My Urban Diversity course
recently began its unit on Race and Ethnicity. One of the articles we read
focused on racial residential segregation. Legally, residential segregation by
race was theoretically outlawed in 1963 through the Fair Housing Act, however
by the 1980s, few of the major metropolitan areas with the largest black
populations had less than 70 percent segregated residential areas. “The
Continuing Causes of Segregation” argued that the spatial separation of blacks and
whites in America is in greater part due to racism than classism (which is a
common scapegoat for racial tensions). The authors supported this statement by
showing how increased economic status for blacks did not lead to decreased
residential segregation. They also noted that this was particularly true for
blacks as compared to Hispanics or Asians whose residential segregation
significantly (though not completely) decreases as class status increases. The
article was published in American
Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass in 1993. Though the
publication is just as old as I am—and its data older—I would argue that it
points to an issue of continuing relevancy today.
Think about Memphis outside
of the Rhodes community. The city is known for its “majority minority” status,
yet that does not automatically make it an integrated city. Class certainly
shows stark contrasts amongst the community, but so does the spatial separation
of race. Here is a map of Memphis. The various colored dots represent different
races living in the area. The more solid the color, the more segregated the
community:
*check out this website (https://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/sets/72157626354149574/)
for more race and ethnicity maps*
In class we have begun
talking about the reconstruction and the spectrum of community building
strategies employed by blacks of the time. I have to emphasize that the issues
that arise out of present-day racial residential segregation do not stem from
the realization of separatist ideology, but a long history of economic,
political, and social discrimination in the housing market and society. These sometimes-subtle
policies have encouraged and supported white privilege and power making it
easier for whites to move from undesired neighborhoods, to have access to
higher quality school districts, and to provide economic opportunities and
flourishing commercial districts in their immediate community. This January,
BBC News published an article (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35255835) highlighting to the international community the historic and continued racism
propagated by the U.S. housing market. The article highlights that even in less
segregated cities, individuals are still shown houses in specific communities
based on the color of their skin when not asked to do so.
2.) Referencing the post on Racial Residential Segregation, I will comment on the fact that the segregation does not only lie from the stigma of racism. People of certain demographics are born into a certain socio-economic class, neglecting race. It is an interesting to think about from this perspective. Growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts, people of the same ethnic background prefer to live in the same neighborhood rather than desegregate. It can be inferred that this is merely an inner-social tendency rather than stigma enforced by society. In terms of reconstruction, we cannot tell people to negate their own preference of where they feel best comfortable living. For example, I would not want to live in the projects of Memphis because I merely would not thrive in a neighborhood of that nature. We can only take strides to create a society where people have an equal opportunity to live wherever they please. This is not the government we do not strive for equal representation in neighborhoods around the world.
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