Concentrated poverty and the creation of the underclass is the accrual of many social determinants but none more prominent than racial segregation. Douglas Massey, one of the leading experts in residential segregation in the US outlines this phenomenon in his work “American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass”. Using regression analysis, he studied the effect of racial and economic segregation and found that in cities with no racial segregation that blacks and whites showed equal rates of poverty, but in racially segregated areas blacks were much more likely to be impoverished. The data reveals that racial segregation and income segregation within race contribute decisively to poverty concentration which caused the deterioration of neighborhoods and communities (Massey 1990). In sum, this effect of racial segregation exposes the whites and blacks to different socioeconomic places or environments and leave the economic base of the of the poor blacks vulnerable to any sort of economic downturn in its economic fortunes (Massey 1990). With segregation at the root of socioeconomic disparities, we can understand how it is also a sizeable determinant in health outcomes. It is known that poverty equates to lower health but we often fail to consider the principles of intersectionality when we consider the legacy of institutional racism (Robert et al., 2010). Ethnic minorities, predominantly African American communities, have been subjected to a disproportionate level of negative social determinants due to …show more content…
In the lower and middle classes, the biggest financial asset to accrue wealth is real estate (Pager & Shepherd, 2008). However, segregation caused appreciation to rise at different rates causing predominantly African American neighborhoods to lose value and generate wealth inequality. This process began by government sanctioned racism and segregation, first in the form of Jim Crow laws
Though social problems affect a wide variety of people from all races, classes, and cultures; minorities, specifically African Americans, encounter social problems on a multi-dimensional basis. Poverty, employment rates, discrimination, and other social problems strike African Americans in such a way that it is nearly impossible to separate them; each individual has different background, socially and physically, that would determine in which order his or her social problems need to be solved. Impoverished blacks in the inner city may have difficulty finding or keeping jobs, while others may have jobs, but face troubles with work discrimination that prevent them from moving upward .Underemployment, workplace inequalities, and unbalanced medical attention are three closely related social problems that, if ameliorated together, could increase upward mobility, decrease poverty levels, and tighten the lifespan gaps for not only blacks, but also other minority groups. The purpose of this paper is to show what effects these three problems have for blacks.
“Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture.” (Grant) In layman’s terms, gentrification is when white people move to a black neighborhood for the sake of cheaper living, and in turn, raise up property values and force black neighbors to leave because of a higher price of living. Commonly, the government supports gentrification with the demolition of public housing in areas that are developing with more white neighbors. This is causing a decreasing amount of African Americans to be able to afford to live in the neighborhood as their homes are taken away from them, forcing them to relocate. Whilst gentrification normally has negative connotations, there are several people who believe gentrification brings about “an upward trend in property values in previously neglected neighborhoods.” (Jerzyk) On the other hand, this new trend in property value and business causes those...
As the narrator addresses in heavy detail in the book, the notion that African Americans reduce property values is completely false. Oftentimes, the neighborhoods are on the brink of decline before an African American family moved in, and it was instead the whites mass panic to sell their homes after they moved in that resulted in the steep decline of property values in the area. This was shown with Ida Mae’s story, as after years of saving up money to buy their own home, they moved into a white part of town, however, as soon as they moved all the white neighbors immediately fled, and with the surplus of of housing, the pricing dropped substantially. Despite this whole notion being false, it persists through today and causes white flight from certain
Charles, Camille (2003). The dynamics of racial residential segregation. Annual Review of Sociology, 167. Retrieved from http://jstor.org/stable/30036965.
In the level of institutionalized racism, it is what all community organizers strive to overcome. This form of racism entails the power and access to materials that everyone should be able to obtain. When there is racism involved, there is a level of differentiation in the access that each race is entitled to. For example, Blacks have less access to nutritional food and health care when the live in an urban residential area. These inequities are the result of an institutionalized difference between racial groups and it may lead to health disparities. Dr. Jones believes that the root of association between socioeconomic status and race in the United States is in direct correlation to this form of racism.
