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What is the most racist city or town you have ever been in?

My parents told me this story. Back in 1984 when we were moving from Houston to Chicago, we stopped for gas at a town in Arkansas. As we were about to leave, a local sheriff came up to us and talked to my parents for a couple of minutes, and then recommended that we leave by the time the sun went down, for our own safety. In fact, it was probably best if we just got back on the highway right away.
Seriously, when I was a child we spent every summer in Louisiana, where my parents’ families still live, and we would occasionally visit other relatives in Georgia. We saw "whites only" signs various places. One time we had to drive through SE Texas, and we saw an actual billboard that said "N*gger, Don’t Let The Sun Set On You Here". I was just learning to read and asked my father what it meant. He replied, rather grimly, " It means we really have to leave." 🙁
@Bang5luts A community where you had better not be a certain color or race when the sun goes down.
Bang5luts · M
@latinbutterfly oh. Where i live right now is every race, if you're not driving a nice car you better not be out after dark.
Bang5luts · M
@latinbutterfly I'm not in any way down playing what racist cops and small minded people do in other parts of the country, I am simply stating the town I live in they cops try to talk everyone into a night in jail
NickiHijab · F
Idk about city but there's a town in my city which is right next to mine that is pretty well known for its racism. Everytime I've had to drive through there I've seen the St George flags draped everywhere which is fine but not when you know the symbolism of the EDL and what used to be the BNP.

My sisters had to visit clients there as part of her job. When she finished, and left the house she closed the car door behind her and saw a man run up to the car to swing open her car door and hurl racist abuse at her. It was unprompted, she didn't even know him. He just wanted to make sure she left.

We pretty much avoid that area unless we have no choice but the town is close so even my town isn't free from it. My mum's been spat at, my friends also had this same experience of being spat at, I've had people shout racial slurs from their cars when walking on my own, with friends and with my mum. Separate occasions.

I think I was 5 when I first heard a racial slur because some man shouted it at my sister and I when walking past us. She was 17 at the time and I remember asking her what it meant.

I think things were more overt not even that long ago, I know they certainly were when my dad was younger. At 16, he was refused service from the ice cream van driver several times despite seeing white kids being served and that kinda set the tone for shit that came later.
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Miram · 31-35, F
Tellout. It's town in Algeria. We were attacked by Islamists and no one did anything because we are Amazigh, ethnic minority.

After the event, people would ask Me how I feel about my sister being asexually assaulted. I was 8.

Not they that weren't giving me hard time before that event. Pinning all what other kids do on me like stealing and such. And beating me.

This is in Algeria
Miram · 31-35, F
@NickiHijab It made me vulnerable to my father's financial and racial agendas. Much of the motivations to why people hated me I didn't understand until later in life.

Can't pretend that it doesn't affect me still. Meeting people I know are family related to those who wronged me while in field work. They rarely can recognize me without my first name.

I think despite how horrible it all been. How horrible I became in my teens. I was lucky. I had help after. And I didn't die in there.

There are few people I do admire from there because they did help us. One being the nurse I mentioned in one of my venting. He offered his home to kids during a flood. And a man who literally covered me with his back from his fellows while I hid between the truck and a wall. He just saw me there and stood to hide me instead of pulling me out.

Lot of things happened. Sometimes I don't remember them, other times they force themselves into my brain.

Eventhe darkest places can have the greatest people
NickiHijab · F
@Miram it's often these situations where
examples of humanity come from. Reminds me of a question a lecturer would ask his students.

Imagine a plane makes an emergency landing and breaks into three parts. As the cabin fills with smoke everyone inside realises they need an escape. What happens?

On planet A, the passengers turn to their neighbours to ask if they're okay. Those needing assistance are helped out of the plane first. People are willing to give their lives, even for perfect strangers.

On planet B, everyone's left to fend for themselves, panic breaks out, there's pushing and shoving. Children, elderly and people with disabilities get tramped underfoot.

And then he asks what planet do we live on?

According to him, majority would think Planet A. But histories most momentous disasters have played out on Planet A.

We fall prey to the idea that civilisation is nothing more than a thin veneer that will crack at the merest provocation. People need an 'other' to make sense of their world or the world they've been conditioned towards, but when crisis hits we humans become our best selves and I'm glad you had some to remind you of this amongst the struggle and unjust treatment.

