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American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass
This powerful and disturbing book clearly links persistent poverty among blacks in the United States to the unparalleled degree of deliberate segregation they experience in American cities.
American Apartheid shows how the black ghetto was created by whites during the first half of the twentieth century in order to isolate growing urban black populations. It goes on to show that, despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968, segregation is perpetuated today through an interlocking set of individual actions, institutional practices, and governmental policies. In some urban areas the degree of black segregation is so intense and occurs in so many dimensions simultaneously that it amounts to "hypersegregation."
The authors demonstrate that this systematic segregation of African Americans leads inexorably to the creation of underclass communities during periods of economic downturn. Under conditions of extreme segregation, any increase in the overall rate of black poverty yields a marked increase in the geographic concentration of indigence and the deterioration of social and economic conditions in black communities.
As ghetto residents adapt to this increasingly harsh environment under a climate of racial isolation, they evolve attitudes, behaviors, and practices that further marginalize their neighborhoods and undermine their chances of success in mainstream American society. This book is a sober challenge to those who argue that race is of declining significance in the United States today.
American Apartheid shows how the black ghetto was created by whites during the first half of the twentieth century in order to isolate growing urban black populations. It goes on to show that, despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968, segregation is perpetuated today through an interlocking set of individual actions, institutional practices, and governmental policies. In some urban areas the degree of black segregation is so intense and occurs in so many dimensions simultaneously that it amounts to "hypersegregation."
The authors demonstrate that this systematic segregation of African Americans leads inexorably to the creation of underclass communities during periods of economic downturn. Under conditions of extreme segregation, any increase in the overall rate of black poverty yields a marked increase in the geographic concentration of indigence and the deterioration of social and economic conditions in black communities.
As ghetto residents adapt to this increasingly harsh environment under a climate of racial isolation, they evolve attitudes, behaviors, and practices that further marginalize their neighborhoods and undermine their chances of success in mainstream American society. This book is a sober challenge to those who argue that race is of declining significance in the United States today.
312 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
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November 10, 2011
This book set my teeth on edge, and it was hard for a while to figure out why as I agree with many of the findings, and their research into changing levels of segregation over decades in cities across America is vital and well carried out. They describe segregation as one of, if not the, principal ills of American society, and one far too long and too often ignored. Like Stephen Meyer, and writing long before him, they see white racism as a principal factor in this and have worked to document it, but do not fail to note the institutionalised forms it has taken through real estate practices and government regulation and policy. You know I liked all of that.
I think it's firstly the use of the term 'underclass'. This is my first foray into the literature and I know it has been a common term even among well-meaning people, but frankly if you called someone underclass to their face it would be considered an insult. How then can you label thousands of inner-city residents as such en masse just because you do so in books you think they will never read? It's a basic question of respect, the most basic demand of all inner city residents who have to fight for it every day, unlike academics. And to me it is emblematic of where you stand, and the perspective from which you write.
They quote a few rap lyrics, and god knows enough of those are problematic. But there is nothing about the brilliant and long-standing tradition of political commentary and conciousness emerging from the 'underclass' in rap and R&B. They go on quote Skogan and essentially use the broken-windows theory as part (not the principal part to be sure, but it makes the hackles rise) of their argument about the ghetto's impacts, blaming unkempt properties for rising crime without properly fixing blame. They don't seem to really see the massive struggles of local homeowners to get funding to fix up their properties (the difficulties are noted elsewhere to be fair, but not in this context) and just how much they achieve (and maintain) in the face of all odds, or the struggles of tenants and local organisations to improve slum housing. Having spent years of my life on this issue, I believe the real problem is an absence of credit for those who live there (except in the case of predatory lenders), and the incredibly high density of absentee landlords milking properties for maximum profit until they are literally falling down (and killing tenants when they do so), burning them down when that makes business sense. How can anyone be more or less offhand about the impunity of such a thing? As fundamental as the question of how people are contained within the ghetto is the very real problem of who owns it, and what they are allowed to do with it and to it. The 'downward spiral' they describe corresponds to profits extracted and resources withdrawn.
But of course such a criticism is not really to the point, as this book is entirely about getting people out of the ghetto, seeing it as backward and possibly harmful to try and improve conditions within it. My principal issue is that such an objective of 'dismantling', whatever that means exactly, might well have to be carried out in spite of many ghetto residents themselves. Massey & Denton criticise Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton when they problematise integration, blames black politicans and business owners for their material interests in maintaining areas of concentrated blackness. In South Central there may be plenty of people who want to get out, but there are plenty who call it home, who love it as much as they hate aspects of it, who are working hard to make it a better place. Gentrification is making this a particularly poignant issue, as some neighborhoods are becoming integrated again for the first time in decades--often due to the successes of local groups in improving their neighborhood conditions--but only for a fleeting moment before the people of colour are pushed out into the hinterlands where they may arguably be worse off than they were in the inner cities.
