Being black in bad LS neighborhoods Forum

[Redfactor]

An African grad student was murdered blocks south of the law school, but he didn't know he was wearing gang colors.

I didn't know this was a thing. They don't ask questions, just kill people? Damn. It seams like OP may have a point then about black dudes being more at risk, but idk.

~75% of the murder victims are black. And the strong majority of those are males.

Hyde Park is a nice area and UChicago is a safe school / area, but I do understand why a parent would be worried about their black male child attending.

That being said, I don't think I could pass up an opportunity to study at a school like that. I would just live in their little protective bubble and be selective in where / when I ventured out.

[P-salms]

'Black on black' crime is sensationalized in Chicago (if not elsewhere) to the point that it feeds off of it. It's not uncommon for a black male to be put down for wearing the wrong colors or for simply being 'there'.

I speak from a position of strength having been a 'victim' of gun violence on more than one occasion. But to live in fear is not to live at all (don't be ignorant or foolish, tho).

Latest from the chi...

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Hu ... 55191.html

[talesofyore]

Soooo, where I do I find a comprehensive list of colors for my male relatives to avoid? Or do I simply tell them to stick to pastels and khakis while in the area?

Hopefully gang colors aren't anything mundane like blue or green. I suppose it would be too much to wish that they had the decency to pick fuchsia or bright orange so as not to limit everyone else's wardrobe choices.

[TaipeiMort]

Soooo, where I do I find a comprehensive list of colors for my male relatives to avoid? Or do I simply tell them to stick to pastels and khakis while in the area?

Hopefully gang colors aren't anything mundane like blue or green. I suppose it would be too much to wish that they had the decency to pick fuchsia or bright orange so as not to limit everyone else's wardrobe choices.

There are basically two large gang networks, Folk Nation and People Nation.

Folk Nation includes the Black Gangster Disciples (Chicago's big black gang) Crips (along with the Bloods, the two big U.S. black gangs), as well as Mexican gang La Raza. They wear blue and black, have a star of david symbol, and commonly wear Duke, Giants, Georgetown, and other blue hats.

People nation includes the Vice Lords (another big Chicago black gang), the Bloods (biggest US black gang), and the Latin Kings (big Mexican gang). They wear red, black, and gold, have a five pointed star symbol (like a pentagram), and wear hats like the Niners, Chiefs, and Heat.

[Emma.]

Soooo, where I do I find a comprehensive list of colors for my male relatives to avoid? Or do I simply tell them to stick to pastels and khakis while in the area?

Hopefully gang colors aren't anything mundane like blue or green. I suppose it would be too much to wish that they had the decency to pick fuchsia or bright orange so as not to limit everyone else's wardrobe choices.

This isn't an issue if either (1) you don't go into the areas to the south or west of Hyde Park, or (2) you dress pretty conservatively.

No one is going to mistake someone wearing business casual for a gang member, no matter what the color of their shirt, and no one who stays within the campus area is consciously thinking about avoiding certain gang colors.

[LSL]

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[Lord Randolph McDuff]

it's just a matter of not going into the crazy areas

As someone who spent time at the undergrad, I can say that the whole university is a "crazy area." When you get mugged, just hand over your iphone and stuff and you should be fine.

But seriously, it's a great school and a relatively cheap place to live.

This post is stupid. The campus is incredibly safe (as is the surrounding neighborhood assuming you use common sense), and there are university sponsored shuttles going every which way from 5pm-4am. They send us the weekly crime report thing and I can only think of one or two instances this entire year where someone was mugged.

Current UoC law student

You do realize that is a ton. At most law schools no one is mugged. Period.

[Bildungsroman]

Hyde Park is a shithole filled with degenerates who will constantly harass you, but it's not like Gangs of New York or anything.

[Emma.]

it's just a matter of not going into the crazy areas

As someone who spent time at the undergrad, I can say that the whole university is a "crazy area." When you get mugged, just hand over your iphone and stuff and you should be fine.

But seriously, it's a great school and a relatively cheap place to live.

This post is stupid. The campus is incredibly safe (as is the surrounding neighborhood assuming you use common sense), and there are university sponsored shuttles going every which way from 5pm-4am. They send us the weekly crime report thing and I can only think of one or two instances this entire year where someone was mugged.

Current UoC law student

You do realize that is a ton. At most law schools no one is mugged. Period.