I imagine it's been difficult processing all of this, even as an adult. I'm just glad you made it out safe and I'm also really glad and admire you for continuing to share your experiences. You're a voice for people who have lived and still live similar experiences.
@Miram Wow. I'm very sorry you went through that.
dancingtongue · 80-89, M
I was in Southern towns when there were still separate drinking fountains and facilities for Blacks and Whites. I grew up in small farming communities in California that were very racist, although blacks were generally higher up the totem pole -- Mexicans and Chinese were at the very bottom, and truth to be told us poor white trash (even those of us not from Oklahoma or other dust bowl states) were barely above the Mexicans and beneath the blacks. But to be truthful, the two U.S. cities which I felt the most virulent racial divide were Detroit and Boston. The in-your-face Jim Crow type of racism in some ways is far easier to deal with than the red-lining hypocrisy of Northern urban cities that have gone through white flight, and blamed the flight on those they were fleeing.
@dancingtongue Wow, unbelievable. I know that in my old neighborhood of Little Village, you don't want to be there after dark if you are not Mexican. It's pretty much the same as it was 35 years ago, sadly.
@latinbutterfly I love those shows. I always think about you and Dan when I watch them. Do you see lots of places you recognize ?
@bijouxbroussard Yep, I sure do 👍🏼.
deadgerbil · 22-25
My family and I went up to Zion Illinois to go by the state beach/park there, and in the general neighborhood we saw a garage with the Confederate flag hanging off of it. Very easy to guess what that person felt about race lol
@deadgerbil Exactly right.
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tindrummer · M
@Carissimi it represents slavery, treason AND racism whether you like it or not - can't hide history just because it makes you uncomfortable
tindrummer · M
My small East Texas hometown did not allow any blacks to live there other than one old man everyone addressed as Coon. The other black community was about 10 miles away and called "the Settlement" One reason I live in California now.
One of my grandfathers was the town doctor. Years after he died I found his klan robes. In spite of everything I was shocked but of course I should have known. 😢
Slade · 56-60, M
@tindrummer maybe they had surgical gowns with giant red crosses

At least you know they wore hairnets
SW-User
I don't know that I have seen a specific town that is racist, but just driving through rural Pennsylvania I saw a small neo-Nazi rally (swastikas, confederate flags). Obviously a bunch of weirdos and they seemed to have arrived on a bus so I don't know where they were originally from. But didn't look good.
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Mrsbetweenfatandfit · 26-30, F
When I lived in Shreveport Louisiana it was an eye opener. A lot of people there seem to voluntarily segregate themselves. I saw both black & white people refuse to hand their debit cards to a person of a different color because they didn’t want them touching it. People I’d tell stories to would always ask for verification of color about who I was talking about. I received nasty looks & silence when trying to talk with a group of black people. I was pretty much shunned at the church I went to for calling out hate speech/gossip about a young black woman who came to our pastor for help. ( our pastor wasn’t racist but the congregation definitely was) I heard coworkers say that black women had a “smell” to them. Honestly it disgusted & shocked me. The only friend I made during my time there happened to be a black coworker. She was so lovely down to earth & raising her children to not separate based on color. I’m lucky to know her. I can’t wrap my head around thinking a person is superior or inferior based on ethnicity or ancestors background. The idea seems so absurd so obviously illogical & just stupid really. But I guess racist people are ignorant and I wouldn’t want to understand such a thing. Raising my own child now I’m going to make sure he judges others on who they are not where they come from or something like their skin tone. If we could just get racists to stop reproducing we could end it all together.
SW-User
@Mrsbetweenfatandfit I was going to say "That is just crazy to me" but you already said it all. Bless ya for trying to stick up for the local girl in question. You're a wonderful human, a great mum and I 100% agree with your last sentiment. the fact that this is not a story from a more bygone age absolutely staggers me.
I mean I lived in Fayetteville where they have a old slave auction building in the middle of the town so HISTORICALLY hard to beat that. And at night it can be really scary towards whites tbh..

But from experiences... towards blacks, mid Missouri is racist. And mid jersey is racist. Which is where I spent most my life
Slade · 56-60, M
@PetalsOfLilac Wall St has the biggest slave auction block in the country.

That area has always been magic for commerce!
Zonuss · 41-45, M
@PetalsOfLilac Fayetteville NC or AR. 🙂
@Zonuss I've heard AR is very racist but I experienced NC
GeistInTheMachine · 31-35, M
That backwoods place near Howey with that suspicious Kountry Kitchen and the Confederate flags.
When I was sixteen, I was with my family (we're white-ish) driving through rural Alabama at night. It was very dark and very late and there was nothing around - no gas stations, no diners, no nothing.

