America's Ten Most Segregated Cities

[QC]

10. Philadelphia

9. Chicago

8. New York City

7. Buffalo-Niagra Falls, N.Y.

6. Cincinnati

5. Newark, N.J.

4. St. Louis

3. Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, Ohio

2. Detroit

1. Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wis.

http://www.bet.com/articles/0,1048,c1gb4783-5501-1,00.html#boardsAnchor

[Sirius_on]

Michigan is the most segregated state also

We are so proud.

/sarcasm off

:-(

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Imagine that! None in the south

[KCDem]

4. You know what the difference is between a northern racist and a southern

racist?

Northeners don't care if blacks are uppity, just as long as they don't live near them.

Southerners don't care if blacks live near them, just as long as they're not uppity.

[Ellen Forradalom]

10. great minds think alike

[KCDem]

11. since you know that one...

You know what the difference between a northern and a southern zoo is?

In the South, in addition to the name/family/bio stats of the animals, they include recipes.

bada BING!

[karlschneider]

46. LOL! That's a pearl of wisdom. But say that word, "uppity" a few times.

Not a word I've heard much lately, but it begins to sound ...uh, sort of 'weird' to me at least after I've repeated it several times. But words tend to freak me out now and again. :D

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. Dick Gregory said it best

"For a black man, there's no difference between the North and the South. In the South they don't mind how close I get so long as I don't
get too big; in the North they don't mind how big I get so long
as I don't get too close."

[alcuno]

19. Geographical segregation is not racism.

It's not surprising that northern cities are racially segregated given the original pattern of movement into those cities.

[SaintLouisBlues]

35. White Flight not racist?

I disagree. Whites bailed by the millions throughout the Rustbelt/Northeast as Blacks migrated from the South. Red-lining, block-busting, neighborhood covenants. All as racist as the day is long.

[JNelson6563]

51. I was there

during the White-Flight in Detroit. Things were so horrible, racial tension, as I've been told by everyone else who was there, was ridiculously high.

We were a little family, minding our own business, I and my twin brother, age 5. We were awakened in the middle of the night the riots broke out. We fled the city for our lives. Gone ten days.

In 1st grade my twin and I were robbed at knife-point for our milk money, had knives pulled on us right in our front yard too. We fled forever in the fall of that year (Nov) and never went back.

Were we being racist or survivalists? Do I know why the riots broke out? Sure I do. Should we have stuck it out in the name of racial harmony? Um, no.

Let's not be too quick to blanket judge everyone involved.

Julie

[DemBones DemBones]

36. When there was "geographical separation" in the South, no one

defended it or said it wasn't racism. It's fine to look at the history of how cities were settled BUT it's important to ask why there is geographical separation in Northern cities in 2003. Could it be that realtors won't sell homes in "white" areas to blacks?

The South becomes more racially integrated all the time, why doesn't the North?

[QC]

38. Most black population movement into the upper midwest

took place between the Great Depression and 1960. Why would a pattern set between 40 and 70 years ago remain pretty much the same now, absent some external force?

I suppose one could argue that black folks simply prefer to live in ghettos, but that strikes me as a fairly weak argument.

[SaintLouisBlues]

41. In the Lower Midwest (St. Louis specifically)

The Northside was not a ghetto until the poor were redlined in and Middle-Class Whites (and their tax dollars) went suburban.

This was a concerted effort to segregate Blacks.

[pizzathehut]

47. Ghettos and gentrification (yuppification)

Another problem is that ghettos, mostly black, are cheap real estate in cities where housing is expensive. And now you have yuppie whites, who buy up some of the old buildings, drive up the price of real estate, and push out the blacks who live there.

[Jacobin]

56. That's pretty funny

Not accurate, but very funny. :-)

[TheBigGuy]

24. urbanization in the South was really different....

the black communitys in the south grew up on the outskirsts of southern citys with black areas distributed around the periphery.

and in some citys there was a pattern of backstreet servants/workingmens houses with the middle class and rich living on the major streets, so there wasnt really a pattern of neighborhood segregation, but segregation within neighborhoods......the North Side of Lexington, KY, was an example of that.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

2. NYC is surprising

The boroughs are pretty mixed. No one but wealthy folks can afford Manhattan.

[markses]

27. The boros are not mixed

Queens is extremely segregated, and can almost be drawn by ethicity by neighborhood. Corona is Latino, Jamaica (with the exception of Jamaica estates) is largely African American, Bayside, Whitestone, Douglaston, College Point largely white, with an increasing spread of Asians from Flushing. Astoria used to be, of course, a huge Greek area, but is growing increasingly "mixed."

