Segregation: Alive and Well In America
Many today think of segregation in a historical context, something that happened in the deep south some fifty years ago. Unfortunately, this is not the case as today we can see segregation in most cities across the United States. While African-Americans are not strictly forbidden to live in any one place or disallowed from using the same facilities as whites, most cities have gentrified and pushed African-Americans to live among themselves in poor neighborhoods. African-Americans live in some of the poorest and downtrodden communities in the entire country. When compared to Whites of the same SES, African-Americans live in worse areas and are surrounded by poorer areas while whites tend to live in and closer to better areas.
Living in South Central Los Angeles, this can be seen just driving a few blocks. At the University of Southern California, we reside in an oasis, on an island in an ocean of poverty. The reason this exists is because the University made it so, forcibly buying the surrounding land and displacing the previous residents. Driving around Los Angeles you will find that poorer areas, well, look worse. Meanwhile, if you head west you find the “whiter” areas which are blooming and beautiful. Census data found Los Angeles to be considered highly segregated, using an index which determined the percentage of African-Americans that would have to move to effectively blend the city. This could be surprising to those of us who live in nicer areas and assume that segregation is no longer in effect, especially not in a west coast, liberal state such as California.
The African-Americans who live in these poor areas are at an extreme disadvantage and are often unable to access proper education, exercise facilities such as parks, or health care facilities. In addition, there is a severe issue with the availability of quality food choices as discussed in the previous blog post. In effect, these disadvantages and overall discrepancies keep the poor, poor. How can one live the American Dream and move up in the world if he/she is unable to get a quality education and get a proper job all the while unable to care for their own health?
Now the issue becomes how to fix such a problem. An effective strategy may be to help those of impoverished and segregated communities gain access to the education, jobs, and health care they need. Community health clinics can serve the community and serve as a solidified point that the community members know they can count on for quality health care. It is not only unfortunate but frankly disgusting that in the United States, arguably the greatest country the world has seen, African-Americans are discriminated against and forced into a system of substandard living in the year 2016. If there is a chance to stop and reverse this trend, steps must be taken soon and those steps must address the main causes that perpetuate the system.
