyone would laugh about it (including the black kids). It really diffuses racial tension when people can just admit to being somewhat prejudice and not fear being ostracized or judged.


If people can't vent racial opinions (which pretty much every person holds), then they will express their racism in different overt ways.

I think this is what I am experiencing.

I lived in a fairly liberal area in Iowa for sometime although the population was around 3000 people and there were 2 black families in the entire city. There were lots of white issues and gossip rolling around. There were a few people that didn't know how to act around blacks, so that's something a few may experience in smaller liberal towns.

As far as bigger liberal cities I see it as more the governments fault. Large cities are often offer all sorts of benefits or subsidizes when in a compacted area. The districts that have the most people have the most funding, the heavy liberal areas are often around prisons and with that comes somewhat a prison culture. People in society often try to live around people they can identify with the most which kind of pushes for a self segregation in certain districts. Kind of the start of racism in cities as I see it.
 
All of the major cities in California, Seattle, Portland, Chicago

Huh?! I'm from Northern California and have spend a lot of time in Portland. Very very not true! Some of the most friendly people I have ever met. And California is so diverse! So many cultures.
 
In my experiences its usually always the liberal leaning cities that have the issues, everyone is jammed up in small communities and ghettos start. Like a little mexico, or china town or just the ghettos for blacks or trailer parks for whites. conservative cities tend to be a bit more spread apart and fewer people to deal with.

I'd keep it down to parking, if there is enough parking to facilitate the staff and students then the school isn't too bad. If not, then the school was probably built in a bad area and wasn't planned well enough. It is more likely your vehicle will be broken into.

Usually always?

Conservative cities (read: suburbia) are created to keep the unwanted people out as much as possible (Race or SES). It may feel less racist since everyone is inside the car and you just don't see the people on the street to discriminate against. If you don't have community and interaction between people - you can't have racism.
 
Most people of color I know find the Pacific Northwest to be a difficult place to live. Which not to say that people don't come here and have great experiences, but I have heard people say that they "have to put a lot of armor on" compared to the South.

Do you mean cities like Seattle and Portland? I had been thinking of Seattle because my best friend from college lives there, so that is sad to hear.

It might be ironic that the best place for blacks to live is in the South.

Being from Seattle, I think you shouldn't rule out the city or any other city just cause of one single experience or from what other people say. Seattle is a very diverse city, with people from all races. And yes, like any large city, there will be racism. There are white neighborhoods and black neighborhoods. However, there are also mixed neighborhoods. In Seattle. In New York. Everywhere. There will be racism everywhere. Pacific Northwest might be a general term, cause places like Eastern Washington/Oregon or Idaho are vastly different from the culture in the Western parts. In fact, you can probably combine Western WA/OR into one state and the East into another. It's THAT different. In Seattle/Portland, you won't really be faced with blatant racism. No one is going to say the n-word to your face or do hate crimes. It is possible. But it won't be like the Jim Crow days.

UW Seattle, my school, has a large range of races. Asian, African, Samoan, etc. It's probably one of the most diverse campuses and Seattle is one of the most diverse cities. With diversity, there will be racism. But you will face that racism anywhere you go.
 
I worry more about racism on this forum than racism in my beautiful Cali!
 
Most people of color I know find the Pacific Northwest to be a difficult place to live. Which not to say that people don't come here and have great experiences, but I have heard people say that they "have to put a lot of armor on" compared to the South.

This surprises me, and makes me kind of sad . I've never lived in Seattle or Portland, but my mom has, so I spent quite a bit of time in both places. I always thought that I saw a lot more integration between different races, but I'm white, so could definitely miss stuff.
 
Huh?! I'm from Northern California and have spend a lot of time in Portland. Very very not true! Some of the most friendly people I have ever met. And California is so diverse! So many cultures.

Exactly. He asked for the least racist cities :confused:
 
"Usually always" meaning due to that there are conditions that need to be meet. small cities that hold liberal values but might not meet the demographic you'd expect. could be a case with how the state handles local laws such as marijuana or guns. many factors for where racism is likely to be. just saying liberal is too broad.
 
I was born in NYC. Honestly, I've never been discriminated against.

While I am not black, I am also not white.

Personally I think its a good experience since it'll help prepare you for all the racism you'll encounter the real life.

Atleast New Yorkers are racist to your face and not behind your back... :p

So you are grey...gandalfthegrey?
 
I've lived in pretty much every region of the US. My experience has been that northern cities are less racist than the southern cities I've been in. Western cities are not very racial towards blacks, but Hispanics receive a lot of heat instead. The midwest mirrored the south, except that most people were likely to have only seen 4-5 black people growing up and even fewer Hispanics. The south by far had the greatest racial tension, and this certainly was unlike any other place that I'd seen (I've lived in 4 different Southern cities in 3 different states).

