How Did Segregation Affect Chicago

A large influx of colored people created many problems. First, there was a major problem in the availability in housing, of which was responded to with racism. This is the root for the hatred between the black and white communities. There wasn’t enough housing in the “black belt” community, so Negroes began to spill into white neighborhoods. The very existence of a colored person in a neighborhood would lower the property values. When a house was sold to a colored person, the rent for the house would be higher than the previous, white owner’s rent. Real Estate companies believed that “it is a matter of common knowledge that house after house…whether under white or black agents, comes to the Negro at an increased rental” (Sandburg 46). They sold housing despite the fact that “the Negro in Chicago, paid a lower wage than the white workman” (47), and that black people would have

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

According to Daily Life... (Kaldin, 2000) the population of suburban areas during the 1950s had started to double from 36 million to 74 million. This rise in suburban residents had continued from 1950 to 1970.When more families had started to move to suburban areas, they came together by adding things such as playgrounds, libraries, and schools to the neighborhood to benefit their kids. This “flight to the suburbs” was difficult for blacks because of the racism in society at the time. Many black people were ignored and shunned at this time in society, so it was hard for blacks to move into suburbs knowing that they could be ridiculed in these areas because of their skin color.

Today we live in a society where it is acceptable for a white and black family to be neighbors, even close friends. This situation has not always been the case. During the 1950’s, the time that the Younger family was living in Chicago, whites and blacks were living completely separate lives and a majority of the blacks were living in poverty. Although there are significant improvements we have made, there are still things that remain the same. Many African Americans in Chicago today are still living in poverty, just like they were over 50 years ago. Two important changes have occurred during these years. Our race relations between whites and blacks have improved tremendously. Today it is completely acceptable for two different colored families to be living next door to each other. The second significant change is not as positive. The homicide rates per 100,000 people have gone up by almost 10 times the amount it was in the 50’s. Many sociologist believe that the cycle of multigenerational poverty causes violence in the mostly black communities, therefore raising the homicide rates. Even though as a city we have improved our race relations there are still problems such as the rising homicide rates and percent of people living in poverty.

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

During the time of the civil rights movement, milwaukee was considered to be one of the most segregated cities at the time. An extensive amount of African American had moved to the city during and after world war II, and by the time of the civil rights movement, the black community had accounted for 15 percent of Milwaukee’s population . It isn’t a surprise that majority of African Americans in Milwaukee lived in the north side of the city, which accumulated increasing volatility due to limited job opportunities, poverty, and segregation.Racial segregation in Milwaukee and around the world has always been a phenomenon with intricate historical roots. The complex history of slavery, employment discrimination, tax inequity, redlining, discriminatory housing policies, and multiple other issue have lead Milwaukee to be segregated. Despite the fact that Milwaukee’s has a unique history, social forces and government policies created and reinforced residential segregation throughout the united states, so why is Milwaukee worse than most cities in America? Well suburban housing is more expensive than city housing and another thing that distinguishes metro Milwaukee from other areas is the incredible racial disparity in median household incomes in metro Milwaukee, which prevents many minorities from being able to afford suburban housing. So segregation is a huge problem in the milwaukee metro area because of the racial disparity in median household incomes, education, and

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.

What is segregation? Segregation is set apart or separation of people or things from others or from the main body or group. (dictionary.com) In the 1930s African Americans did not have the right to vote. The policy of segregation meant that blacks had their own churches, schools, football teams, and even their own cemeteries. The Great Depression also took place in the 1930s. The economic crisis of the 1930s, the Great Depression, is one of the most studied periods in American history. Racism was at a high point in the 1930s.

Chicago is a beautiful city with many different people and things to learn or experience; however, it is a city of segregation, and it has been that way for a long time. Even though it may not be quite visible today, it still happening thorough our city. However, what is so special about ethnicity that people have to hate on each other? Is it because we all are born with different backgrounds or is it because we are raised to hate others? In the history of Chicago’s segregation, we learn about how the whites are seen as the superior beings than others in America. Moreover, we all have seen and learn how race is displayed through our media. Additionally, we all have grown up attaining knowledge from our elders, and we learn about values in life. The society of Chicago are segregated by our history, media, and standards.

Housing and racial discrimination of the 1950's and 1960's can not start without the discussion of the great migration of African Americans. African Americans left the south and moved to the north to large cities like Portland, Detroit, Seattle and topic at hand Chicago. In search of new lives and to avoid tough segregation laws blacks flooded the Chicago area. According to online reports more than 6 million African Americans moved up north from 1916 to 1970. The mistreatment of the southerners and segregation alone was a huge incentive for African Americans to leave the south.

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

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.

The immigrants from abroad and the African-Americans both left their homelands of restricted opportunities and sought to find better ones. The African-Americans came without proper clothing and skills, unaware of the future obstacles ahead. Their environment and surroundings were significantly different in the South than the lively cities in the North. Before migrating, the African-Americans lives consisted of mainly working in the fields in the blistering, hot sun, or working as servants or tenants for white property owners; they had never laid eyes upon a building or factory. For the immigrants, coming to urban America was an enormous change as well. They were oblivious to the American culture, American politics and economics, and were unable to read or speak English, in most cases. While settling in the northern cities, there were certain harsh conditions that the African Americans along with the immigrants experienced. They both were forced to live with their families in small, unsanitary living spaces due to the intense persecution and racialization from American outsiders. Families in neighborhoods grouped together, and each family member contributed economically to the family income. To relieve these challenges and harsh conditions, both African-American and immigrant groups were obliged to do certain tasks in the new, metropolitan surrounding.

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

Most colored people have it hard in the first place, but to top it off, access to sufficient housing is unfair. In Chicago, the city is ranked in the top ten of residential segregation for housing. Despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968, this is still occurring.