The same can be said about Brooklyn. Park Slope side of Prospect Park is largely white, Prospect Heights side is largely African American, go past 4th Ave on the slope side and it's mainly Latino until you hit Cobble Hill. And that's the MIXED part of Brooklyn! (Alright, I'll throw in Fort Green). That's not even getting into the areas that remain "white enclaves" (Bayridge, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, manhattan Beach) and the parts that are almost entirely African American/ Caribbean American (Bushwick, East Flatbush, Brownsville, East New York).

Same deal in the Bronx, where you can draw the ethnicity maps down to specific streets (east and west ends of Pelham Parkway, for example).

And, in fact, plenty of folks live in Manhattan who aren't rich, but they live "above" certain border streets. I remember friends having a long argument about whether 96th street on the east side marks off a boundary.

Staten Island, same deal.

If anything, I'm surprised New York didn't come in the top 5!

[preocupied]

31. Well, it certainly is no California where everyone shares the neighborhood

This prooves my belief that the North is more segregated than the South. From Washington DC to NY, every community is so segregated, its disgusting, that's why I would never live anywhere near there again.

When was the last time a Southern city burned for race riots.

[Fescue4u]

3. How Ironic...A channel dedicated to blacks

Complaining about segregation.

[M0rpheus]

5. Your point?

n/t

[Fescue4u]

6. The point...

is that its Ironic.

[Sirius_on]

8. He has a point

It is ironic.

[M0rpheus]

18. The irony isn't lost on me, but...

I didn't see it as a complaint about segregated cities.
But more as information and an invitation for discussion.
Though I would have prefered that they at least post a link to the list, so I could see for myself.

But then again, I wouldn't see too much wrong if they were complaining.

[Catherine Vincent]

14. It's a report. How did you get "complaining" out of that?

eom

[Fescue4u]

16. So I take it..

That you feel that segreation is good, and that this report is designed to draw new residents???

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. Well golly gee...maybe if the WHITE channels bothered to cater

to the very LARGE black market...uh..YA THINK?????

[Fescue4u]

17. huh? What is the call sign for the 'white channel'

I don't think my cable provider carrys it.

[M0rpheus]

20. Quick...

Name five current prime time shows featuring more than one person of color.

[Fescue4u]

23. Well I don't watch much prime time tv..

Im more of a History channel and Discovery channel person myself..

But I'll concede the point to you nonetheless.

But really, I don't believe its because of the stations, so much as the producers of entertainment.

The reality is that hollywood does NOT produce much entertainment with black folks in it.

And really, I don't know why not. Movies with black leads have done well. Take Independence day, and Matrix as two examples that pop into my head.


Look, I really don't have heart burn over BET. Its fine with me really.

But nonetheless, I find a station that essentially segregates its program, producing reports on segretion to be...well Ironic.

[M0rpheus]

34. S'ok, I don't even watch BET...

I am more of a Sci-fi and TLC person myself.

As I said before, the irony is not lost on me, but who better to educate than the people who are affected by the problem. If the majority of your viewers are black this is information that is of interest to them...

Entertainment with black leads do well if the subject matter is more universal and the cast mixed(independance day, matrix), but when the cast is mostly black then it is a "black show" and will probably only be watched by black people (generally). Those shows usually get canceled after a season or two...

[Nederland]

48. Easy

West Wing
24
Alias
CSI: Miami
Third Watch

BTW, African Americans make up 17% of all prime time characters even though the only make up 12% of the population. Latinoes, however, are severely under represented.

[wellst0nev0ter]

54. It Used To Be Called "MTV"

Back when it refused to feature black artists beyond Michael Jackson, which provided a need for a BET.

[preocupied]

33. Maybe if White TV showed blacks in a more positive light pre BET's birth..

there would be no need for a separate black channel. Same with the birth of Miss Black America after years of blacks being excluded from these pagents.

[jiacinto]

7. Philadelphia clearly should be on the list

Go to this site:

www.northeasttimes.com

You will see the division in Phila.

[Walt Starr]

12. Most of Chicago is very segregated

Some pockets of very diverse neighborhoods exist, but racial segregation is very obvious in Chicago overall.

[TheBigGuy]

22. Chicago is VERY segregated...suprised its not in the top 5.

The city is divided up by "chinese wall" railroad embankments, and the blacks pretty much are segregated within these railroad lines.....its very obvious.

[pizzathehut]

44. More than color lines in Chicago

In Chicago they have Polish areas, Hispanic areas, Irish etc... Actually I thought it was interesting seeing stores with the signs out front written in foreign languages. It was kind of like seeing the world in just one place.

[newyawker99]

49. Hi pizzathehut!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[WilliamPitt]

13. How is Boston not there?

Incomplete list. Way incomplete.

