Chicago Social Issues

During the mid-20th century there was much racial discrimination, specifically in home ownership. During this period there was mass immigration of Southern blacks to the north. In Lawndale Chicago, there was adverse reactions to this. As the

In this paper I will discuss what forms of oppression there are in Chicago. Next, what cause or drive oppression. Third, how oppression affects clients. Fourth, how the United States’ cultural structure encourages or discourages privilege and /or disadvantage. Fifth, why privilege or discrimination continues. Last, what are effective strategies that oppressed groups can use to take back power?

A racially segregated Chicago had experienced few race riots prior to 1919. However, between April 1919 and October 1919, race riots spanned the nation; this became known as the Red Summer. On July 27, 1919, Chicagoans started to express their emotions on racial issues, which turned into violence, lasting several days and resulting in the deaths, injuries, and displacement of hundreds of people. During this time, Chicagoans opinions regarding racism led to extreme chaos, leaving African Americans and whites fighting with each other for wealth and opportunities. The relatively-invisible line between blacks and whites in Chicago became bolder, deepening the rift between the races. As a result of the gruesome events that occurred in the summer of 1919, segregation in Chicago deepened. Chicago city officials created the Chicago Commission of Race Relations, comprised of six whites and six blacks, with the goal of solving large racial issues in Chicago, such as housing for blacks and job competition. Today, Chicago is more desegregated, but it was an arduous journey and is still a work in progress. It is still a predominant issue, and there are many recurring examples of racial violence in Chicago currently. This makes racial inequality an even more important issue in Chicago communities, and the legacy of this racial violence continues to haunt this persistently segregated city.

The Progressive Era began in the year 1890 through 1920; During this time many things in the country were evolving such as Social Justice, Government Efficiency, Suffrage Movements, Prohibition, and the list continues. Jane Adams being a fighter and standing up for what she believed in was described as being “bold as a lion” (20 yr) growing up and, through her adult years when initiating change in the way the government and society assist with the impoverished. Adams established the Hull House with Ellen Gates Star “on the 18th of September, 1889”(20 yr.). This started the movement that is know as the Settlement House Movement. “The purpose of the Hull House as stated in its character was “to provide a center for a higher civic and social life; to institute and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises, and to investigate and improve the conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago”(Addams, 1910, p. 89)”(Jane addams and social reform a role model for the 1990s). Although Jane Adams was mainly known for her work in the Hull House and being the 'mother of social work ', she also caused many reforms that affected the entity of the way the United States went about reforming.

In “The Complexities and Processes of Racial Housing discrimination” by Vincent J. Roscigno, Diana L. Karafin, and Griff tester, the main concept of racial disparity and inequality among neighborhoods is discussed, and how those inequalities became to be. They first highlight the wide range of potentially exclusionary practices, through qualitative and quantitative data comprised of over 750 verified housing discrimination cases (Roscigno, p. 162). Citing the U.S. Census, it is found that Blacks, compared to Hispanics and Asians, continue to experience high levels of residential segregation. This is done through discriminatory practices, whether they be by exclusionary or non-exclusionary methods. Even after the passing of the Fair Housing Act in 1988, discrimination against Blacks and Hispanics decreased somewhat, though African Americans still appeared to take part in racial steering, and Hispanics continued to have limitations in regards to opportunities and access to rental units (Roscigno, p. 163).

With the advancement of thinking in the United States since the Jim Crow era, shouldn’t school segregation be a thing of the past? Well, this is an ongoing epidemic in the United States, and it has a dangerous effect on the youth. School segregation rates are at an all time high, and the main reason for this increase is residential segregation, or segregation of neighborhoods. Although school segregation can be a result of economic policy, housing policies have a greater influence on segregation. Many neighborhoods that are classified as low income, have a negative connotation attached with them. This causes a difference in funding of schools located in those districts, and those students end up paying the price.