AFAIK, no one at the law school was mugged. The crime report is reporting any muggings in the campus patrol area... It isn't just law students.

[IAFG]

As a black male all but set on UChi, this is relevant to my interests. I'm not really taking the dangers, real and perceived, into account. Educate me.

As I recall you're planning to pay sticker. I'd be a lot more worried about that than the fairly low chance you will be the victim of a crime.

give me a fucking break.

[TaipeiMort]

Hyde Park is a shithole filled with degenerates who will constantly harass you, but it's not like Gangs of New York or anything.

Especially the albino hobo lady who throws her urine at people crossing under the metra, and three or so 40-something guys who yell racial slurs and try to chase women down the street near that jerk chicken place and dominos. But, I do think that the Hyde Park Mcdonalds (and the Wendy's with the bullet proof glass and taco bell in Englewood) may be some of the best fast food places you'll ever eat at.

[mewalke1]

Having Mexican-American family that has lived in Chatham (Chicago) and Athens (Los Angeles), I can say Los Angeles is FAR, FAR worse than Chatham, which is better than Hyde Park.

If any minority students are looking at USC (and to a much lesser extent, UCLA), I would highly urge them to count on spending most of their time within the campus bubble rather than out and about on foot. Just over the last couple months I had a knife pulled on me near 43rd, and ran into a gang while there was some event going on at the Colosseum -- and I was just minding my own business. I've felt safer walking around in Mexico City than in LA.

I dont know if you could say all of LA is horrid but the area around USC is amazingly bad. The first time I went to a game there I was amazed at the kind of neighborhood its in. I thought a nice expensive private school would be in the same type of neighborhood. Nope. And funny UCLA their rival and a public school is in an amazing neighborhood.

[banter123]

I know many people who lived there and never had a problem. My brother (black male) started there last fall and has never had a problem even commuting back to the south loop sometimes late at night.
I spent a lot of time in Chicago when I was younger and never heard of problems around there, if youre not being stupid its not that much worse than parts of the northside

Honestly this is near a non issue.

[062914123]

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[TaipeiMort]

Having Mexican-American family that has lived in Chatham (Chicago) and Athens (Los Angeles), I can say Los Angeles is FAR, FAR worse than Chatham, which is better than Hyde Park.

If any minority students are looking at USC (and to a much lesser extent, UCLA), I would highly urge them to count on spending most of their time within the campus bubble rather than out and about on foot. Just over the last couple months I had a knife pulled on me near 43rd, and ran into a gang while there was some event going on at the Colosseum -- and I was just minding my own business. I've felt safer walking around in Mexico City than in LA.

I dont know if you could say all of LA is horrid but the area around USC is amazingly bad. The first time I went to a game there I was amazed at the kind of neighborhood its in. I thought a nice expensive private school would be in the same type of neighborhood. Nope. And funny UCLA their rival and a public school is in an amazing neighborhood.

everyone who grew up in l.a. knew to stay extremely close to usc if you were there after dark at parties or w/e. it's in one of the absolute worst parts of the city, and people are routinely mugged/killed around there (including, pretty recently, 2 grad students very near campus). it's also a fucking shitty place to generally be around/look at, so on the off chance that anyone in this thread is going to usc law, i actually recommend that you take this seriously. i grew up in east l.a., which is a crappy neighborhood that has its own problems with violence, and i've been around uchicago plenty. usc is 94804923 times worse than either.

also lol yes, ucla is a palace. i love it there for purely aesthetic purposes.

Grew up near Inglewood. Now live near Englewood. I have to say Inglewood (LA) is way worse. Chicago has a black middle class, many of which are decent folks that live in Englewood. Inglewood (and Compton) are 1000x worse. It has only gotten worse since the Mexicans have started random indiscriminate killings of black people. It is safe to be white and walk to the Green line in Chicago. I have never not gotten crap/screamed at by passing cars for being white while visiting friends in the Wood.

[twenty]

It has only gotten worse since the Mexicans have started random indiscriminate killings of black people.

we just can't help ourselves. we play eenie meenie miny moe to decide who to kill.

[TaipeiMort]

It has only gotten worse since the Mexicans have started random indiscriminate killings of black people.

we just can't help ourselves. we play eenie meenie miny moe to decide who to kill.

You know it.