Keep in mind that NYC is an extremely weird place, and isn't representative of NY. In fact, NYC is so large that it's difficult to really classify it as one thing. It's an unfriendly place, a racist place, and in some locations a violent place. LA is race-friendly if you're not Hispanic.

Honestly, does it really matter? The percentage of racist people in either place will be so low, it seems like an odd reason to affect your decision for which medical schools to attend.
 
Most people of color I know find the Pacific Northwest to be a difficult place to live. Which not to say that people don't come here and have great experiences, but I have heard people say that they "have to put a lot of armor on" compared to the South.

You are so far from right.
This is a very naive assessment and you honestly have not clue as to what you're talking about.
 
Here is the thing about Seattle & Portland...there are a lot of white liberal types who will insist to high heaven that they are not racist, but POC will often say otherwise...but it's not overt.

You are ridiculous.
 
I've lived in pretty much every region of the US. My experience has been that northern cities are less racist than the southern cities I've been in. Western cities are not very racial towards blacks, but Hispanics receive a lot of heat instead. The midwest mirrored the south, except that most people were likely to have only seen 4-5 black people growing up and even fewer Hispanics. The south by far had the greatest racial tension, and this certainly was unlike any other place that I'd seen (I've lived in 4 different Southern cities in 3 different states).

Keep in mind that NYC is an extremely weird place, and isn't representative of NY. In fact, NYC is so large that it's difficult to really classify it as one thing. It's an unfriendly place, a racist place, and in some locations a violent place. LA is race-friendly if you're not Hispanic.

Honestly, does it really matter? The percentage of racist people in either place will be so low, it seems like an odd reason to affect your decision for which medical schools to attend.

It will be different for different people. For some people it may not matter, but for me it really does.

I want to walk down the street without feeling like I am constantly being watched for criminal activity.
 
I recently moved to New York City from Houston, TX for my gap year job, and the culture shock I encountered has been severe.

New York City is the most racist city I have ever visited (and I have visited alot of cities in America and Europe). Before anyone jumps on me, I want to state that this is from my personal experience--so your experience may be different.

Coming from the South, people down there are racist to an extent, but they don't treat you poorly to your face. My white next door neighbor for nearly a decade was a hardcore racist against black people (I know because I went to school with her daughter from 6th grade until I graduated high school and she would tell me about the racist things her mom said), but whenever I interacted with her, she was always nice and courteous. This was the type of racism I have been exposed to my whole life.

In the south people are racist, but because of let's say "Southern Hospitality", most people are extremely nice and polite to people of all races--regardless of whether or not they have prejudice.

In the north (especially New York City), people are overtly racist. In the two weeks since I have been here, I have experienced more racism than I did in my entire life growing up in Texas.

Before I came to visit in person, I applied to several NYC schools (4 out of 21), but I am 100% certain that I would never want to live here any longer than I have to.

When I was making my list for medical school, I put very little thought into the possibility of discrimination, but now I see it is something I have to be very aware of as an African-American male.

I want to add some schools to AMCAS that are in less racist cities in America.

Could anyone provide recommendations based on their experiences at their own medical schools?


I would really appreciate it!

I stopped reading at
images

Thanks, alot! I appreciate the help. :thumbup:

The first time I giggled. In straight tears the second time.
 
I think the overt displays of racism has to do with the liberal political climate.

This is just my opinion, but I think people become more racist when they live in an area that tells them they can't have racist opinions.

For example, in high school back in Texas people would say racist jokes out loud and then they would be challenged or everyone would laugh about it (including the black kids). It really diffuses racial tension when people can just admit to being somewhat prejudice and not fear being ostracized or judged.


If people can't vent racial opinions (which pretty much every person holds), then they will express their racism in different overt ways.

I think this is what I am experiencing.

This. I'm also from Texas and went up north for school. It's the communities where racial prejudice is taboo that the elephant in the room grows like cancer.
 
I live on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Racism in NYC is quite ridiculous. Whenever I step outside, women grab their purses as I walk by (mostly its just white women if I am being honest) and when I enter a store the security guards LITERALLY follow me while I shop. In every single store.

This doesn't happen down south. I want to stress that I am just speaking from my own experience, so I don't want to generalize.

But in the south, even when I went to Birmingham, AL and South Carolina, I didn't experience such extreme and overt racism.

it's not personal and it's not for no reason
 
LA is race-friendly if you're not Hispanic.

I wouldn't say that's necessarily true. Both my mom and aunt have made some pretty shady comments about hispanics over the years, but those comments were always kept private. You literally can't be overtly racist to hispanics here, because quite frankly, they're the majority. For that reason, most of LA is very hispanic friendly. The only extreme racism (i.e. other than the odd douchebag you find in every city) I've heard of is stories from friends and family about how the gangs act down here, but I imagine that kind of racism is common with gangs everywhere.
 
If NYC is the most racist to you , you're gonna have a bad time. That South Park gif thingy.
 
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