Posted on 09/09/2005 2:35:47 PM PDT by RWR8189
CAMP WILLIAMS, Utah (Reuters) - Asked whether he would relocate permanently to Utah after being brought here as a refugee from Hurricane Katrina, Larry Andrew rattled off a series of questions on Friday on the delicate issue of race.
"How do the adults really feel about us moving in?" he asked at Camp Williams, a military base 21 miles south of Salt Lake City housing about 400 refugees from last weeks disaster. "What if I find a Caucasian girl and decide to date her?
"Will I have to deal with whispering behind me and eyeballing me?" asked the 36-year-old black man.
For the mostly poor, black refugees evacuated from New Orleans, few places are as geographically remote and culturally alien as this corner of Utah, where 0.2 percent of the population in the nearest town is black.
Still, some refugees, especially younger adults, say they are ready to make a new start in the region even though they did not know they were coming until the doors shut on the airplane evacuating them from New Orleans.
"I'm planning a whole new life," said Phillip Johnson II, 23, who has already arranged an apartment in Salt Lake City. "It's an opportunity knocking for me out here."
He said even though the population of New Orleans was two-thirds black, his appearance with dreadlocks and a goatee still worked against him. "In New Orleans, being a young black man, you get harassed a lot, stereotyped a lot," he said.
One of the volunteers at the base, Newton Gborway, who moved to Utah from Liberia in West Africa five years ago, shared his first-hand impression of life in an economically prosperous state with a less than one percent black population.
"Don't be shocked and surprised if you meet someone who is mean to you or doesn't want to associate with you because you are black," he told Darisn Evans. "You don't worry about the negative stuff."
"Everything is going to be okay, but it is just a matter of time."
Evans said he would remain in Utah, and would like to work either as a handyman or as a highway patrolman.
His ex-wife Tanya Andrews, 44, said race played a part in their escape from flooded New Orleans, an adventure which she said included looting food, a television and a boat to get to higher land. She said rescuers picked them up only after a lighter-skinned black woman waved down a helicopter.
UTAH OPEN ARMS
So far the local community has welcomed the refugees with open arms, although they say they face an adjustment to life in Utah, stronghold of the socially conservative Mormon Church.
"Any time you go in where you are in the minority -- and I'm experienced in this -- it's going to be more difficult," said Wayne Mortimer, mayor of Bluffdale next to Camp Williams.
He cited his past missionary work in Canada when he was a relatively rare Mormon. Mortimer said his town of 6,500, a well-to-do bedroom community of Salt Lake City, had 20 low-income housing units available for the refugees.
"When you are an affluent community like we have, the greatest blessing we can have is to lift someone else," he said in an interview.
Larry Andrew's brother Adrian and sister Tanya, despite initial shock about being sent to Utah, say they will remain in Utah. Even Larry, despite his doubts, says the state is offering him a unique chance.
"According to what I see, it will be beneficial to me economically, even socially," he said. "But how would they adapt to me?"
I'm not sure why a group of Mormons would visit New Orleans, except on one of their missions to convert people. Me, I would mission to the strip joints first!
Well, I dislike the thought process that would lead to this type of question, but I'll pull back critisism. They've been lied to by the Jesse Jackson's, liberal Democrats, lived in welfare slums. They actually don't know any better.
IMO, send more to Utah. Confront reality head on. It'll do wonders to knock down the racism and bias instilled by race baiters that live on bigotry when they experience differently.
I wish that were true. Instead, they will import the chip and if anyone looks crosswise at them, the race pimps Jackson and Sharpton will call a press conference and call them racists on CNN.
Mark my words....
You know, I would think that this is going to be an eye opening experience for a lot of black evacuees. They've spent their entires lives, surrounded by those just like them, being told,"Whites hate us. Whites want to keep us down." How many white people have they actually, truly known. Now sadly, I realize that there are many government, dependent, leaches who will learn nothing, and think white people's only purpose is to give them stuff, or allow them to steal it. But, for some, this will be the beginning of a new future, where all the myths that have been perpetuated about whites will be debunked.
The multi-millionaire who funded the reward for Natalee Holloway offered to pay to relocate 5000 to Philadelphia, set them up in life with housing and jobs.... got 39 and 1 dog to take the trip.
You sound like a nice girl, and I'd like to give you a little unasked for advice that will seem harsh in the beginning, but will be to your advantage in the long run.
Do a little research to find out how many racially motivated lynchings have occured in Mississippi in the past 25 years, and then dump your boyfriend.
A long term relationship with anyone... black, white, or other... who is an outrageous liar is doomed to fail.
I'm thinking black skin isn't going to be the chief source of this fellow's problems settling into Salt Lake City society.
well, maybe it's just my boyfriend, then.
BTW, just curious, are you black or white?
If you're worried about that, perhaps you should move to Los Angeles instead...
true, true. there's still a lot of suspicious and mistrust. unfortunately, we can see where it's coming from, just by listening to different people - dem politicians and rap stars, etc.
One of my favorite proverbs: Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.
true, true. there's still a lot of suspicious and mistrust. unfortunately, we can see where it's coming from, just by listening to different people - dem politicians and rap stars, etc.
One of my favorite proverbs: Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.
May I also recommend that you, as a white person, take a walk in a black neighborhood in Oakland or Jackson, MS and you will see how much the locals will accept you.
Yuppies are SO naive when it comes to the complexities of racial issues. Reminds me of some douchebag from Orange County (CA) who told me that most blacks were upper middle class and loved white folks and that whites in OC had no prejudices. I then informed him that blacks only comprise 1.4% of the population of Orange County, and so he wasn't really qualified to talk about race relations.
I'm white goddamit! Call me cracker, call me Ofay, call me ricecake, just don't call me Caucasian! ;-)
i've experienced that kind of attitude and behavior in Oakland, CA.
When I told my boyfriend about it, he said, "well, you don't have to be white to be white trash."
I'm a white female from Georgia and I can tell you, the "racism" works both ways here.
My sister and I rode a school bus that was 75% black with us being the only whites on the bus for the last 10 miles of the journey. We were harrassed DAILY for an entire year although we sat up front and kept to ourselves.
Black women get VERY angry if they see a successful black guy dating a white female.
When I was single and would go out partying with friends, if I turned down an offer to dance from a black guy, I'd get harrassed and called a racist.
Nonetheless, I have plenty of black friends and we've all bonded through shared experiences of racism whether real or perceived. One of my very best friends for quite a few years was a black guy from college. We still keep in touch.
these young folks for being happy to be out of the slums
I hope you're right!! I'm so dam-ned sick and tired of this race shiite!!
They're going to find out that we don't give a flyin' rip what color people are or aren't. Get up, go to work, pay your bills, go to school.....
Did Utah bring up color? NO! It was the folk coming in.
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