American Apartheid

Denton and Massey discuss overlapping issues of poverty, racism, and segregation in the context of U.S. history as well as its presence in current times. They link longstanding cycles of poverty among the "urban underclass" to the continuing consequences of residential segregation, itself a result of well-established processes and institutions that have lead to widespread structural discrimination.

They argue that residential segregation is not, as many might assume, caused by neutral market forces. Rather, it is a construction that has developed out of a tradition of white prejudice in the United States, however masked this prejudice may seem. Denton and Massey say, "Despite whites' endorsement of the ideal that people should be able to live wherever they can afford to regardless of race, a majority still feel uncomfortable in any neighborhood that contains more than a few black residents" (11).

This point really reminded me of Harris's discussion of white privilege. Though in theory, whites feel as though everyone should have the freedom to choose where they want to live, in practice, different feelings may come to light. The instinctual assumption that whites somehow have ownership of certain areas (that other minority groups then move "into") is exactly what we've been discussing in terms of the legacy of white privilege. Discomfort at the idea of racially integrated neighborhoods is a reaction to historical ideals of white, pure space.

Shapiro, in his articles, emphasizes the ways that structural discrimination stemming from this prejudice and privilege has very real and devastating economic effects on Black Americans and other people of color. His focus on the sub-prime mortgage crisis is certainly really relevant in the present moment. "The line from redlining to sub-prime is direct, as is the culpability" (A11). Shapiro and Oliver place blame on lenders who target communities of color with discriminatory practices, ultimately contributing to the creation of a national and definite "Black catastrophe."