He proceeds with a description of the many social problems affecting the black community in Philadelphia, with particular interest in those living in the Seventh Ward. He narrowed his survey to this area in order to provide accurate information about housing conditions and social class. The author used census data to identify wider general trends regarding the issues of population distribution, marital status and literacy. Du Bois used ethnographic data to cover topics on prejudice, crime and discrimination. A historical analysis was used to provide a broad context for comprehending the development of various issues like growth of support structures such as churches and community development of the black people in Philadelphia…
The article titled, “Root Shock: The Consequences of African American Dispossession”, penned by Mindy Thompson Fullilove, delves deep into the phenomenon of urban renewal. Now, the author goes on to elucidate how urban renewal was a process among many that went on to contribute to the de-urbanization of the cities of the United States. This happened during the last half of the 20th century (Fullilove 73). The writing highlights the fact that urban renewal was a very vital federal policy that went on to impact the lives of innumerable people of the United States. Hundreds of cities and thousands of communities were affected by this federal policy.…
“In the early 1940’s, Detroit was at its industrial zenith, leading the nation in economic escape from the Great Depression” (Sugrue 19). However, today Detroit does not carry the same legacy’s it once did. It wasn’t until after WWII that Detroit suffered this shift. In his book, “The Origins of the Urban Crisis”, historian Thomas Sugrue strives to give an explanation to this shift and find the answer to why Detroit has become the site of persistent racialized poverty and what exactly caused the urban crisis in post WWII Detroit.…
However, cities in America are still racially segregated today; the white still hold a bias against the minorities of being second-class citizens, and the real estate industry has a historical preference of white homeowners. If the process of racial desegregation is a road, the minorities are driving so slowly hoping to achieve the goal one day while worrying if their family members, who are the majority of the United States, will welcome them, and if real estate businessmen will limit them to a segregated housing market because of the businessmen’s goal of maximizing profit. In this paper, I would focus on experiences of African Americans and argue that housing policies did not effectively promote housing integration because the white segregate…
America blossomed in the 1950’s. The economy was booming; household gadgets, like refrigerators, were becoming more widely available, and suburbs developed, separating people from the chaos of a city and creating a small-town environment. As the middle class of the suburbs expanded, however, so did the widening division between the white and black opportunities. Blacks were left without the prospects whites had to improve their lives. This inequality created tension within the black community as some searched for any outlet to gain control over their lives.…
In contrast, the red areas with a “D” rating outlined the neighborhoods that were ineligible for FHA backing since African Americans lived in those areas (Coates). Coates argues that even though these discriminatory practices do not exist today, the African American community still suffers economically from those consequences. For example, “the income gap between black and white households is roughly the same today as it was in 1970.” As mentioned in lecture, the segregation of the 1930s assisted in forming the ghettos of…
According to Wilson, “the experiences of poor inner-city blacks represent the influence more than just race.” Thomas Sugrue, author of, The Origins of the Urban Crisis, delves into the true immergence…
The legacy of racial discrimination and oppression towards people of black descent in America, is one of inequality and mistreatment. In “Being Poor, Black, and American,” William Wilson writes about three types of forces that hinder the progress of blacks in society: political, economic, and cultural. Society’s dialogue on the current socio-economic status of most African Americans leans towards blaming blacks for their own lack of effort and judgment; however, these situations are deeply rooted in factors beyond the control of most ordinary black folk: the government’s deliberate initiatives to create of internal ghettos with project standards of living, the lack of circulation into minority communities, the transition away from a physical…
In chapter three, “Black Faces in High Places”, Taylor discusses the rise of Black political power and its consequences for the Black poor and working class. Johnson’s War on Poverty and Great Society programs, between 1965 and 1972, created many job opportunities for Black workers. African Americans became wealthy enough to “live in spacious homes, buy luxury goods, travel abroad on vacation, spoil their children- to live, in other words, just like well-to-do white folks” (81). The emergence of the black middle class, allowed many Black elected officials to represent Black communities. The experiences of this small African American group became success stories of “how hard work could enable Blacks to overcome institutional challenges” (82).…
These economic and political aspects had greatly defined social homogeny and stratification. Although this book focuses on a study about the historic rise and the renewal of Chicago’s North Kenwood–Oakland neighborhood, Pattillo firmly states that "... this book is not a study in the causes and consequences of gentrification," (Pattillo, 20). However, it is about urban renewal, public housing, and mixed-income communities where the Black community negotiate with each other, the outside players, and various layers of public decisions that frame what is preferable and what is possible…
The greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa,Oklahoma housed one of the most successful black economies in American history. The area is now commonly referred to as’’ The Black Wall Street’’. Most of the business and homes were burned down in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. The team’’Nero Wall Street’’was coined by none other than famed African-American author and educator, Booker T Washington.…
Gentrification has been a big topic throughout the years. Gentrification is when the high and middle class population come into a poor neighborhoods and reclaim them. During this process an abundance of homes are rebuilt and the poorer class are being replace. Gentrification has extremely negative effects on inner city communities that are generally populated by African Americans. These communities suffer from the effects of gentrification for years by losing their homes and businesses to a higher class of people.…
Moreover, in addition to the segregation of public housing black peoples’ poor economic status at the time led to many blacks being crowded into segregated urban slums, due to a combination of economics, migration patterns from the south, and racist practices like redlining. When these slums began to be cleared black residents were displaced at high rates, leaving many with few options in terms of housing. Ultimately “they had the choice of either moving into public housing projects or to other slum areas, where they paid higher rents because the overall supply of low rent housing units was rapidly dwindling,” (Judd, Swanstorm 184) leaving the black community segregated, poor, and unaccepted by society. Even after the failure to integrate public housing, and the relocation of many black people into public housing, racism and stereotyping of black people continued to be pushed on by Republican administrations.…
Written in 1933, The Mis-Education of the Negro provided a platform of discussion in terms of the debilitating state of African-American education during the 20th century. The thesis’ author, Carter G. Woodson, relays information about the education system of his time and how that same system has propelled blacks to seek lower-level positions on the social-economic totem pole. Though, this thesis was written many decades ago, the black community is still suffering; I personally believe that many of the things affecting some black communities today can be remedied if more businesses were black owned and reinvested in their community. Now, those of you who have read The Mis-Education of the Negro know that the author discusses several factors…
Many commentators have claimed that this concentration of poverty has produced enormously negative societal consequences.” Written by Michael R. Diamond, these two sentences describe perfectly how public housing was used as a tool for segregation and aided in the failure of…