Segregation In Chicago Research Paper

The Civil War was fought over the “race problem,” to determine the place of African-Americans in America. The Union won the war and freed the slaves. However, when President Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation, a hopeful promise for freedom from oppression and slavery for African-Americans, he refrained from announcing the decades of hardship that would follow to obtaining the new won “freedom”. Over the course of nearly a century, African-Americans would be deprived and face adversity to their rights. They faced something perhaps worse than slavery; plagued with the threat of being lynched or beat for walking at the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite the addition of the 14th and

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.

In her article on school segregation, Hannah-Jones describes how the school district which Ferguson resident Michael Brown graduated from, ranked last in overall performance for Missouri schools. The death of Michael Brown in August 2014 spurred riots not only in St. Louis, but also in other cities nationwide. Hannah-Jones states how many St. Louis area school districts have “returned to the world of separate and unequal”, which was widespread before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. Black and white children in the St. Louis region are educationally divided,

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.

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.

In her speech “Political Activism and Protest from the 1960s through the Age of Obama,” Angela Davis argues that Black history involves a constant struggle for freedom. This struggle is meant to expand the liberties of not only Black people, but of all marginalized people, and it has occurred throughout history in all parts of the world. As a result, Davis asserts that Black history and activism are universally relatable. She continues to discuss activism in her speech, at one point declaring, “we have to learn how to imagine the future in terms that are not restricted to our own lifetimes” (Davis 117). Her declaration means that social change does not come about if people passively accept the world’s current state. Instead, social change occurs when people “imagine the future” (117) that they wish to live in and work at shaping all aspects of society so that it will progress towards the future they envisioned.

Segregation is the act of discriminating against others because of their race. The act of Segregating is morally wrong. Racism executes appalling feats. This is because it slows down the development of countries, and brings out the worst in people.

Just fifty years ago, America was a society of segregation and racism. The dictionary defines racism as “the belief that a particular race is superior to another.” Although it is clear times have changed, racism is still seen in modern american society. It’s also clear that relationships between African Americans and whites are generally better than they were in the forties and fifties. Today, it is rare to witness a black man walk down the street and step off the sidewalk to let a white man walk by, or to see a black man sitting on a different section of the bus or train because a white man told him he has too. But superiority of races is still happening. A lot of this has the do with the ignorance of others. Passed down generation to

Among the copious amounts of race riots arising in many parts of the United States, the Chicago race riot is the most recognizable. On July 27, 1919, a black boy named Eugene Williams was stoned by whites and drowned in the 29th street beach after accidentally swimming into white claimed territory. While this angered African Americans, the refusal by police to arrest the offenders of the attack infuriated them even more. The incident caused a full blown race riot, leaving 23 blacks and 15 whites dead, 537 people injured, and 1,000 black families homeless over a 13 period. In Washington D.C., four whites were killed along with two blacks, however, in Phillips County, Arkansas, 25 African Americans and 5 whites were declared officially dead,

While there has been tangible progress made in race relations, inequalities still tarnish the country. In poor black communities across the nation, the lack of opportunity stifles potential and creates a cyclical chain of poverty and violence. Areas with high black populations struggling with violence and unequal policing, have prompted a modern civil right movement called “Black Lives Matter.” Critics of the movement often cite, the supposed inherent inequality in the idea. All lives matter, they argue, why should black lives matter specifically? The movement, however, does not argue that black lives matter more than lives of other races, the movement is saying that black lives matter just as much. Furthermore, it’s an exclamation, that calls for attention to be placed on communities ravaged by violence and poverty that are disproportion black. Similar to the movements of the 1960’s, the BLM movement is causing tension across the country. Like king argued, tension is the catalyst that inspires change and conversation. The nonviolent protests of BLM, seek to “dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored;” that is the “work of a nonviolent resister” (1310). Just as the march that was depicted in Selma, the BLM has sought to seek change without violence, but instead with protests and media campaigns. BLM methods parallel King’s use of non violent protest, in a

According to Massey and Denton (1988), residential segregation “is the degree to which two or more groups live separately from one another, in different parts of the urban environment”(282). Now this is a pretty general definition, but it gives basic but good insight as to what residential desegregation is talking about. In this paper, I will mostly be focusing on residential segregation as it relates to the black and white populations in relation to one another, although I will be referencing some other races briefly to create a better understanding of concepts or ideas.

Segregation proved to be powerful in the city as to this day the South Side still shows remnants of the “Black Belt.” Figure [2] below shows racial demographics of a recent census of Chicago and the resemblance to the map of covenants in figure [1] can clearly be seen. Chicago’s role as a home for it’s residents proved positive for some but problematic for most. A system that always favored the wealthy and white was true for the city and while some areas were strong enough to fight this trend, as a whole Chicago was

However, Wacquant brings the term “inner city” to light, breaking down its meaning: “black and poor.” Living in Chicago gives one an exemplary example of the term “inner city” meaning “poor, black ghettos.” The references to “inner city” schools being synonymous with “poor quality” and “mostly African American” are damaging to urban terminology and creating a predetermined perspective of those who call the “inner city” home. The “hypersegregation” of the city of Chicago is a topic within itself, but the institution of segregation is, without question, existent here. In addition, “inner city” is becoming a label which implies unavoidable incarceration.

Do you think social issues still occur in your world today? Just by walking through the neighborhood, issues are able to be seen. Some examples would be family issues, gender inequalities, and economic disparity. While seeing social injustice through three different books, access to housing was very intriguing. Living conditions can vary based on your race. After realizing this, a question came to mind: is my local area segregated like the rest of the world?

Forty-seven years ago the Civil Rights Act was passed to end racial discrimination in America. And later on the 24th Amendment to poll taxes, then the Voting Rights Act to allow every man to vote and not be discriminated against. Black Power, the Nation of Islam, and the Southern Christian Leadership conference were just some of the groups that tried to end segregation and promote the African American race. Although these groups did help end it, it still exists in today’s world and many studies have been done to prove it in the past couple of years.