All too often, charges like these are accepted without refutation, with many otherwise non-racists and non-segregationists feeling twinges of guilt, not only about the nation but also, and more importantly, about themselves.
Are these otherwise non-racists and non-segregationists the racists and segregationists the rhetoric is intended to make them believe they are?
The answer to that question appears to be a convincing "No."
Edward Glaeser and Jacob Vigdor of the Manhattan Institute have examined every census since 1890---13 consecutive administrations---focusing in particular upon the neighborhood-level data by race.
Concerning the long-run trajectory of racial segregation across American cities, the data indicate:
- The nation's urban areas are more integrated than they've been since 1910. While segregation rose dramatically due to Black migration to those areas during the early- to mid-20th century, this increase was erased in the past five decades due entirely to integration.
- The preponderance of all-White neighborhoods is a myth. Five decades ago, 20% of America's urban neighborhoods effectively had zero Black residents. Today, Black residents live in 199 out of every 200 neighborhoods nationwide. The remaining neighborhoods are mostly in remote rural areas or in cities with very little Black population.
- While gentrification and immigration have contributed to desegregation, the increase in Black suburbanization accounts more for the decline in segregation.
- Unfortunately, ghetto neighborhoods persist. But, most are in decline. The population of Black residents residing in these neighborhoods is dwindling.
For The Motley Monk, the "take away" from the Glaeser and Vigdor study is that the United States is not nearly the racist and segregated society many on the political left claim it to be. And, where racism and segregation continue to exist, the data indicate that they are not the causal factor driving socioeconomic inequality. What factor (or factors) contribute to those phenomena require further investigation.
This is all good news, if not very good news. The nation is not the racist and segregated society---one that is ripe for an much-needed infusion of "social justice"---as many on the political left assert. Yes, there are racists and segregationists. But, theirs' appears to be a dying ideology.
The bad news, of course, is that facts like these don't matter to ideologues on the political left who have already made up their mind about the nation and its citizens and continue hectoring their fellow citizens about a dying past.
Let the discussion begin...
To read Glaeser and Vigdor's study, click on the following link:
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_66.htm
I agree that the situation is far better than it was, say, 50 years ago. And that it is not perfect I put down to human istitutions being imperfect per se. We can pray that God turns the hearts of the bigots. And if he doesn't turn their hearts, let Him turn their ankles, so we know them from their limping. Haha. Maronius
ReplyDeleteYour comment, Marvronius, called to mind Pilgrim in Dante's Inferno. As the sun was setting he entered into a dark woods, discovered himself descending as he led himself with his weak ankle and dragged his strong ankle. Perhaps it was the Liberal Pilgrim?
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