Resident Seattle heads...

[murksiderock]

@Eastside Get The Money and whoever else, tag in the black Seattleites on here...

I've gone down this recent rabbit hole into Black Seattle history, never been but now I wanna go. Started with the Central District, which today is only 11.7% black but is said to be the original black area in Seattle. 55 years ago, it's reported it was 80% black...

That's a helluva gentrification from 80 to 12% in just one lifetime. I don't know if I've heard of that rapid a removal of black people...

On the bright side, I really wanna know more about South Seattle, which is currently 18.5% black. Something like 38% of all black people in Seattle, live in South Seattle, and there are census tracts, neighborhoods, and blocks in the South that get as high as 44% black...

Give me some insight on why the Central District was so intensely gentrified, and what South Seattle is like today. It's the blackest part of the city, but does it FEEL black? Are black couples and black families common? What's the black pride like in Seattle relative to other major cities, most of which have bigger black communities?

Just curious, this shyt came outta nowhere and now all of a sudden I wanna go to Seattle ...

 

[Marc Spector]

@Eastside Get The Money and whoever else, tag in the black Seattleites on here...

I've gone down this recent rabbit hole into Black Seattle history, never been but now I wanna go. Started with the Central District, which today is only 11.7% black but is said to be the original black area in Seattle. 55 years ago, it's reported it was 80% black...

That's a helluva gentrification from 80 to 12% in just one lifetime. I don't know if I've heard of that rapid a removal of black people...

On the bright side, I really wanna know more about South Seattle, which is currently 18.5% black. Something like 38% of all black people in Seattle, live in South Seattle, and there are census tracts, neighborhoods, and blocks in the South that get as high as 44% black...

Give me some insight on why the Central District was so intensely gentrified, and what South Seattle is like today. It's the blackest part of the city, but does it FEEL black? Are black couples and black families common? What's the black pride like in Seattle relative to other major cities, most of which have bigger black communities?

Just curious, this shyt came outta nowhere and now all of a sudden I wanna go to Seattle ...

@RadaMillz @South Paw are natives I believe and @Ed MOTHERfukkING G been out here for a minute so they can speak on it more....Ive been here for going on 9 years...

One word pushed nikkas up outta here: Tech. Microsoft got hot in the 90s, Amazon got hot in the 2000s. The CD is only 3 miles away from South Lake Union (which is the hub of the Tech Jobs in Seattle, Redmond is the other hub) which makes neighborhoods like the CD, Cap Hill, Ballard, and Belltown the main places for young tech engineers to move to.

But lets get more granular on the Black Population figure....First off, the population boomed. That alone dropped the Black population numbers. The Seattle city limits are only built to contain about 500k people. We are at 750,000 residents now, 4 million people in the entire Puget Sound region.

Yes some older Black folks left to go to Arizona and back to the South, but not THAT many. Many Black folks who come up here wind up staying.

Secondly, a lot of people period are increasingly getting pushed further and further South in Puget Sound. A lot of people may have lived in Seattle as jits, but as adults couldnt afford it. SO they moved to Tukwila or Skyway (which is probably the blackest neighborhood in the region). And then they moved to Federal Way. Then Tacoma (the blackest city in all of Washington). Then Olympia. I'm hearing stories of some people relocating all the way down to Vancouver/Battle Ground area, which is on the border of Oregon.

As far as Black Culture goes, we are trying lol. You really see folks come out whenever theres a classical Black music act. As I said, the concentration of Black Folks live in Pierce County (mostly Tacoma) so most Black Centric Events are going to be there. Every now and again you see some club/party promotions in Auburn/Kent ( about 15-20 miles southeast of Seattle) or over on the Kitsap Peninsula in Bremerton, but not too much.

No neighborhood feels Black IMO. Even the Rainier Valley (the "south seattle" youre alluding to) feels more African than Black. Even the infamous projects of Seattle (New Holly and Yesler) are more East African than ADOS.

The black numbers in Puget Sound are weird because i dont think they distinguish between East Africans and ADOS people....

