Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Meet Me in Little Italy
Aunt B has one of the funniest stories about race and middle management at large corporations I've ever seen. She speaks of some idjit who claims he's not racist because he drives down Jefferson Street. In other words, he's not a racist because he actually allows his car to go through a predominately black part of town.
After I finished laughing, I thought of something that creeps into my mind from time to time. Nashville has a "black" part of town, as all southern cities do. But, if you travel any to other mid-to-large cities in America, you'll notice that Nashville is different. We are not segregated culturally.
There is no "Little Italy". No "Chinatown". No Irish enclaves, or Korean, Turkish, Indian, or Ethopian. Some would argue that Nashville has a "Hispanic/Latina" part of town, but I'm not so sure. Our Hispanic population seems pretty widespread throughout Davidson county - even though there does seem to be a cultural concentration in the south Nashville/Nolensville road area.
Nashville's Asian population is about 2%, yet can anyone identify an "Asian" part of town? Same goes for any other nationality/culture besides African American and (possibly) Hispanic.
My question is, is this a good thing? I say it is. Other cities can have their segregated, rich cultural areas. I like our intermingled diversity.
After I finished laughing, I thought of something that creeps into my mind from time to time. Nashville has a "black" part of town, as all southern cities do. But, if you travel any to other mid-to-large cities in America, you'll notice that Nashville is different. We are not segregated culturally.
There is no "Little Italy". No "Chinatown". No Irish enclaves, or Korean, Turkish, Indian, or Ethopian. Some would argue that Nashville has a "Hispanic/Latina" part of town, but I'm not so sure. Our Hispanic population seems pretty widespread throughout Davidson county - even though there does seem to be a cultural concentration in the south Nashville/Nolensville road area.
Nashville's Asian population is about 2%, yet can anyone identify an "Asian" part of town? Same goes for any other nationality/culture besides African American and (possibly) Hispanic.
My question is, is this a good thing? I say it is. Other cities can have their segregated, rich cultural areas. I like our intermingled diversity.
// posted by Slartibartfast @ 11:27 AM 
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