The New York Times Editorial Board, in their article How Segregation Destroys Black Wealth (2015), argues that African Americans have been — and still are — discriminated against when buying property, resulting in the sprawl of poverty stricken, predominantly black neighborhoods. The Editorial Board supports this argument by providing historical evidence and analysis of the issue. They specify that “The Federal Housing Administration, created during the New Deal to promote homeownership, openly supported these racist measures; it forbade lending to black people even as it subsidized white families that moved from the cities to the suburbs. Cut off from
Morton explains that political, institutional, and structural factors lead to the segregation of poverty in minority communities because of their lack of access to educational and health service, reliable public transportation, and job (Morton 275). Morton recognizes that the achievement gap goes much deeper than the education realm and she believes
Housing segregation is as the taken for granted to any feature of urban life in the United States (Squires, Friedman, & Siadat, 2001). It is the application of denying minority groups, especially African Americans, equal access to housing through misinterpretation, which denies people of color finance services and opportunities to afford decent housing. Caucasians usually live in areas that are mostly white communities. However, African Americans are most likely lives in areas that are racially combines with African Americans and Hispanics. A miscommunication of property owners not giving African American groups gives an accurate description of available housing for a decent area. This book focuses on various concepts that relates to housing segregation and minority groups living apart for the majority group.
So why would one have the connection with minorities and poverty? Could there possibly be some sort of relation between race and class? This all started with our Federal Housing Agency or the FHA. In the book The Possessive Investment in Whiteness the author George Lipsitz put extensive research into how the FHA started and how its agency ties into minorities receiving loans or the lack of. In 1934 the FHA was provided from the government who then gave the agency’s power to private home lenders, and this is when racial biasness came into place through selective home loans. Lipsitz says “[the] Federal Housing Agency’s confidential surveys and appraiser’s manuals channeled almost all of the loan money toward whites and away from communities of color”(5). These surveys were conducted by the private lenders who had free reign to prove the loans to whomever they want. Because the minorities did not get a chance to receive the FHA loans that they needed, they are then forced to live in urban areas instead of suburban neighborhoods. There was this underground suburban segregation going on with these private lenders, which would then greatly diminish better opportunities for minorities to live in better neighborhoods.
Despite general declining rates of morbidity and mortality in the United States over the past century, African-Americans still find themselves at a health disadvantage and account for more than 40% of diagnosed cases of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, obesity and cancer . Studies within the fields of sociology and public health have directed their focus towards individual-level determinants of health such as socio-economic status and individual health behaviors. However, there has been insufficient attention to how and why place and neighborhood contribute to racial/ethnic health disparities. This analysis examines the health implication of racial segregation as a result of gentrification on African Americans, explores systems of segregation measurement, and proposes ways to move beyond traditional public health and health care approaches to impact relevant policy.
People commonly believe that property values decline when blacks or non-white move into a neighborhood. However, the real reason why property values decline is because of whites moving away and taking their resources with them. White homebuyers fear that property values will decline rapidly when nonwhite residents begin moving into a neighborhood. What they do not take into consideration is that the nonwhite residents may be their socioeconomic equals. Instead, they focus on race—they categorize individuals into socioeconomic classes on the basis of race. When whites or well-intentioned residents move away, businesses and jobs soon follow suit, thus, creating improvised neighborhoods.
Segregation still exists in the world today, racial divides affect many individuals in the areas of healthcare, education, access to mortgages, etc. (Mago, Vijay K et al. “Analyzing the Impact of Social Factors on Homelessness: A Fuzzy Cognitive Map Approach.) Black americans are most affected by homelessness. In the article written by the New York Times, the rate of black families attending homeless shelters is 7 times higher than white families. (Nagourney, Adam. “Old and on the Street: The Graying of America's Homeless.) It is no secret that whites are given priority, and privilege over people of other races. Most African Americans grow up in poverty, and it is hard for them to move up in social class because they are not given as many opportunities as others. White men and women are given privilege over others, which causes an effect on society. According to
most powerful signs of the racial divide in the United States. Marginalized and the poor remains
William Julius Wilson creates a thrilling new systematic framework to three politically tense social problems: “the plight of low-skilled black males, the persistence of the inner-city ghetto, and the fragmentation of the African American family” (Wilson, 36). Though the conversation of racial inequality is classically divided. Wilson challenges the relationship between institutional and cultural factors as reasons of the racial forces, which are inseparably linked, but public policy can only change the racial status quo by reforming the institutions that support it.
Despite increased diversity across the country, America’s neighborhoods remain highly segregated along racial and ethnic lines. Residential segregation, particularly between African-Americans and whites, persists in metropolitan areas where minorities make up a large share of the population. This paper will examine residential segregation imposed upon African-Americans and the enormous costs it bears. Furthermore, the role of government will be discussed as having an important role in carrying out efforts towards residential desegregation. By developing an understanding of residential segregation and its destructive effects, parallels may be drawn between efforts aimed at combating such a grave societal problem and furthering social justice.