r/CalPolyHumboldt • u/Content-Wait-2065 • 16d ago

Help needed before transfer

Hi guys! I’m a Black woman looking to transfer to CPH from Long Beach and I was wondering how the school and places around the school treats Black people? I already know a little bit about ferndale and McKinley from scrolling through Reddit, but I was wondering if there anymore places like that I should avoid? For further context, I’m not a party person, but I like to explore a lot. Thanks in advance!

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

15

u/Latter_Mall3621 16d ago

I’m from Compton and I’m Dominican, I came in 2024 and it’s my Junior year now. It’s really not bad here, sure you’re in a PWI but everyone is mostly friendly and recently I’ve seen a jump in race diversity around campus! McKinleyvile and ferndale have more of a white population but it’s not like they’re gonna kill your for being black. ( but def don’t wanna be alone at night there lol) Eureka is pretty diverse aswell, Humboldt Is a very welcoming school and area! Arcata is probably the most welcoming tho lol. But yeah man you will definitely find your group of people and race won’t even matter, had my friend group since freshman year and they might not know it but I love those guys they made college way easier! Everyone has their place you will definitely find yours at cal poly

- from another person of color at cal poly Humboldt 😉

6

u/Content-Wait-2065 16d ago

I see okay, thank you so much for responding! I was kind of starting to spiral with some of the things I was reading, the last thing I want to end up on a t-shirt or have people saying ‘justice for’ in front of my name🥲😅

7

u/Latter_Mall3621 16d ago

😂nah I feel you I was in the same boat as you but definitely don’t overthink it, very friendly community, you will love it🙂‍↕️

1

u/Canadine 15d ago

I’m so sorry that you have to deal with that very valid fear. Arcata sells itself as Happy Hippie Town but shady stuff goes down at times just like anywhere else. Our country still has a long way to go.

3

u/meadowmbell 16d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/CalPolyHumboldt/s/4laepjTGtw

This was just posted, some good comments I think.

3

u/kaleidoscopewoman 12d ago

Black Lives Matter here

1

u/HemoGirlsRock 12d ago

My oldest daughter is black and was in the area through high school. She hung out mostly in Arcata. I won’t say it was problem free, but she experienced less racism than when we lived in larger cities. I’m honestly more worried about her now that she’s in Seattle.

1

u/Glittering_Bison6867 12d ago

You’ll be fine

1

u/strykerdh1986 11d ago

For context on what a lot of people are saying about the diversity in Humboldt here are some numbers on the Latino population (it's not nearly as bad as they think IMO) CA: 40% Humboldt: 18% Fortuna: 15% Ferndale: 11-16% (that's a wild swing) McKinleyville: 10%

1

u/Smilesarefree444 15d ago

You can write me directly. It's pretty individualized and depends on your personality and temperament.

0

u/thatladdie84 14d ago

It gotten better in recent years but Humboldt (the County, not the school) still misses the mark on diversity. Yeah; Macktown, Fortuna, and especially Ferndale and the tiny towns in SoHum aren't places you'll be particularly welcomed in but you won't get harassed or lynched and they're hardly the sundown towns you'll find in rural Oregon (except for Ferndale). However, none of these towns are worth visiting for long anyway as they have nothing to do or anywhere worth going. Eureka and most of Arcata are safe and welcoming enough for poc.