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Steel Mills Community Analysis

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Heading 13 Miles Southeast of the Chicago South loop, passing many open fields filled with petcoke and what was once was Steel Mills, you reach what is known to the residents as “Alphabet town” or East side. East side is known as a working class neighborhood to the individuals who do not reside there. For the residents that do, they know the east side as a community filled with pride, respect, and a feeling of unity. As you enter the neighborhood just heading east on 106th street right off of Torrance Ave, you can feel the presence of this neighborhood with the predominantly hispanic culture. You can enter the community either by car or taking a bus, but not access via trains. If you are planning to take a trip from downtown, Chicago, prepare …show more content…

The steel industry was the leading employer of this community because it offered great pay and stable jobs. This is why we don’t see much of an increase in bachelor's degrees because they did not need the schooling, they had jobs lined up in both the trade and industrial sector. “There was an available supply of labor and space for housing more workers.” (Seller's, 12) This idea of the workers renting cheaper nearby housing was one of the many key ideas we learned in class. Steel barrio, was the article that introduced the semester by introducing the importance of the industrial jobs in south chicago, that at one point in time was known as the largest area of steel making facilities. ( Barrio, 56) During this time, the europeans invaded the east side looking for jobs that they depended on. These steel mills offered them great opportunities which led to the migration of more …show more content…

This classification led europeans to ultimately believe that Mexican and African Americans were lower than them, creating tension for all. (Barrios, 59) Regardless if they lived in the same neighborhood and regardless if they did the same job, they still classified themselves as superior to other races. With the increasing number of Mexicans coming to chicago, they were prevented from obtaining “good” condition jobs. They were instructed to stay in the scummiest areas of the neighborhood as they were inferior to whites. When they were given the opportunity to work in areas that mexicans did not typically work in, they were subjected to the most dangerous jobs. And for pay, they were given below minimum wage because they knew they needed these jobs. (Barrios,

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