You see mostly BW/BM combos in tacoma. But overall theres just as many BM/Non Black Woman or mixed race with mixed race people copulations. Every now and again you see BW/non Black Man too. Probably more frequent here than elsewhere.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

I have a lot of thoughts as I lived in CD for about 5 years recently, will comment later. Good question.

Short answer is, everything that happens elsewhere for gentrification but much, much faster, higher cost squeeze and tax pressure.

 

[Eastside Get The Money]

I've been living here like 6 years now but been visiting since like '08.

They say the CD was the black neighborhood back in the day, it's where Garfield High is (Hendrix, Quincy Jones) . If you go there today you don't really see it, pretty much diverse now.

There's a strange black population in Seattle. There's not a big 'head nod' culture. My first time here I tried to say whatup to like 5 black men and they all hit me with the

I stay towards South Seattle. That's where most of us live within the city, but nowhere in Seattle really feels black. I'll keep it a bean the white folks treat me better than african americans

Tacoma is more of a black city imo

 

[murksiderock]

@RadaMillz @South Paw are natives I believe and @Ed MOTHERfukkING G been out here for a minute so they can speak on it more....Ive been here for going on 9 years...

One word pushed nikkas up outta here: Tech. Microsoft got hot in the 90s, Amazon got hot in the 2000s. The CD is only 3 miles away from South Lake Union (which is the hub of the Tech Jobs in Seattle, Redmond is the other hub) which makes neighborhoods like the CD, Cap Hill, Ballard, and Belltown the main places for young tech engineers to move to.

But lets get more granular on the Black Population figure....First off, the population boomed. That alone dropped the Black population numbers. The Seattle city limits are only built to contain about 500k people. We are at 750,000 residents now, 4 million people in the entire Puget Sound region.

Yes some older Black folks left to go to Arizona and back to the South, but not THAT many. Many Black folks who come up here wind up staying.

Secondly, a lot of people period are increasingly getting pushed further and further South in Puget Sound. A lot of people may have lived in Seattle as jits, but as adults couldnt afford it. SO they moved to Tukwila or Skyway (which is probably the blackest neighborhood in the region). And then they moved to Federal Way. Then Tacoma (the blackest city in all of Washington). Then Olympia. I'm hearing stories of some people relocating all the way down to Vancouver/Battle Ground area, which is on the border of Oregon.

As far as Black Culture goes, we are trying lol. You really see folks come out whenever theres a classical Black music act. As I said, the concentration of Black Folks live in Pierce County (mostly Tacoma) so most Black Centric Events are going to be there. Every now and again you see some club/party promotions in Auburn/Kent ( about 15-20 miles southeast of Seattle) or over on the Kitsap Peninsula in Bremerton, but not too much.

No neighborhood feels Black IMO. Even the Rainier Valley (the "south seattle" youre alluding to) feels more African than Black. Even the infamous projects of Seattle (New Holly and Yesler) are more East African than ADOS.

The black numbers in Puget Sound are weird because i dont think they distinguish between East Africans and ADOS people....

You see mostly BW/BM combos in tacoma. But overall theres just as many BM/Non Black Woman or mixed race with mixed race people copulations. Every now and again you see BW/non Black Man too. Probably more frequent here than elsewhere.

You don't consider Africans as black? What are relations like with Africans and Black Americans in Seattle, do we intermingle and date each other? Which group are more inclined to keep a black family, which are more inclined to date out?

Where did you move to Seattle from and was it a culture shock to you? How are relations with white people there in general?

I've been living here like 6 years now but been visiting since like '08.

They say the CD was the black neighborhood back in the day, it's where Garfield High is (Hendrix, Quincy Jones) . If you go there today you don't really see it, pretty much diverse now.

There's a strange black population in Seattle. There's not a big 'head nod' culture. My first time here I tried to say whatup to like 5 black men and they all hit me with the

I stay towards South Seattle. That's where most of us live within the city, but nowhere in Seattle really feels black. I'll keep it a bean the white folks treat me better than african americans

Tacoma is more of a black city imo

Was it a huge culture shock to you, when you first got there, moving from Detroit? Did you have family there, what brought you to Seattle?

