Xxxxxx 1

Xxxxx

Xxxxx

English 102

12 Nov 2019

The Repercussions of Segregation: A Solution Idea to Fix Racial Inequality

A problem intrinsic to the history of the United States is the relationship between African

Americans and White Americans. Throughout their time in the United States, African Americans

have experienced slavery, Jim Crow laws, general discrimination, and the lasting effects of these

events. The gap in opportunity, education, and wealth between Black people and White people is

undeniable and gaping. Some prominent figures in American society, including activist and

writer Ta-Nehesi Coates, have recently argued for reparations to, in their opinion, bridge this the

racial gap. Due to the complex issues involved in this the discussion at hand, reparations given to

African-Americans would be an ineffective solution to this problem and the United States should

instead focus on eliminating modern segregation and inequality through a variety of programs

that increase education and job placement.

The struggle faced by African Americans started when they were transported across the

Atlantic in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It was not until 1865 and the end of the Civil War

that former slaves were granted “freedom” in the loosest possible definition of the word. Sadly,

champion for equality Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before any significant changes could

be made. African Americans suffered under sharecropping and extreme discrimination until the

year of 1910.
 Xxxxxx 2

1910 marks one of the most significant years in American History. this year, Baltimore,

Maryland, the seventh largest American city at the time, enacted what has become known as

“The Baltimore Idea”. This The Baltimore Idea was the legalization of legislature that made it

illegal for Black people to move in to majority white blocks, and vice versa (Lieb). This The

legislature arose because of segregated school zones: “officially ‘white’ schools were chess

pieces white homeowners used to block black migration” (Lieb). African Americans who wanted

schooling had to move into certain areas that were accommodated by the few “colored” schools

that existed at the time. The movement of African Americans to their school zones caused white

flight from the nearby residents. Realtors took advantage of this situation and used predatory

loans and high house prices to squeeze out what little wealth Black residents had. Even in their

segregated neighborhoods, African Americans were not saved from racism. Residents were

stabbed and shot, businesses were vandalized, and homes were bombed. This was the first time

that racial segregation was made into law by an urban center. This The created segregation

caused was created major differences in education, housing, wealth, and opportunity. Other cities

followed this the precedent segregation created by The Baltimore Idea and the gap between

African Americans and White Americans began to spread.

The Judicial system made inroads to end this the growing problem, but white lawmakers

found loopholes. The loophole used in Baltimore was the introduction of zoning laws. These

laws forced expensive housing in White areas and cheap housing in Black areas. African

Americans were systematically herded forced into specific areas, many of which are still African

American majority today. White urban residents on average live in neighborhoods that are “75%

or more White”, while black residents live in neighborhoods that are “65% or more Black”
 Xxxxxx 3

(Covert). Racial housing practices were eventually banned in 1968, yet the repercussions of these

policies still exist today.

The wealth gap that separates African Americans and White Americans is one of the

major differences between the two groups. A 2013 survey revealed that the median net worth for

White Americans was thirteen times higher than the median net wealth of African Americans. A

large cause of this difference is the segregation policies that existed in cities until the 1960s.

Today, “50% of black children live in a neighborhood with a poverty rate at 20% or higher”

(Covert). African Americans have had significantly less time to create generational wealth, while

White Americans have been able to pass down wealth from generation to generation. During the

housing crisis of 2010, Black Americans were two times more likely to lose their homes to

foreclosure. The wealth gap between African Americans and White Americans has

repercussions that stretch into other aspects of life, such as education and political participation.

The gap between Black Americans and White Americans is accentuated by a lack of

political participation by impoverished groups. In the past, these differences in participation

could be attributed to direct voter suppression by White Americans. Now voter turnout is

affected by the segregation and lack of opportunity mentioned before. African Americans living

in impoverished urban neighborhoods are much more unlikely to vote and participate in

elections. Throughout the United States “Hypersegregation has had deleterious effects on the

participation of minority group members” in political events (Schlichting.) This Lack of political

participation leaves impoverished black Americans without a voice in local, state, and national

elections while White Americans can have a say on issues that affect them. Without

participation, impoverished Black children have no political figures to look up to, which is a
 Xxxxxx 4

huge industry they have no interest in being a part of. The repercussions of a lack of political

participation result in less recognition towards Black issues.

