It's ABSOLUTELY a topic in my neighborhood and its among the code of silence with issues.

Not sure if it's a topic but I'm white and proud.

Imagine the outrage if someone were to begin an new organization NAAWP or a cable television station called WET. As the minority race in Philadelphia and the massive drop in overall percentage, clearly the facts support the creation of organizations to support the decline of the race.

This is a huge problem. White working people are tired of carrying the burden for generations of inner city poor, regardless of race. (It just so happens that in Philadelphia the majority of poor are black but there is the very same problem with Appalachian whites, hispanics in Texas, etc..) We are sick of watching the neighborhoods being dragged down, the schools being vandalized, children being born to children, raising violent crime rates almost always tied to drugs or gangs. No one owes anyone because of the indiscretions of our ancestors, everyone is offered the same opportunities in America, whether you take advantage or not is up to you. Go to school, respect and learn from the teachers, move on to higher education and make the world a better place rather than trash the schools. In the evenings stay home and do homework and study instead of wandering around the streets looking for trouble. I am certain that there will be many who will be angry that I said this but all it takes is a ride through the inner city, a day spent in an inner city public high school, it's a mess, and largely due to folks who live off the system, make no attempt to improve their life, disrespect their own neighborhoods, and don't take responsibility for their delinquent children. It's not racism, it's fact, the excuses are lame and inappropriate, a good life requires effort, no one is going to hand you anything. I'm tired of having to walk on eggshells concerning race. Get over it.

It is okay to be proud of our race. Stand up and Speak up!

Wow. This isn't racism? How about bigotry?

The very idea of being proud that you were born with a particular skin tone is bizarre. If you must be proud of something, be proud of things you have worked for and accomplished personally, of the way you act and represent yourself in the world, not some twist of genetic fate that left you with lighter-colored skin than someone else.

Very sad to read these mostly bigoted statements. In the early 70s / Age of Aquarius era, a more equal reality seemed right around the corner. Either people are getting more vocal about their hatred, or rational thought is sliding backwards. Either way: sad statement on humanity and intellect.

The reason I say I am proud of being white is in recent years the white race is under attack. Only white people can be racist, certain jobs put white on the bottom of hiring list even though they are more qualified, white owe because many years ago we had slaves............ and db I am proud that my Wife and I have worked hard all of our lives, no one owes us anything.

We are a human race that has adapted to our environment in many ways, one of which being skin color. So long as people view each other as different groups and make laws according to that mindset, we will never be equals. Unintended consequences of laws trying to make one group equal to the others do exactly the opposite. Why someone attacks another shouldn't matter, only the crime committed should matter (Hate Crime Laws). And being forced by an immoral institution (Government) to hire/fire people simply because of their genetic make-up or personal choices is just backwards thinking(affirmation laws). I look to the younger generations as being a guiding light to look and judge the individual and not their group.

Hell yea newtown square 96% white!!!!!!

The concept of race, overall, is fluid and, to a point, ridiculous. How many races are there? 4? 400? 4,000? If we are talking about the "white race", does that mean that all Europeans are the same? Barely a generation ago, there was hatred between folks or Northern and Southern European decent... How about "Asians"? Are folks with a cultural Chinese ethinicity the same as those from Korea? What is Black? Africa is a big place...

My oldest son went to graduate school in Wales, there were students attending from West Africa. They didn't like that American blacks call themselves African Americans, they think they are the laziest people and are clueless about what it means to be African. And as far as all kids not having the same opportunities, why do you think those kids had no breakfast before school? Maybe their mom spent her money on crack and alcohol rather than food, dad is in jail, dead or nowhere to be found. Why are the schools run down and there are no materials? Maybe because the schools have been broken into and any form of technology was stolen, books are lost or destroyed along with the buildings by the students. The behavior is outrageous, fights, rapes, drugs, beating up teachers, no responsible parents to report it to, an endless cycle. Knowledge is the way out but these kids can't even read on an emerging level. Poor isn't all of the problem, there are some kids who manage to rise up out of their situation because they are willing to work hard, stay off the streets, keep their clothes on and respect themselves. There are historically black universities who seek these students. It's about attitude and not expecting to be handed everything in life because of something that happened 200 years ago. I love what Bill Cosby tries to get folks to realize, he's spot on.

@wendy, I would suggest that the reason you "walk on eggshells concerning race" is that you inappropriately equate specific races, and at least one specified area of the U.S. as being lazy, dirty, delinquent, and behaving as criminals. In addition to that you inappropriately equate lazy, dirty, delinquent, and criminal behaviors with Americans that are financially poor.

Your comments are indicative of how successful the conservative entertainment industry's dog whistle campaign has been in promoting suspicion, distrust, and hate of financially poor Americans, in that they have used carefully crafted language that connects all of those feelings to Americans of specific races.

Your very first sentence in which you say "white working people" demonstrates a serious lack of recognition that all working people of all races are contributing members of our society and presents as an elitist attitude.

Having read your comments as well as others it is apparent that Americans continue to have a great deal of work to do in eliminating stereotyping of races of color.

So according to the stats, I'm in the minority in Mt. Airy but if I were to move to Chestnut Hill, I'd be in the majority. And it's people who would dare write articles such as this month's Philadelphia Mag who perpetuate negativity no matter what the topic. First, there was a Caucus, then came a Black Caucus; first there was a CPA Association, then came the CPA Black Association; and so on and so forth. Like someone stated previously, what pray God would happen if there was an NAAWP or a WET? Who REALLY is keeping racism alive and, more importantly, how long will it continue? As long as it's a part of history, it will always be and that's a sad state of affairs for future generations!