 

[Marc Spector]

You don't consider Africans as black? What are relations like with Africans and Black Americans in Seattle, do we intermingle and date each other? Which group are more inclined to keep a black family, which are more inclined to date out?

Where did you move to Seattle from and was it a culture shock to you? How are relations with white people there in general?

Was it a huge culture shock to you, when you first got there, moving from Detroit? Did you have family there, what brought you to Seattle?

The Africans here are East African and mostly FOB. Not a lot of intermingling from my POV. They stick together in their own communities. Might see a few instances of it with the super westernized ones. I think the homie @RadaMillz has ties to them he can speak more. I came from Kentucky but my experience is tied to the Tech/Military so I wasnt as looped in with natives.

But what is the culture shock here is that, nobody comes to Seattle to make friends. People come here to work. Meaning, you wont find as welcoming a environment of out of towners + Natives who link up and start a friend group compared to cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, NYC, or Houston. Even "hometown" major cities like Philly, Boston and Chicago have huge cultural identities (sports mostly) that out of towners can meet people and unite around. Seattleites like sports, but they dont LOVE sports like that, so its difficult to really find common ties with the folks here. The phenomenon of people having a major indifference toward socializing is called the Seattle Freeze and its a real thing.

Also keep in mind the weather here naturally creates a population of introverts.....

From my POV you gotta be looped in/have hobbies that keep you the urban areas to really link up with Black folks here.

As I said, my experience is mostly interacting with Tech Bros/Military. The techies here are mostly foreigners (Red Dots, Asians) and just here to beef up their resume and stick with their own. Military folks (especially Army people) here are young and typically junior in rank (im a old head officer) so not a lot of opportunity there. Older, higher ranking people usually have a spouse and children and WA is usually just another stop in their career.

 

[Eastside Get The Money]

Was it a huge culture shock to you, when you first got there, moving from Detroit? Did you have family there, what brought you to Seattle?

HUGE. Just culture wise. It’s mostly white and Asian here so the culture outside is…. turned down.

In Detroit after the game or the concert we outside downtown afterwards acting a fool enjoying the nightlife and the people. Seattle don’t do that. Like it could be a concert at the arena, and afterwards everyone just goes home. No real energy or motion out here like I’m used to but it’s cool

Might be my last year tho it’s $$$$$ right now and these dope fiends done got out of pocket lately. I do like the city but you’re not getting your bang for your buck right now

 

[Marc Spector]

One thing to add though and this going to sound saditty/c00nish....

If you're a more blue collar breh, and you smoke/drink, and you got a little bit of edge, you'll do fine here. With women and linking up with people.

Theres no middle class here so the Black Folks here are honestly right at or below working to poverty wages and are mostly of working class/hood adjacent culture. Theres a very very small number of White Collar Tech/Military/Entrepreneur/Natives who make good money...and many of them chill with the fringe hood people lol. But most of the Black/Mixed race Folks here are salt of the earth black folks, tend to have ties to California or Nevada, or folks who have a relative who moved out here and they followed suit...and just doing a 30-40k a year job that pays 50-70k out here.

I dont really link up with those folks like that. Not out of prejudice, I just stick to me and my girl mostly.

 

[CashmereThoughts]

HUGE. Just culture wise. It’s most white and Asian here so the culture outside is…. turned down.

Like in Detroit after the game or the concert we outside downtown afterwards acting a fool enjoying the nightlife and the people. Seattle don’t do that. Like it could be a concert at the arena, and afterwards everyone just goes home. No real energy or motion out here like I’m used to be it’s cool

Might be my last year tho it’s $$$$$ right now and these dope fiends don’t got out of pocket lately. I do like the city but you’re not getting your bang for your buck right now

I was floored when I saw syringe receptacles on a case food bathroom there

 

[Eastside Get The Money]

I was floored when I saw syringe receptacles on a case food bathroom there

Man listen here. First time I went downtown I saw a man shooting up dog food in the middle of the street

I had never seen anything like that before so I went up to him and was like “take that to the alley or somewhere”

