8 ms·

Pasadena, a decent sized city in Los Angeles County that houses Caltech of all places, was forced to officially desegregate in the 1970s but they've still got t

Pasadena, a decent sized city in Los Angeles County that houses Caltech of all places, was forced to officially desegregate in the 1970s but they've still got tons of policies left over that discriminate in housing [1]. South Pasadena real estate agents unofficial redlined the neighborhoods well into the 1980s and possibly even the 1990s. Schools, especially in Altadena, were still highly segregated when I went to elementary school there in the 2000s. In the 21st century, for f**k's sake. And that's in a city adjacent to Los Angeles. We don't see many rebel flags in Southern California but the segregation is just staggering. IME it's even worse in the East coast cities, especially with the way roads, highways, and mass transit are built. I'll admit I had no idea what true segregation looked like until I lived in Ft Lauderdale/Hollywood in Florida (in the mid-2010s). [1] https://makinghousinghappen.net/2020/06/23/pasadenas-racialized-history/ https://makinghousinghappen.net/2020/06/23/pasadenas-raciali...

kbelder 3y ago
From that article, I don't see any racially discriminatory laws still in place in Pasadena. Plenty of laws discriminating against the poor, though.
greedo 3y ago
Oh the racism spread to the West very early in those states histories. Look up sundown towns, and Portland's history.
selimthegrim 3y ago
Caltech itself famously had more black students in the 1970s than it did in the following three decades
- whymauri 3y ago
  There's a network effect at Caltech, which does not practice AA, because it's so small. Basically, if you get into Caltech without AA, chances are you got into an equally good university with AA. However, it's clear to the outside observer that your single-digit hispanic or black prospective classmates at Caltech are generally more miserable than your prospective classmates at MIT, Stanford, Harvard, etcetera. They are usually the only person like you in their dorm, or in their year, or in their major. So you don't go to Caltech.
  - selimthegrim 3y ago
    In the 70s admissions actively canvassed South LA high schools.

kbelder 3y ago

From that article, I don't see any racially discriminatory laws still in place in Pasadena. Plenty of laws discriminating against the poor, though.

greedo 3y ago

Oh the racism spread to the West very early in those states histories. Look up sundown towns, and Portland's history.

selimthegrim 3y ago

Caltech itself famously had more black students in the 1970s than it did in the following three decades

whymauri 3y ago
There's a network effect at Caltech, which does not practice AA, because it's so small. Basically, if you get into Caltech without AA, chances are you got into an equally good university with AA. However, it's clear to the outside observer that your single-digit hispanic or black prospective classmates at Caltech are generally more miserable than your prospective classmates at MIT, Stanford, Harvard, etcetera. They are usually the only person like you in their dorm, or in their year, or in their major. So you don't go to Caltech.
- selimthegrim 3y ago
  In the 70s admissions actively canvassed South LA high schools.