[Lisa22784]

New York City is undoubtedly one of the most diverse places in the world. Every race, religion, ethnicity and culture imaginable calls the Big Apple home, so I don't understand why it seems to be so racially segregated and has so much racial tension. I find it more perplexing being that NYC has ALWAYS been this way. How long ago was the Southern black migration? How long ago was the great Irish and Jewish immigration? I'd think with this being nothing new, people would have learned by now to tolerate and accept each other.

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Name : Lisa22784, Gender : F, City : Gaithersburg, State : MD Country : United States, 

[Dan31696]

It's called tribalism. People have a natural tendency to stick to their own. I live in L.A., which is as diverse (if not moreso) as New York, and racial tension can get pretty crazy here. Basically, when you're an immigrant from Russia fresh off the boat, you can't exactly go live in Little India because you'll stand out like a sore thumb, and you need people to latch on to for support. This will most readily come from people similar to the individual, namely other Russians. Same deal if a refugee from El Salvador attempts to homeshop in Encino (upscale white/Jewish neighborhood) or a Nigerian newcomer tries to settle in the middle of Thai Town. This need for solidarity is understandable, because it means the difference between sinking and swimming. However, competition for jobs and space causes conflict, as well as culture clashes. As for the case of long-established groups in L.A. (Mexican Americans, blacks, whites, Jews) there is much interaction, and the younger the generation, the less walls there are for the most part (save geographic ones). Yet there is still a long way to go, as 150 years of ongoing Los Angeles racial conflict can't be undone in a short amount of time.

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Name : Dan31696, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 22, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Taylor27437]

Believe it or not, but up here in Toronto tribalism is alive and well. Each area of the city has its own ethnic enclave with the important difference to the U.S. in that Canada has state sanctioned it. As always being Canadian, it is subtle in its effects and presence. It is called multiculturalism. Now don't get me wrong. People of different backgrounds do get together. But the majority keep seperate. Each group is seperate. The problem is that, being in Canada, it is not spoken of at all, officially. If anyone doubts me come and visit and I'll show you. I can say that certain 'groups' will not go out with others. This is denied of course, yet nevertheless true. In fact whole communities/suburbs exist of seperate groups. But no one says anything because it would look bad. As opposed to New York, Toronto has no cultural identity and being Canadian is to be an acceptor of all other cultures. Officially. There is racial tension here, but again it is subtle. At least in New York you know where you stand. Toronto makes the Byzantines look like childs play.

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Name : Taylor27437, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : I care too much, Race : English/Spanish, Religion : Orthodox Christian, Age : 30, City : Toronto, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Michael]

The tendency of certain racial/ ethnic/ religious groups to live together in cities, especially New York, is not due very much to overt racism and societal segregation. Historically, many of these neighborhoods- like Chinatown (Chinese) and the lower East Side (Italian and East European Jewish in different parts) were formed because immigrants liked living among their own kind. This was important in early 20th century New York, because the neighborhoods provided an easier path to assimilation and citizenship, English lessons and job placement services were offered by local groups, and the like. Cultural traditions from the 'old country' could be maintained (Italian festivals, Kosher restaurants, etc) while living in American society in these enclaves, which made the immigrants more comfortable. Also, living in ethnic neighborhoods helped build a group mentality that provided for the advancement of these groups in New York that would have been impossible had they spread out and lived in mixed neighborhoods. Later, Harlem (which before its major development in 1900-1920 or so was farmland!) was promoted as a place where working blacks could comfortably live. This was actually a voluntary free market attempt to remedy the conditions of poor blacks who lived in slums near the site of today's Bryant Park and Times Square. To this day, there are still neighborhoods that are magnets for immigrants from various countries, except today, it is not as much Italians or Jews, it is East Indians, Central Americans, Nigerians, and the like. Some people just enjoy living among others with a common background and that cannot be faulted as long as they are not hostile to outsiders or others. There will always be a bonehead or two from Bensonhurst who will threaten to take an aluminum ball bat to anyone who isn't Italian that dares to set foot in their neighborhood, but for the most part, New York's ethnic cultures co-exist, if not show respect for and interest in each other. Just look at the St. Patrick's Day parade, or how many people go to Chinatown or Little Italy or Arthur Ave to eat. Unfortunately, the bad things get prominently bad press (the Crown Heights violence, Amadou Diallo, Bernie Goetz, etc) and a lot of people forget that despite that handful of tragic incidents, there are millions of people that live and work together in that great city.

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Name : Michael, Gender : M, Age : 30, City : Manassas, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : History teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Yuna]

DAN the MAN- You Go Boy! You said everything so eloquently!

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Name : Yuna, Gender : F, Age : 17, City : Queens, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Ric-M30037]

i'm from the south, but when i came to NYC 6 years ago i was super-surprised at the amount of, well, racism. i was never particularly interested in whether someone was jewish or not until i came up here. but it's such a big deal! (to both jews and non-jews) also, the latino and arabic populations are generally looked-down upon by blacks, even though they occupy some of the same areas... don't even get me started about the irony there. i've heard so many slights and generalizations, it's insane. i guess there's just more people so they tend to stick together. which is a shame, because it definitely breeds hate and ignorance.

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Name : Ric-M30037, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 30, City : NY, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : various, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mark]

1845 started the first large emigration of Irish, during the 'Potato Famine.' Purges and political unrest, coupled with anti-Semitic sentiments in Eastern Europe, brought large populations of immigrations of Jews in the early years of the 20th century. Speaking their own languages and practicing their own religions or versions of religions kept these people self-confined to their own neighborhoods for two, sometimes three generations. The migration of Southern blacks to the industrialized North started essentially at the turn of the century as well. Emancipation and '40 acres and a mule' wasn't what white Southerners saw as reclamation for them, so vast quantities of Southern blacks fled the Jim Crow South for the labor rich and industrialized North, particularly the steel belt. The United States suffered through a version of what was ostensibly going to result in the Great Depression of the '30s during the 1890s. Europe was hit much harder ,and with the devastation of World War I was cast even further into dire straits, with insufficient food and services for an increasingly younger population.

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Name : Mark, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : Rockville, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : Administrator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Deedee]

I live in New York. How do u think it's segregated? what was your experience?

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Name : Deedee, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 17, City : Brooklyn, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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