When I tell you like 10 white people surrounded me talking about I was wrong for drug shaming him

Knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore

 

[RadaMillz]

@Marc Spector is spot on, I remember our family use to drop us off at rainier on henderson during the summer, there were so much stuff to do back in the days. Like 90% of people walking around were black, So many baddies too

I didn't start noticing gentrification until the late 2000's, the CD was the area where black home ownership was the highest. What happen was grandma died, house needed repairs and white man came knocking with big checks. Tech started taking off and developers jumped on every available plot of land, cookie cutter buildings were going up every couple of months. Transplants were coming here in mass needing a place to rent fast. Every month landlords upped rent by $50 or so.

a 2 bedroom apartment in Seattle was like $900/m, now it's damm near $3K. Black natives started heading further and further south. Tukwila, Renton, Kent and then eventually to Pierce County. Tacoma has always had a strong black presence and still does.

You don't consider Africans as black? What are relations like with Africans and Black Americans in Seattle, do we intermingle and date each other? Which group are more inclined to keep a black family, which are more inclined to date out?

There's cultural differences and language barriers between the older generations but those under 30, who grew up with each other all their lives have no issues intermingling. I personally know about a dozen who married and had children who are half EA and FBA.

The only thing I don't like is the gang culture of the younger generation, so many EA and FBA young men are dying like crazy. My homie had to bury his nephew couple of weeks ago who was half Somali and half FBA. He practically grew up around us but got involved in the gang life in high school. I wish this stopped.

 

[Shadow King]

Bro if you don't gon head and figure out how to monetize this demographic fixation of yours we got beef

 

[T-K-G]

HUGE. Just culture wise. It’s most white and Asian here so the culture outside is…. turned down.

Like in Detroit after the game or the concert we outside downtown afterwards acting a fool enjoying the nightlife and the people. Seattle don’t do that. Like it could be a concert at the arena, and afterwards everyone just goes home. No real energy or motion out here like I’m used to be it’s cool

Might be my last year tho it’s $$$$$ right now and these dope fiends done got out of pocket lately. I do like the city but you’re not getting your bang for your buck right now

That's the northwest in general, I had the same reaction when I went up to Oregon, thought everyone was either rude as hell or ridiculously jumpy if you spoke to them

For one reason or another the people in that region have zero clue how to socialize with a stranger on some regular shyt how all of them are outside, walking around, but never figured it out I have no idea



I always tell people the northwest could be a GOAT region if you took enough people from the south and east coast with social skills and moved them there we could do more with that land too than all that inhabitable swamp real estate down south

 

[murksiderock]

Theres no middle class here

Places like this are no-gos for black people. This is the problem in The Bay, you're either poor or rich. There isnt enough middle class-earning black people there to have a real black middle class. It's why Los Angeles (always has been) and Sacramento (has become within the last decade) are better places for black people...

Any hopes for that to turn around for Black Seattleites?

Bro if you don't gon head and figure out how to monetize this demographic fixation of yours we got beef

I don't know how though I am thinking of starting a YouTube channel ...

I aint never thought about Seattle like that and its just randomly piqued my interests...

That's the northwest in general, I had the same reaction when I went up to Oregon, thought everyone was either rude as hell or ridiculously jumpy if you spoke to them

For one reason or another the people in that region have zero clue how to socialize with a stranger on some regular shyt how all of them are outside, walking around, but never figured it out I have no idea



I always tell people the northwest could be a GOAT region if you took enough people from the south and east coast with social skills and moved them there we could do more with that land too than all that inhabitable swamp real estate down south

I've hung out in Southern Oregon (Medford/Ashland/Grants Pass). I think the air feels fresh but people overrate the landscape. It's scenic but not as breathtaking as mf's say. I have a sister who went to some Christian school in Salem, and a brother whose brother on his other side, lived in Portland, and mf's used to rave about Oregon to me. Then I went and was like, this shyt ain't all that ...

 

[ISO]

The most incredible thing about Black Seattle is that for a small population it produces a disproportionate among of NBA and D1 level hoop talent.

The infrastructure and pipelines and culture has to be A1 there.