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- In Silicon Valley, all races collaborate, live & work together, and we thrive. I'm a Detroit-area native here, living in the Bay Area for over a decade. I once had the same impression about the Bay Area - that it had figured out harmonious race relations. In fact, it was one of the things (in addition to the tech industry) that drew me out here from Michigan. But I have come to the realization over the years that it was an illusion, and beneath the surface are actually highly economically/racially segregated zones (SV/E.PaloAlto & East SJ, Central SF/Bayview, Oakland Hills / Flats, etc). All these are juxtaposed by signifiant race and class divisions (I'm speaking in aggregate, we all know plenty of individuals who are exceptions). I'm always surprised at how unwilling many folks in SV are to acknowledge the historical racial dimensions the of current inequality crisis in the Bay Area. I attribute a lot of it to well intended idealism that is uninformed (as I was) about the tumultuous racial history of the Bay Area, which included many of the same factors as Detroit: white flight, inner-city disinvestment, corrupt governance, manufacturing decline, division/destruction of communities by freeways, and suburbanization. |