We passed a young black man, about my age, and my dad stopped to offer him a ride. When Dad opened the door and the kid saw six white faces, the kid [b]exploded[/b] into a run and disappeared into the night.

I think it was probably bad there.
Jenny1234 · 51-55, F
Tampa, Clearwater, Seminole Florida. Huge racists
Slade · 56-60, M
@Jenny1234 IS is St Pete I believe. But that's still mind boggling
Jenny1234 · 51-55, F
@Slade I’m being as honest as the day is long
Slade · 56-60, M
@Jenny1234 No doubt. Just yahoos with zero business sense
SW-User
hard to say i dont travel much but still sad that ignorant people still exist
Zonuss · 41-45, M
I have never felt a more racist energy anywhere like I did when I went to Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 2004. Nevermind the fact that it was an Election year. The social climate there was rather cold and distant. The Whites there did not seem eager or interested in having a conversation with a person of color. It was very clannish up there. Very clique like. So when I heard about how racist it was up North I saw it with my own eyes. It's different down South. Are there towns down here that seem stuck in the past ? Well of course. But it is way different now than it was when I was a kid. The Whites greet me. Come up to me and start talking about all kinds of stuff. Politics ,sports, religion, and relationships. They don't seem standoffish. Or rude. But they do have their ways and beliefs. And are very talkative. But the level of tolerance is higher and accepting. Even in the police departments. Interracial dating is everywhere down South. Even in old hick towns you see Black and White couple quites often. So it's different now. Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina along with Florida are the most tolerant. But Georgia, Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana seem to have that old Jim Crow type energy that exists even today. But it is what it is. 🙂
Muldoon · 56-60, M
East st Louis.
@Muldoon I was born there and it's fucked up.
ProfessorPlum77 · 70-79, MVIP
[c=800000]The town I grew up in (mid-west) was so racist, even the SNOW was white!!! 😡
I was so glad when I turned eighteen so I could move away. [/c]
Slade · 56-60, M
@ProfessorPlum77 But it does turn black on the roads in Spring
As a 'mixed-breed'person, wherever my mixed cultural upbringing is a problem., which, sadly, is normally within either of the two cultures I am.
Zonuss · 41-45, M
@V00doo What do you consider to be mixed. Because being English Irish or English Italian is not considered nmixed here in the US.😂
@Zonuss What's my mix. Go from there. And the US isn't the be all and end all of what's meant to be understood.
Slade · 56-60, M
@Zonuss Neither of them are races
bowman81 · M
Richland County South Carolina in 1971.
Zonuss · 41-45, M
@bowman81 Richland County is different now. Especially in Columbia.
bowman81 · M
@Zonuss If that's true, then there might be hope for us all. I haven't been back there since the summer of 1971. Never wanted to see the place again
Zonuss · 41-45, M
@bowman81 SC is way different now. Especially on the coastal areas. You wouldn't believe how much it has grown here. Or how diverse it is in 2021. 🙂
Human beings don't give a rats ass about each other period
@ExperienceDLT Sad, but true.
@latinbutterfly in alot of cases its true but some people here have proved me wrong
Slade · 56-60, M
In America? Boston.

But they do put creativity into it☺️
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Slade · 56-60, M
@GeistInTheMachine Unlike your history right🤣
GeistInTheMachine · 31-35, M
@Slade Exactly right.
ProfessorPlum77 · 70-79, MVIP
[c=800000]I grew up in a small town in the mid-west. (The population was about 7500.) The only time black people came to town was when someone turned on an episode of "Amos and Andy." 😳 [/c]
Slade · 56-60, M
@ProfessorPlum77

They still are on now. On both the ME-TV's
ProfessorPlum77 · 70-79, MVIP
@Slade I mainly read, now. I might look for a clip on Youtube.
Slade · 56-60, M
@ProfessorPlum77 I love slapstick. The absolute ANTITHESIS of pc
TurtlePink · 22-25, F
Oh, was that Harrison Arkansas?
SkyeJade · 22-25, F
My home town
AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M
@SkyeJade wheres that?
SkyeJade · 22-25, F
@AthrillatheHunt little place outside Liverpool
Given that time period and the attitude you described, i'm willing to bet that was Van Buren Arkansas. They were notoriously racist in the 80s.
@PrivateHell My mom doesn't remember exactly where it was, but it was somewhere outside of Little Rock off of I-30.
@latinbutterfly Van Buren is closer to Ft Smith
This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite movies: "In The Heat Of The Night."