A problem stemming from the racial housing laws of the early 20th century is schooling.

Many of the original neighborhood segregation laws were enacted to create colored and white

school zones. These “colored schools” are still mainly African American and are ranked

significantly worse that white schools in the area. The National Center for Education Statistics

uses the Aggregate Cohort Graduation Rate as a way to rank school success. The national

average for schools with an African American majority is “11 percent lower” than schools with a

White majority (NCES). This The gap is due to numerous factors including lack of resources and

student attitude. Both of these are repercussions of the aforementioned problems facing the

African American community. Because of a lack of opportunity, students are less motivated to

do well in school and focus on outside distractions instead. Because of limited political

participation, this issue is not as publicized as it should be.

African Americans living in segregated, impoverished neighborhoods are significantly

more likely to experience health problems than the average White American. An academic study

done on large urban areas found that “health measures appear to be much worse for Black

children than White children, with many outcomes being at least twice as bad.” (Kotecki). These

health problems are based in the chronic segregation in our country and have lifelong

repercussions such as expensive treatment and being unable to work. This is an indirect effect of

racist housing policy that keeps African American impoverished and unable to move up

financially in American Society.

Overall, the main factor restricting the African American community in the United States

is the continuation of segregated neighborhoods. African American majority neighborhoods in

 Xxxxxx 5

urban areas isolates the community from the rest of the urban area and insulates generational

problems that originated with slavery and Jim Crow laws (Lens). This has led many to discuss

the possibilities of repercussions to make up for the gap. Most agree these repercussions would

be a financial payment from the government to African Americans that would help to make up

for the adversity Black Americans go through due to slavery and racist legislation (Coates).

Repercussions Reparations would be an ineffective way to attempt to fix racial

inequality. Giving money to Black Americans may help inequality in the short term, but if

nothing is done to fix the real issue of systematic segregation reparations will accomplish

nothing. Reparations are also entirely unpractical. The cost of a $500,000 reparation payment to

every single descendant of a slave in the United States is $15 Trillion. This would “require a

surtax of roughly $50,000 on each non-African American man, woman, and child in this

country” (Flaherty). Another estimate justifies a $97 trillion payment to the descendants of

slaves. These high sums are unrealistic and would be crippling to the American economy. A

reparations payment would either cost too much money or would not be enough money to make

a difference like previous reparations payments made by the US government. Reparations would

also be a slippery slope. If African Americans get reparations, should other discriminated groups

also receive the same payments? America needs to focus on alleviating the effects of segregation

and poverty in general by enacting programs that allow the impoverished to escape the cycle of

poverty.

Freddie Gray is a famous example of where other solutions would alleviate inequality.

Gray grew up in Sandtown-Winchester, Baltimore, Maryland, in a household surrounded by lead

paint. His body had four times more lead than the normal amount at the time of his unjust death

in 2015. High lead exposure lead him to become diagnosed with ADHD, miss school, and
 Xxxxxx 6

eventually drop out. Growing up in one of the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore had statistically

limited Gray’s chances of success. Every year a child is exposed to Baltimore their future

earnings are reduced by 0.7% (Pappoe). Because of this lack of opportunity, Gray had to turn to

selling drugs. Gray had been poisoned and suffocated by the segregated neighborhood he was

born into.

One way to assist impoverished Black Americans like Freddy Gray is to expand

Rental Assistance Programs nationwide. Most of the time, these programs are underfunded and

under-advertised. If these programs are enacted and expanded, and proper legislation is made to

protect homeowners, it would create “mixed-income communities and work to break the

concentration of poverty in certain areas by giving low-income families the opportunities to live

in other neighborhoods” (Pappoe). This Expansion of the programs would allow home

ownership and the creation of wealth in impoverished communities. Another solution is the

national adoption of the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program. This program gives housing

vouchers to impoverished people that allow them to get discounted housing in better

neighborhoods. This program would allow Impoverished African Americans would be able to

escape their segregated communities and move to an area where they can succeed. Additionally,

another proposal is to increase the amount of public transportation in impoverished areas. Access

to public transportation is important because most residents of impoverished neighborhoods rely

on it for work and mobility. In Sandtown-Winchester, the “worst” neighborhood in Baltimore,

“over 30 percent of its residents who are lucky to even have jobs must travel 45 minutes or more

to work and over 43 percent use public transportation” (Pappoe).

