Racial segregation is a problem that
has been going on throughout America’s history, and this continues to be
perpetuated in today’s modern cities.
Chicago is a prime exemplar of such cities that display an observable
amount of racial segregation in much of its communities. Segregation has become engraved in the city’s
infrastructure, and plays a big role in the current state of certain
neighborhoods. This week’s readings from
Massey and Denton’s book, American
Apartheid, touch base on the different dimensions of segregation that are
entirely apparent in the districts of Chicago.
These dimensions are important to note, considering how each directly
apply to some of the worst neighborhoods that a majority of Black residents are
forced to endure.
Englewood is one of the most
penurious regions in the South side of Chicago.
This neighborhood is infamous for its high occurrence of crime, low
academic performance in schools, and all around low living conditions.
A blog post by Kari Lydersen highlights certain
characteristics of Englewood that correlate with Massey and Denton’s distinct
dimensions of segregation.
Lydersen’s
post, Can Englewood Be Saved?, explains how Englewood began deteriorating not
soon after African Americans began moving in, the building of the Dan Ryan
being one of the reasons of the shift to this specific area.
Racial segregation ran its course as the
majority of non-Black residents moved out of Englewood.
Institutional discrimination discouraged the
district’s ability to flourish by inhibiting business openings, rejecting loans
to those wanting to buy a home in a predominantly African American
neighborhood, and under-funding organizations that are meant to assist the
livelihood of the youth.
Lydersen adds
that men in this neighborhood worry about getting jumped, while women worry
about getting raped.
The examples mentioned from
Lydersen’s blog post relates to Massey and Denton’s dynamics of unevenness and
isolation in that most of its Black inhabitants moved in when much of its White
population moved out, creating an area that is predominantly Black.
Lydersen also notes that Englewood hadn’t
always been this deprived of a neighborhood back in the late 1800’s and mid
1900’s.
But since the racial shift in
the area’s residents, Blacks have become, what Massey and Denton would say as,
clustered in the city’s periphery of Englewood and West Englewood.
Another dimension of segregation that is
presented in Englewood is centralization.
Referring back to Lydersen’s blog, it states that Englewood and West
Englewood are part of the top three neighborhoods with the highest number of
foreclosed properties.
Schools in this
area are under probation for low academic standing, as well as large grocery
stores and fine dining restaurants being absent in the region.
Crime is constant in Englewood, particularly
with homicide and violent crime.
These
characteristics are common in neighborhoods that are centralized away from the
central business district, as explained in Chapter 3 of this week’s reading.
Massey and Denton view the Black
community as the most racially segregated group out of all other racial groups
in America.
When looking into the
ghettos in Chicago, it is evident how much of the population is skewed to
having higher Black occupants compared to Whites.
In reference to Chapter 3 in the book,
American Apartheid, it is stated that
Chicago is one of the cities with the highest amount of racial segregation as
compared to other metropolitan areas.
Because of this racial unevenness, neighborhoods such as Englewood
continue to maintain their isolation from the more opportunistic parts of the
city and therefore continue to be more and more detached from achieving
economic growth.
The example of Englewood is meant to show
a concrete example of Massey and Denton’s dimensions of segregation. Having a larger proportion of Blacks in a
given community, especially in Chicago, may increase that community’s inclination
to turn into a ghetto if it isn’t one currently. There are many poverty stricken neighborhoods
throughout the Chicago area, and it is evident that most of the population
residing in these neighborhoods is more likely than not to be of
African-American descent. The different
impacts of living under segregation truly restrain the residents living in
these ghettos from experiencing a lifestyle that is commonly seen outside of
their region. This may further encourage
Black residents to remain in these areas because this kind of culture is the
only one they have been exposed to.
Racial segregation is one strategy that determines the amount of fortune
a given neighborhood may be able to accumulate, and it unfortunately controls
the living prospects for the people who fall victim to it.
References: Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton. 1993. American Apartheid. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
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