WOC moving to Albany
Hello
I have a friend who is interested in moving to Albany. I told her I would ask this community. She likes the sense of community but she is concerned with whether or not being a WOC would be an issue in Albany. I have never lived in Albany but have visited friends there. From personal experience years ago I had issues with police. I am also a WOC and was pulled over a couple of times for little things i.e going a couple of miles over the speed limit (on buchanan). I was wondering if this is the same issue now and if being a resident versus a nonresident makes a difference.
Mar 10, 2021
Parent Replies
Don't know what your definition of "a couple of miles over the speed limit" on Buchanan is, but that would give me pause, since I don't think I've ever driven down Buchanan without someone tailgating me because I had the audacity to drive at the speed limit rather than 5 mph [or more] above -- despite that lovely flashing sign outside the police/fire station. Never seen anyone stopped. Of course, most of them were probably white.
My wife is a WOC and she has not had any issues. She is still afraid of the police. From my perspective, I never see the police behind me, so I think the patrols may be infrequent or not on the routes we drive. A POC friend of ours in the University Village was not served in a bar once on Solano and the community is overwhelmingly White, Asian, and wealthy. People are mostly friendly. My wife also heard about a POC in Albany that moved away because he was getting the cops called on him so much by the neighbors. The police told him, in a non threatening way, that he may have to just move to avoid getting the cops called on him.
We are here for the schools and proximity to things we enjoy, and there is more diversity than where we came from. Ultimately my wife has not had any issues but still has a healthy fear of the police, and the station is no more than a mile or two from anywhere in Albany.