If you haven't seen it and wish to, you can find it here:

https://fsharetv.co/movie/in-the-heat-of-the-night-episode-1-tt0061811
Slade · 56-60, M
@PhoenixPhail Great flick. I brought it with me when I had a sleep test a while back. I was hooked to a million wires and couldn't move. The movie had a million n words in it and the guy in the next room was black.

Serous cringe 😮
@Slade I hope it wasn't a problem for him.
Slade · 56-60, M
@PhoenixPhail O mever heard anything. He prolly went to sleep like we were supposed to do
SW-User
@latinbutterfly Jesus...that's the beginnings of the plot to First Blood - with racism thrown in!
SW-User
@SW-User Don't worry, I'm not being cute! That is [i]literally the setup to that movie[/i]. Guy passing through - just wants through, doesn't want to stay in the little dive town - but the sheriff basically politely warns him and yeah is sort of polite but at the end of the day...harassment is harassment. He's actually taking exception to him just being there passing through.
@SW-User Yeah, it's been a while since I have seen that movie.
SW-User
@latinbutterfly It's a good movie. Really sorry you had that experience, by the way. These people are pricks.
ProfessorPlum77 · 70-79, MVIP
[c=800000]Where I live currently, I stopped at a restaurant to place an order. I heard someone utter "Honkey" under their breath. 🥺 [/c]
Slade · 56-60, M
@ProfessorPlum77 Wow. He's still stuck in 1975 as well as everything else
AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M
Newark was the only place I’ve been called a racist word .
@AthrillatheHunt Newark, NJ? Not to mention that place is a crime ridden dump.
AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M
@latinbutterfly total shithole
Slade · 56-60, M
@latinbutterfly Hideously corrupt even by Jersey standards.

I don't know how many ex mayors they have in prison
vetguy1991 · 51-55, M
Which town?
vetguy1991 · 51-55, M
@latinbutterfly ok ,I've been to alot of places in Arkansas don't think I've been there
@vetguy1991 I just talked with my mom on the phone and she doesn't remember exactly, but she thinks it was somewhere outside of Little Rock, AR.
vetguy1991 · 51-55, M
@latinbutterfly ok been a while since I was down there
SW-User
Probably in a Southern state like North Carolina, Georgia, Etc.
Tres13 · 51-55, M
Christchurch,South Is.NZ
@Tres13 And with a name of "Christchurch"? Shocking.
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DownTheStreet · 51-55, M
Manchester , and Hong Kong
HoraceGreenley · 56-60, M
Washington DC
ProfessorPlum77 · 70-79, MVIP
[c=800000]Anytown, USA. [/c]
Zonuss · 41-45, M
Some town in Georgia.
SW-User
I've only been to 27 states so I can't comment on the others.

All I traveled through or stop at were racist in some form, sadly
Slade · 56-60, M
@SW-User 🤡😵
ProfessorPlum77 · 70-79, MVIP
@SW-User [c=800000]To be clear: Not all Yanks are racist.
But, we hate ALL black males? 🤔[/c]
SW-User
@ProfessorPlum77 Join your brothers

[image deleted]
empanadas · 31-35, M
Never had an experience that extreme but I read on the bathroom wall in some small town in Pennsylvania between Ohio and Pittsburgh that another genocide should take place. All non whites should be dead. The world should be cleaned of nonwhites. It was a bunch of different types of hand writings so I knew it was more than one person.
Slade · 56-60, M
@empanadas I saw written on a bathroom stall "if black is beautiful I just shit a masterpiece"
Slade · 56-60, M
@Slade Black is Beautiful was a huge expression in the 70's
empanadas · 31-35, M
Btw my grandpa used to tell me how racist Houston was back in the 1960's. They would have signs saying no Mexicans
@empanadas Mexicans started to settle in the Magnolia Park neighborhood in 1911, and yeah they pretty much stayed centered there due to discrimination.
empanadas · 31-35, M
@latinbutterfly I actually never been to houston. I gotta check out that neighborhood. Never knew that the League of United Latin American Citizens was founded there. yeah, my grandpa told me stories about how fucked up it was. Main reason why he left.
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CrustyDDingus · 36-40, M
@BlueMetalChick I just call Bostonians McNuggets.
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