This is not a black or white issue...
Wheather your Asian, White, Black, Latino or whatever......It´s a matter of degrees.
Yes, degrees of black to brown: degrees of brown to tan; degrees of tan to
oh yes...degrees of white too.
For some reason in America....the bells and whistles go off when the above
"degree crisis" goes off in our brain...
so a MLK said; "don´t judge people by the color(shade) of their skin but by
the content of their character." If we did that throughout the planet, what a
wonderful world it would be!

Reggie, Reggie, Reggie, I did mention white Appalachia, but regardless the article is about Philadelphia. I work in the city and see much of this first hand everyday. How many of you commenting live or work at 4th & Diamond? You probably wouldn't even drive through neighborhoods like that. I teach people to read there. You all sit in your homes and pass judgement, pretend to be so open minded, but never actually associating with these folks, without experiencing what your talking about. It's bad, really bad, drugs and violence everywhere, everyday, but like I said, I've seen a few who break out of their situations, it can happen but not without a huge effort. Earnest, it's not a stereotype, it's a reality. Like I said, spend a day in a inner city Philadelphia public school, they need volunteers. I am focused on the situation and am actually trying to do something about it, rather than pretend it doesn't exist, for fear of being labeled a bigot or racist. Put your money where your mouth is and do something constructive to change it.

It's baffling that people still find ways to make sweeping claims about groups of people based on their relative levels of melanin.

Is Being White a Topic in Your Neighborhood? Why is this even an article, to start controversy?

Christ, leave Wendy alone. She is entitled to her opinion-she is out in the trenches. She works there and she sees and hears how bad it is in some of these neighborhoods. Nowhere in her comments did she say "Everyone" is a drug addict committing crimes! The fact that she is trying to help is commendable. It sounds Like Earnest has done some great work across the country, too. You both obviously have an interest in helping those less fortunate, so stop attacking each other! It's a shame that we are still conflating what is really a class issue with the race issue. There are very poor people of all races.

If this message offends anyone then build a backbone because it’s just an opinion.
The fact that anyone’s race ENTITLES them to anything disgusts me to my core. I heard everything from: People don’t like me because I’m red, white & blue to….don’t you think we deserve this because we’re blue, white & red and it’s sickening.
 
I don’t know how many times I can say this, if people don’t like you….it maybe because you’re a palterer, untrustworthy and a JERK. The fact that you happen to be red, white & blue….just makes you a red, white & blue palterer, untrustworthy JERK.
 
And for those who think they deserve anything they never EARNED…well you are worthless. The fact that you’re blue, white & red…just makes you a worthless person who happens to be blue, white & red.
 
Are their systems in place to sustain people?....ABSOLUTELY and the more you allow it the longer it will continue..........SO SPEAK UP, VOTE or SHUT UP.

I heard very little racism living in Center City. It was a very frequent topic when I lived in Mayfair and now Roxborough. A lot of folks here start off sentences with "I'm not racist, but... [followed by something extremely racist]."

Northwest Philly's lack of diversity is a selling point to some and a burden to others.

We moved here despite of the lack of other cultures and what those cultures brought to other neighborhoods, uniquely tempting eateries and grocers especially. Our willingness to lose that by moving here was a trade off for convenient access to the Schuylkill trail, Wissahickon Park, and being amongst and possibly residing in (someday) such elegant historical architecture.

I do miss the diverse ethnic cuisine and food that was available available to us in lower Northeast Philly and Center City, but lower NE Philly is rapidly deteriorating as the city continues to use it as a dumping ground for displaced Section 8 residents removed from gentrifying neighborhoods. And Center City became too expensive and crowded.

We like Roxborough, deeply ingrained racism and vanilla cuisine a grocers aside, but some proper Mexican, Brazilian, Ethiopian, Indian, or Vietnamese places similar to the wonderfully authentic Thai restaurant on Ridge would be an encouraging sign of the neighborhood's vitality and upward direction.

I think this whole race issue can be looked at with an objective historical perspective. During the Great Migration (due to industrialization and urban jobs), many southern African-American workers moved to major cities to get work. Of course, society was largely racist at the time, so these people naturally were subjected to bad neighborhoods with bad housing, bad schools, etc. These poor black urban neighborhoods continue today, and even though our society has a more open mind, we can't just undo this rut our society put black people into. Of course now we try to think of people beyond the color of their skin, but that doesn't negate nor does it fix these deeply ingrained issues. I agree that in poor neighborhoods with a historically black majority population have issues with drugs, gangs, etc, but we can't just say that it's up to them to fix a problem that white society is responsible for. I'm not asking anyone to profess how they are fixing poor neighborhoods, I'm just asking you all to understand historically why many poor urban neighborhoods are predominantly black. I hope one day all of these years of segregation and oppression can be undone, but 50 years can't undo hundreds of years of complicated societal issues.

What's most sad is to consider that the whole idea of "race" was originally made up for the purpose of uniting people, not setting them against each other.

The concept that there are different races originated with Johann Blumenbach in Germany in 1776. He wanted to combat the notion that people who looked different, such as "Ethiopians" (i.e. black Africans), were not human persons at all, as many people believed a few hundred years ago. He proposed the idea that they were every bit as human as Europeans; they were simply other "races" of human beings.

Everyone now agrees that people of all nationalities are human beings like everybody else. But now Blumenbach's concept of race is used for political exploitation, for the evil purpose of dividing people instead of uniting them as it was meant to be.

There are two Wendy's on here, I haven't made all the comments. Your posting direct quotes from posts that aren't connected to the right person.

Oh, I apologize. Are you the philanthropist reading teacher bigot or the steak shop bigot? Because both user's comments have racist undertones.