All three of these solutions have a similar core: allow impoverished residents the ability

to leave their communities to seek opportunity. If residents cannot leave their insulated
 Xxxxxx 7

communities, they have little chance of success. According to the National Center of Smart

Growth and Education, the neighborhoods containing the majority of the African Americans in

Baltimore are areas of “Very Low” opportunity (Lung). Rather than spending billions on a

reparation’s payment, money could be invested into helping impoverished African Americans

establish success and begin to build generational wealth. This would be a long-term solution that

would help lessen racial inequality in America. People are naturally inclined to search for an area

where they will have a greater opportunity to succeed, but impoverished people do not have the

resources to do so.

Another strategy is proposed by the Stand Together Foundation. They aim to keep kids in

impoverished neighborhoods from dropping out of high school. Their data show that students

who drop out of high school are “at increased risk for drug addiction and chronic

unemployment” (What Drives…). Drug Addiction is an epidemic in low-income demographics,

due to its tempting nature and limited resources available to escape it. Chronic Unemployment is

obviously a huge issue in impoverished areas. Once someone finds themselves unemployed, it

becomes harder for them to find another job. The Stand Together foundation employs catalysts

to help lead high schoolers away from negative influences and into career training, leadership

training, and employability. This strategy could be used in high-risk urban areas nationwide as a

way to keep impoverished students in school and away from negative influence.

Another proposed plan was created by Lawrence Community Works, a non-profit

organization located outside of Boston. Their plan, called Neighborhood Circles, aims to build

“family and community assets” and provide others “with caring and mutual support” (Dearing).

They complete this goal do this by “providing resources to families that self-organize a series of

dinners” (Dearing) to help those families network and build connections within and with the
 Xxxxxx 8

community. This sets them up to build wealth and opportunity. A reparations payment would

not guarantee the creation of generational wealth, but a program such as this one would.

A national program that aims to fix poverty is the Family Independence Initiative. This

program aims to help impoverished people by providing them resources and trusting them to do

what is right with them. The FII gets users of the program to “turn to family and friends, pool

resources, and follow the example of those in their inner circle who have begun to succeed."

(Dearing). This program It has seen great success, producing a “20 percent improvement in

income and a 70 percent improvement in their kids’ grades in just fifteen months.” (Dearing). A

further investment in this program would be sure to provide tangible results to impoverished

Americans across the country.

In Atlanta, Georgia, the heart of the deep south, the Dunbar Learning Center uses a

different approach to support impoverished citizens. This school, though it watches kids like a

daycare as their parents work, uses a two-generation program where “children receive free

schooling, from infancy to pre-K, when their parents register with a career-development center to

begin improving their job skills.” (Semuels). The DLC also provides resources such as housing

inspections to rid homes of unhealthy factors and special tutors. The successes of this program

are already evident: over 1800 jobs have already been found for parents, thousands of dollars’

worth of grants have been given out, and the waiting list to join the program is over 400 families.

If this program receives more funding, or is adopted nationally, the results for the United States

this country would be tremendous. Millions of impoverished Americans living in high risk areas

would have a chance to succeed and have their children have a framework for success. This

would create generational change that would outweigh the potential change created by

reparations.
 Xxxxxx 9

Another aspect to consider when thinking about the inequality between African

Americans and White Americans is the time that African Americans have had to “catch up”. Our

society is two generations removed from Jim Crow Laws. 16% of our nation’s population is old

enough to remember when Black people were legally less of a human than Whites

(Childstats.gov). The chronic issues of Slavery and Racism do not go away quickly. A

reparations payment to African Americans might do more harm than good due to other

Americans having an unfavorable opinion to those who receive part of the settlement. A solution

to this problem will have to be thorough to assure all people who need assistance receive it.