[TheBigGuy]

21. Im suprised Dayton isnt on that list.

Its actually more obviously segregated than Cincy is...probably up there w. Chicago.

[Fescue4u]

25. yea I agree.

But Cincinnati is a "hot button" city that has recently had riots which proably pushed Dayton out of the focus.

[TheBigGuy]

26. the political situation is a bit different, but from a metro perspective:

In Dayton the African American community has political power within the city limits which manages to "keep the lid on", but from a metropolitan area perspective I think Dayton is pretty deeply segregated. Easily as segregated as Detroit or Chicago.

[SaintLouisBlues]

43. Boston, Dayton, etc.

Maybe these towns do not have enough of a Black population to hit the top 10. Just speculating, but Boston has never had as high a percentage of Blacks as the cities on this list. Dayton is no where near the population of those towns listed.

I don't know the criteria, but if it is catergorized by total number of those segregated, this would explain it.

[Semi_subversive]

28. And Kiddies

Sacramento is one of the most diverse cities in America. We actually like each other.

[inthecorneroverhere]

29. Thank you

no text

[QC]

30. You're welcome!

[leftofthedial]

32. Truth be told MOST American cities are extremely segregated

I go out of my way to try and find diverse neighborhoods and multi-ethnic cultural opportunities. It's damned hard everywhere.

[MissouriTeacher]

37. Exactly

I'd like to see the list of the most desegregated cities. That would be harder to come up with.

[pizzathehut]

45. But is it so bad????

Well people just seem to like to mix with their own kind. And whats so wrong with the "little Italy's" and "Chinatowns" out there? Areas with great ethnic foods, music, and culture. Would you rather see suburban, homogenized, generic towns with nothing unique?

In fact I'd say the biggest segregation is socio-economic status.

[TankLV]

39. Oh, how I miss Honolulu!

The most racially mixed and diverse city in the entire world, probably.

It is quite unusual, and rare, to see persons all of the same race together (except for the white tourists in Waikiki).

I had a hard time adjusting to all the "cliques" upon moving to Las Vegas.

Even took me a long time to stop noticing married people of the same race.

Hawaii is the example for the future of relations.

Not perfect, but the best the world has, IMO.

[VoteClark]

40. You never been to Nashville Tennessee

I was there and they still have signs that say, "your kind is not welcome" on the outside of the shops.

Oh, and if you want to be assulted just say, "Elvis is Dead!" That will have about 20 trucks with confederate flags on the grill with gun racks on the back window drive up and beat the living crap out of you.

I kid you not. People really get offended by the notion that you think Elvis is dead.

:kick:
J4Clark

[QC]

42. I've been to Nashville many times

and I did not make the list. The source is Black Entertainment Television.

[slor]

50. BET has been owned by white people...

for a few years now since it was sold.

[eyesroll]

52. "We're No. 1?"

Wow.
I knew my metro area was segregated, but I didn't know it was that segregated. I live in the city of Waukesha, which is is mostly white, but there is a fast-growing Latino population and a few black families as well.

But I do live in an older, mixed-income part of the city (a good mix of single family and multi-family housing here), so the diversity here, unfortunately, is probably an anomoly. There is a positively obscene amount of economic segregation in Waukesha County, where some communities demand multi-acre-minimum lots for new-home construction and prohibit multi-family dwellings and absolutely refuse to consider pedestrian- and bus-friendly development.

Although -- What methodology did they use? Not that it gets much better, but I know Milwaukee/Waukesha moves down on the list if you use the 20/20 rule (what percentage of neighborhoods are at least 20 percent in each of two races you're comparing) than if you're using traditional methods (what percentage of people of color would need to move so they're evenly distributed through the area?).

I'm not a huge fan of the second method -- theoretically, a city of 9,997 white families and 3 black families can be said to be fully integrated if the black families don't live near each other.

[Muddleoftheroad]

53. D.C.

Where the hell is D.C. on this list? Honestly, I don't see HOW it isn't here. Not only racial, but class segregation on an epic scale.

[Mari333]

55. Even the small town I live in

has its black section and white section...Only blacks with a great deal of money can meander over to the white section..
and the poverty here is rampant among poor blacks and poor whites..you would think they would get together and recognize they are both being screwed by the Feds, but they dont..they blame each other and scapegoat..
In the meantime, as one black man told me here..."For most of us, Rosa Parks never even got on that bus"..
in the summer, the tourists come in, in their Porsches and Mazaratis..well, thats the Microcosm of a larger Macrocosm..the very wealthy and the very poor..
Poor whites and poor blacks here wait on them with 5 $ an hr service jobs....in the Winter, people burn tires and wood for heat...