1

THE IMPACT OF RACIAL SEGREGATION ON AFRICAN-AMERICAN

AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES IN MEMPHIS

The United States of America was founded on the principles of liberty and on the

proposition that all men were equal. However, these principles of freedom and equality of man

did not apply to the enslaved people at the time. The Proclamation Emancipation Act of 1863,

which freed Southern states' slaves, and the subsequent amendments to the constitutions,

including the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, allowed African Americans to enjoy a period of civil

liberties, and they could actively participate in the political processes. Others, particularly in

the South, opposed these freedoms enjoyed by the formerly enslaved people and therefore

found means through the passing of segregation laws to reverse these earlier gains, thus

resulting in mass protest movements by African Americans. The activities of the civil rights

movement during the mid-twentieth century led to the end of social segregation and racial

discrimination in the Deep South; however, many communities remained segregated along

racial and ethnic lines, with poverty and crime rates prevalent in Black and Hispanic

communities.

Obnoxious laws passed by white southerners, notably the Jim Crow laws, enforced

racial segregation. These laws were affirmed by the Supreme Court decision of Plessy v

Ferguson in 1896, which ruled that 'separate but equal facilities for African Americans did not

violate the constitution, thus, further eroding the constitutional rights guaranteed to the blacks.

The superiority complex of the former slave masters made it difficult for them to accommodate

the formerly enslaved people whom they regarded inherently inferior. According to Colin

Woodard in his book American Nations, he stated that the Deep South practiced a caste system

that bound one to a social class and strictly prohibited a crossover.1. However, during the same

period, the northern states were less racially biased towards African Americans and other

1
Colin Woodard, American_Nations, A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America’.Pdf
(New York: Penguin Books, 2011), p127.
 2

subordinated groups. It does not imply that racism and discrimination did not exist in the north

Most freed slaves who relocated to the north during the Great Migration after First World War

resided in racial enclaves in the major cities due to racially restrictive covenants.

The activities of the civil rights movement, which began in the nineteenth century,

peaked in the Deep South in the 1950s and 1960s, changing the US economic, political, and

social landscape. In the South, where the population was concentrated, African Americans

protested economic injustice, educational inequality, social discrimination, and political

restrictions. Some activities and occurrences in Tennessee are indelible in the movement's

history. In the case of Northcross v Board of Education of the Memphis City Schools (1960),

the Memphis National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

challenged and compelled the City to desegregate the schools2. Further non-violent actions led

by the organization to protest segregation resulted in the desegregation of other social and

public facilities. On 4 April 1968, leading civil rights campaigner Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr,

who was invited to Memphis to join the protest march of the African American sanitation

workers on strike demanding higher wages, was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine

Hotel. The National Civil Rights Museum was built around the motel where the assassination

occurred. The museum serves as a reminder of the struggles and efforts of individuals and

organizations, tracing the history of the civil rights movement.3. The activities of the civil

rights movement resulted in several legislations enacted within the period to bring about

significant reforms; these were the Civil Rights Act of 1957, 1964, the Voting Rights Act of

1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

2
“Northcross v. Memphis Board of Education, 412 U.S. 427 | Casetext Search + Citator,” accessed November
16, 2022, https://casetext.com/case/northcross-v-memphis-board-of-education.
3
“National Civil Rights Museum | At the Lorraine Motel,” accessed November 15, 2022,
https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/.
 3

It is, however, to be noted that the cause of the civil rights movement in the South did

not involve only African Americans. However, people of other races contributed particularly

the Jewish community, whose Rabbis joined ranks with the Southern churches.4 Also, the

church's role was pivotal during the period, and it served as the congregating center for the

movement in the South. The churches in the South provided the platform for civil rights leaders

like Martin Luther King Jr and Caucasians such as Rev William Sloane Coffin. During a visit

to the First Baptist Church in Memphis, the speaker remarked that during the civil rights

movement, the church was as symbolic to the African Americans as the biblical Moses taking

them from bondage to freedom as narrated in the book of Exodus.5. The church also served as

a rallying point for members of the Christian faith of other races who believed in the quest for

social justice. However, over the decades, the communities have moved back to the racial

enclaves, and it is sad to say the church is a microcosm of how the people in the South are still

racially segregated.

Most societies are formed by individuals who have social connections and share a

history. As a result of historical antecedents, some neighborhoods in the South are still

segregated along ethnic and racial lines. Residential segregation is significant because where

individuals reside affects their access to good healthcare, job employment, and quality

education. The separation of white, African American, and Hispanic communities has resulted

in significant inequalities, particularly in wealth and good public education opportunities. The

data from the US Census Bureau 2020, the population of Tennessee is 6,975,218, of which

78.2 percent are white alone, while African American is 17 percent, with a diversity rate of

46.6 percent. However, with a population of 633,104, Memphis has only 27.9 percent white

4
“Jews in the Civil Rights Movement,” My Jewish Learning (blog), accessed November 15, 2022,
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jews-in-the-civil-rights-movement/.
5
“Brief at First Baptist Church, Broad on 4 Nov 2022.” (Memphis, Tennessee, 4 Nov 22).
 4

alone and 64.4 percent African American6. Memphis is quite diverse, but there are 17

neighborhoods with at least 98 percent blacks and five with at least 90 percent whites. These

demographic statistics directly impact access to equal opportunities in all spheres of the

economy.