Due to the negative effects it would have on the economy and race relations, reparations

to African Americans would be an ineffective solution to the problem of racial inequality. The

public should rather focus on investing in community programs that will uplift impoverished

African Americans out of neighborhoods created by segregation and out of the cycle of poverty.

These programs will attack the forefront of issues that face impoverished people: Housing,

Education, and Employment. Aiding impoverished Black Americans in finding opportunities to

succeed in these areas will help to close the gap between themselves and White Americans and

cause a positive change in American society in general. Slavery and racism are some of the worst

moments in US history. As one nation, we must come together to help those who are currently

being affected by our past sins. This should not be an issue of politics, but rather an issue of

morality in general. The American Dream is for our children to live a better life than us. This is

possible for all Americans, no matter class or race, if we come together as one nation to attack

this problem.
 Xxxxxx 10

Works Cited

ChildStats.gov. "Share of Old Age Population (65 Years and Older) in The Total U.S. Population

from 1950 to 2050." Statista, Statista Inc., 18 Sep 2019,

https://www.statista.com/statistics/457822/share-of-old-age-population-in-the-total-us-

population/

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The Case for Reparations.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 24 Sept.

2019, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/.

Cover, Bryce. “Black Wealth Matters.” Nation, vol. 300, no. 5, Feb. 2015, p. 5. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=100561269&site=ehost-live.

Dearing, Tiziana. “Breaking the Cycle of Poverty.” Philanthropy News Digest (PND), 17 Mar.

2011, philanthropynewsdigest.org/commentary-and-opinion/breaking-the-cycle-of-

poverty.

Flaherty, Peter, and John Carlisle. The Case Against Reparations. National Legal and Policy

Center, 2004.

Kotecki, Jack A., et al. “Separate and Sick: Residential Segregation and the Health of Children

and Youth in Metropolitan Statistical Areas.” Journal of Urban Health, vol. 96, no. 2,

Apr. 2019, pp. 149–158. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11524-018-00330-4.

 Xxxxxx 11

Lens, Michael C. “Measuring the Geography of Opportunity.” Progress in Human

Geography, vol. 41, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 3–25. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1177/0309132515618104.

Lieb, Emily. "The “Baltimore Idea” and the Cities It Built." Southern Cultures, vol. 25 no. 2,

2019, p. 104-119. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/scu.2019.0019.

Lung, Amam, Willow S., et al. “Opportunity for Whom? The Diverse Definitions of

Neighborhood Opportunity in Baltimore.” City & Community, vol. 17, no. 3, Sept. 2018,

pp. 636–657. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/cico.12318.

NCES. “Public High School Graduation Rates.” The Condition of Education - Preprimary,

Elementary, and Secondary Education - High School Completion - Public High School

Graduation Rates - Indicator May (2019), The National Center for Education Statistics,

May 2019, nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_coi.asp.

PAPPOE, YVETTE N. “Remedying the Effects of Government-Sanctioned Segregation in a

Post-Freddie Gray Baltimore.” University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion,

Gender & Class, vol. 16, no. 1, Spring 2016, pp. 115–143. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=118493357&site=ehost-live.

Sahasranaman, Anand, and Henrik Jeldtoft Jensen. “Ethnicity and Wealth: The Dynamics of

Dual Segregation.” PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 1–22. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204307.
 Xxxxxx 12

Schlichting, Kurt, et al. “Racial Segregation and Voter Turnout in Urban America.” American

Politics Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2, Apr. 1998, p. 218. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1177/1532673X9802600205.

Semuels, Alana. “A Different Approach to Breaking the Cycle of Poverty.” The Atlantic,

Atlantic Media Company, 2 Dec. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/a-

different-approach-to-breaking-the-cycle-of-poverty/384029/.

“What Drives the Cycle of Poverty?” Stand Together Foundation, 15 May 2019, www.stand-

together.org/drives-cycle-poverty/.