Chicago's Racial Divide

In today’s society, the segregation between African-Americans is still apparent, but very different from the segregation of yesteryear.  Today, although some segregation is still due to racial stereotypes and discrimination, a lot of segregation has to deal with the economic issues that African-Americans face.  As Koval states in chapter 6, “African Americans, especially males, remain concentrated in jobs requiring little formal education beyond high school and that offer little promise of significant upward social mobility,” (2006:87).  The highly concentrated African-American populations tend to be low income or poverty level areas, and this is due to social mobility.  From the time blacks were brought over to the United States, they have had to work their way up from nothing, and between segregation, discrimination, and lack of education, being able to move upward in society has been nearly impossible for many African-American families.

There are some success stories though, and I feel that I should mention Hyde Park in this instance.  When our class went to the DuSable Museum, they were not able to actually see the success of integration within Hyde Park, they were only able to see the outskirts/border of that area, which was obviously in need of repair and downtrodden with poverty.  For our other Chicago class, my group is studying Hyde Park, and in our interviews, and as we walk through the area, all we have found is harmonious relations between whites and blacks, as well as equal opportunities for school, employment, etc.  The area is approximately 45% black and 55%white.  There are areas of middle-class housing, areas of upper-class housing, and a small amount of lower-class housing, and in all areas, there is no racial segregation.  However, this is really a diamond in the rough when it comes to desegregated areas of Chicago, and is surrounded by African-American poverty filled neighborhoods.  If the attitude and structure of Hyde Park could move outward from its small space, Chicago might have a chance at becoming more of a diverse, harmonious, desegregated city.