In the US, a community's living standard correlates to the quality of its public schools

due to property tax funding. A visit to Memphis Scholars Middle School, South Campus, was

evidence of the impact of a low-income community on a public school. It is a Charter school

operated by independent and non-profit organizations, including parents. The student

demography is nearly 100 percent black, largely comprising children of African immigrants.

According to the brief, the school was in the last quarter percentile of low-performing schools

in the district. A dedicated Manager of Interventions was assigned to the school by the

Achievement School District, who was responsible for improving the quality of instruction and

ensuring the school was placed within the first quintile of high-performing schools within five

years through the use of the Response To Intervention (RTI) model7. It is noteworthy that,

interacting with the students, most had developed much interest in math and science. Thus,

with the proper intervention and the right instruction tools, students in poor communities could

also benefit from quality education in public schools.

Several variables, including unemployment, broken homes, and poor economic state,

are linked to crime, but poverty stands out among them. As stated in the US Census Bureau,

poverty thresholds are determined using a set of money income set against the family and

composition.8. Crimes could be violent such as homicide, and non-violent, such as tax evasion.

6
"US Census Bureau QuickFacts: Memphis City, Tennessee," accessed November 16, 2022,
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/dashboard/TN,memphiscitytennessee/PST045221.
7
“Brief by Staff at the Memphis Scholars Middle School, South Campus on 2 Nov 22.” (Brief, Shelby County,
Memphis, Tennessee, n.d.).
8
US Census Bureau, “How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty,” Census.gov, accessed November 16, 2022,
https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.
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In a report on the Neighborhood Poverty Project conducted by an Economic Innovation Group,

it indicated that, among cities in the US, Memphis had the second highest poverty rate, with

one out of four persons living below the poverty line, with Black residents and colored races

being in the majority.9. This data, corroborated by the 2020 US Census Report, indicates that

24. 6 percent of people are poor and can be found in black/colored race communities.10.

Analyzing the demographic statics of Memphis, in the age distribution, the largest age bracket

is 23.5 percent of persons between the ages of 35-54. Furthermore, the educational attainment

of adults for high graduates is 86. 4 percent, and only 26.6 percent of college graduates. The

level of education could account for the median household income of USD41,864. The biggest

employment industries are in the healthcare and transportation sectors, with the total civilian

labor force being 63 percent.11. Furthermore, in Memphis, 85 percent of children live in

unmarried homes or with single parents. It is a fact that children living with both parents are

more likely to progress better on the social ladder than children from single homes.

Furthermore, all things being equal, parents with college degrees earn more than those with

high school diplomas. It t is acknowledged that segregation policies have brought limits to the

potential of African Americans and Hispanics. However, some Blacks/Hispanics have been

able to circumvent these residential segregations to attend charter schools outside their

neighborhood, while others have relocated to suburbs with better living conditions.

Crime rates in Memphis are 160 crimes per square mile compared to the State with16

per square mile, which is ten times more. The Memphis Police Department briefed that the

crimes encountered by the Police mainly were gun and drug as well as vehicle theft. According

to the police department, dealing with the permitless open gun carry policy was a challenge

9
Justin Provenzano, “Neighborhood Poverty Project: Memphis, TN,” Economic Innovation Group (blog),
accessed November 16, 2022, https://eig.org/neighborhood-poverty-project/memphis-tn/.
10
Bureau, “How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty.”
11
“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts.”
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requiring their personnel retraining. Furthermore, the Police have revised the policy to permit

police officers to take official cars home to bring awareness to the community that the Police

were part of them, thus bringing out a sense of security. It was interesting to note that in Shelby

County, Memphis, there were specialized courts called Treatment Courts for drug abuse and

related mental cases and the Veteran Court. Although they are criminal courts, they aim to keep

the accused persons out of jail while connecting them with the required benefits and treatments.

At the Federal Correctional Institute at Memphis, most inmates were jailed for drug-related

offenses and gun violence as reflective of arrests made by the Police. Inmates were schooled

to take the General Educational Development Test, while those with drug addiction underwent

therapies to become functional on release. These proactive actions were deliberate efforts of

the City to reduce the crime rates.

To conclude, African Americans in the Deep South were subjected to racial

discrimination by the white southerners through the enactment of detestable laws known as the

Jim Crow laws years after the Emancipation Laws were passed. Activities by the civil rights

movement in the mid-twentieth century led to the end of social segregation and racial

discrimination. However, inherent policies of the past and socialization have maintained racial

and ethnic segregation. Thus, the white-black/colored races still find themselves in racial

enclaves, with the black/Hispanic communities more impoverished.

Although Tennessee has a majority white population of 78.2 percent, in contrast,

Memphis has a majority of African American population of 64.4 percent. Though quite a

diverse city, Memphis neighborhoods of over 90 percent of Black/Colored race majority or

white majority. Crime rates are very high, mainly due to the poverty rate of a quarter of the

population and single parenting. Good public schools are not too many in low-income

communities. However, over time the City has put in place mechanisms to provide good

education and mitigate the crime rate.