On July 27, 1919, a young African-American man named Eugene Williams unknowingly swam past an invisible line of segregation at a public beach on Lake Michigan. He was then stoned by white bystanders, knocked unconscious and drowned. The death of Eugene Williams set off one of the deadliest and bloodiest riots Chicago has ever seen. I also believe that the labor conflict was another major reason as to why these riots took place. While there were several other factors that contribute to the Chicago race riot, I believe that these particular events are what sparked all the madness.

how it has faded tremendously from the historic sense of Chicago being a city of strong

When driving through any state in America, it is hard not to notice the segregation that often establishes itself throughout the neighborhoods; there exists a clear distinction what streets are predominantly populated by White, Black, Hispanic, Arab, or other racial groups. According to recent analysis of the U.S. Census Data, “Chicago is the most diverse city, as well as the most segregated” (chicago.cbslocal.com). This raises the question of whether or not Chicago has also joined the bandwagon of so many cities across the United States where it has become an accepted social circumstance that every ethnic, racial, political, or religious group in a community must stand alone to overcome their own struggles and “fight their own battles”. Chicago is a city that defies the pattern of separation in activism. Chicago has become the symbol not

Chicago in the 1920s was a turning point for the development of ethnic neighborhoods. After the opening of the first rail connection from New York to Chicago in the 1840s, immigration sky rocketed from that point on. Majority of the immigrants to Chicago were Europeans. The Irish, Italians, eastern European Jews, Germans, and Mexicans were among the most common ethnicities to reside in Chicago. These groups made up the greater part of Chicago. The sudden increase in immigration to Chicago in the 1920s soon led to an even further distinguished separation of ethnicities in neighborhoods. The overall development of these neighborhoods deeply impacted how Chicago is sectioned off nowadays. Without these ethnicities immigrating to Chicago

This isn't techincally segregation because there's no rule saying that the races cannot be mixed in these areas, but it ends up being that white people won't want to move to black neighborhoods, black people won't want to move to white neighborhoods, and the neighborhoods remain separated. There are also many cases of racial profiling today by police officers. Data shows that young black men are more likely to be stopped and frisked on the street than young white men. There are many cases where police officers have gone too far in terms of force in relation to a incident involving young black men. In big cities, it's quite dangerous to be a young black man, for often times you'll be the subject to unfair stops and unneeded force by police officers. Race also can judge whether or not you'll even be hired at a job. There are often times where, if you're black and have a nearly identical resume as a white person, that person will get the job over you. Racism is still very present in today's society despite laws that pervent segregation and discrimination based on

It is the opposite in Denver. Despite significant populations of different racial groups in both cities, integration in terms of housing location is difficult to achieve. Using an index of dissimilarity, which compares the distribution of racial groups across census tracts, and an exposure index, which shows the likelihood of an average member of a racial group living in a census tract with a higher percentage of members from another racial group, I will compare the two cities in terms of how segregated (or integrated) they have become between 1980 and

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

Racial segregation has had a long history in Chicago. While separation by nationality had always been apparent in the city, with neighborhoods typically being dominated by a certain ethnicity, no group of Chicagoans experienced the degree of segregation that African Americans faced in everything from the housing districts to public services. Forced to live only in designated areas by de facto segregation, redlining, and other tactics, they had limited chances to escape the cycle of danger and discrimination of the city. Confined to only their deteriorating neighborhoods,they had little chance.

It was a way to constraint African Americans to areas that were far away from those with status, class, and power. Segregation led to discrimination in economic opportunities, housing, and education. The black culture has suffered from the barriers that were placed through segregation. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 tried to limit some of the discrimination associated with segregation. It was discovered that even a “rising economic status had little or no effect on the level of segregation that blacks experience” (Massey and Denton 87). The authors imply that “black segregation would remain a universal high” (Massey and Denton 88). The problem with the continuing causes in Segregation is that even though the Fair Housing act was placed, many realtors still discriminate against blacks “through a series of ruses, lies, and deceptions, makes it hard for them to learn about, inspect, rent, or purchase homes in white neighborhoods” (Massey and Denton 97). Segregation and discrimination have a cumulative effect over time. Massey and Denton argued that the “act of discrimination may be small and subtle, together they have a powerful cumulative effect in lowering the probability of black entry into white neighborhood” (98). William Julius Wilson had