Black In The Suburbs

Many African-American families do not feel welcome in the San Francisco Bay Area suburbs.

1 minute read

October 28, 2002, 5:00 AM PST

"Daily life outside the Bay Area's urban centers can be a challenge for African Americans. They say they feel the pressure to assimilate, to not "act black," to subsume their identities for the sake of domestic tranquility. Even something as mundane as a trip to Safeway can turn into an exercise of enduring nasty looks and warding off racial epithets.Some, like San Ramon Vice Mayor H. Abram Wilson and Lafayette restaurateur Bo McSwine, still praise the virtues of the suburbs. They like the high- performing schools and expansive and affordable housing, and put up with periodically being stopped in their cars by police for no apparent reason or being asked by the local librarian whether they've "driven in from Oakland" to visit."

Thanks to Laura Kranz

FULL STORY: Black in the 'burbs

Sunday, October 27, 2002 in The San Francisco Chronicle

Social / Demographics California

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