Guest-Blogging Follow Up

Pooh: In response to a question about the extent of racism in Anchorage, my mom had this to say

In response to the question, "Is racism a big problem in Alaska?" I think it's about the same as elsewhere in the US. The main targets here are Alaska Natives, who comprise about one fifth of the population. The outward signs are violence against Native women, abundant stereotypes, and neverending "jokes" about Eskimos and Indians. Results are such things as high dropout rate and low achievement in schools, incredibly (and I do mean it's incredible) high incarceration rate among Alaska Native males, and other signs that life is tough if you're an Alaska Native. Other people of color are disadvantaged in these areas as well, but not as badly.

An advantage that Anchorage has is that there are no ghettos. If you look us up on the US Census web site and click onto specific neighborhoods, you'll see that there are some all-white neighborhoods, and that they're the ones with the highest incomes. Similarly, there are neighborhoods and schools that are largely people of color. But with a couple of exceptions (my son's alma mater being an example), the high schools tend to bring everyone together and my daughter reports a pretty high level of tolerance at her former HS.

Your experience as a person taken to be other than Caucasian sounds, unfortunately, typical. I feel for you! Check out our web site, particularly the Links section, for possible info about organizations in your area.