I understand the practicalities of a 'sensible' and easily applied policy solution, the idea that fixing housing discrimination (without major changes to current law even, through simple enforcement!) fixes the problems of race relations and the poverty of the ghetto might have appealed to politicians (though it clearly didn't). But this data, this narrative to me points to the fact that we need to rethink housing and land use all together, that the housing market itself might be a problem in a country where working for minimum wage keeps you below the poverty line and thus safe, secure, and healthy housing is never affordable without immense (and almost nonexistant) subsidies. There are deeper issues, and looking to successes in other countries shows we need to escape our current definitions of liberal and conservative. Why can we not reimagine public housing?
But on their own terms, I simply don't think litigation alone ever solves problems, however heroic such efforts are. That those living in the ghetto have been victimised by society none can deny, but even if you don't believe that they are capable of understanding or fighting these dynamics, at the end of the day political will to tackle issues of poverty and race only comes through greater struggle.
I think it's firstly the use of the term 'underclass'. This is my first foray into the literature and I know it has been a common term even among well-meaning people, but frankly if you called someone underclass to their face it would be considered an insult. How then can you label thousands of inner-city residents as such en masse just because you do so in books you think they will never read? It's a basic question of respect, the most basic demand of all inner city residents who have to fight for it every day, unlike academics. And to me it is emblematic of where you stand, and the perspective from which you write.
They quote a few rap lyrics, and god knows enough of those are problematic. But there is nothing about the brilliant and long-standing tradition of political commentary and conciousness emerging from the 'underclass' in rap and R&B. They go on quote Skogan and essentially use the broken-windows theory as part (not the principal part to be sure, but it makes the hackles rise) of their argument about the ghetto's impacts, blaming unkempt properties for rising crime without properly fixing blame. They don't seem to really see the massive struggles of local homeowners to get funding to fix up their properties (the difficulties are noted elsewhere to be fair, but not in this context) and just how much they achieve (and maintain) in the face of all odds, or the struggles of tenants and local organisations to improve slum housing. Having spent years of my life on this issue, I believe the real problem is an absence of credit for those who live there (except in the case of predatory lenders), and the incredibly high density of absentee landlords milking properties for maximum profit until they are literally falling down (and killing tenants when they do so), burning them down when that makes business sense. How can anyone be more or less offhand about the impunity of such a thing? As fundamental as the question of how people are contained within the ghetto is the very real problem of who owns it, and what they are allowed to do with it and to it. The 'downward spiral' they describe corresponds to profits extracted and resources withdrawn.
But of course such a criticism is not really to the point, as this book is entirely about getting people out of the ghetto, seeing it as backward and possibly harmful to try and improve conditions within it. My principal issue is that such an objective of 'dismantling', whatever that means exactly, might well have to be carried out in spite of many ghetto residents themselves. Massey & Denton criticise Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton when they problematise integration, blames black politicans and business owners for their material interests in maintaining areas of concentrated blackness. In South Central there may be plenty of people who want to get out, but there are plenty who call it home, who love it as much as they hate aspects of it, who are working hard to make it a better place. Gentrification is making this a particularly poignant issue, as some neighborhoods are becoming integrated again for the first time in decades--often due to the successes of local groups in improving their neighborhood conditions--but only for a fleeting moment before the people of colour are pushed out into the hinterlands where they may arguably be worse off than they were in the inner cities.
I understand the practicalities of a 'sensible' and easily applied policy solution, the idea that fixing housing discrimination (without major changes to current law even, through simple enforcement!) fixes the problems of race relations and the poverty of the ghetto might have appealed to politicians (though it clearly didn't). But this data, this narrative to me points to the fact that we need to rethink housing and land use all together, that the housing market itself might be a problem in a country where working for minimum wage keeps you below the poverty line and thus safe, secure, and healthy housing is never affordable without immense (and almost nonexistant) subsidies. There are deeper issues, and looking to successes in other countries shows we need to escape our current definitions of liberal and conservative. Why can we not reimagine public housing?
But on their own terms, I simply don't think litigation alone ever solves problems, however heroic such efforts are. That those living in the ghetto have been victimised by society none can deny, but even if you don't believe that they are capable of understanding or fighting these dynamics, at the end of the day political will to tackle issues of poverty and race only comes through greater struggle.
June 22, 2010
you know when people talk about "institutionalized racism" and it's a bit murky exactly what that looks like? this book will explain it.
Denton and Massey's classic details the psychosocial forms that racism takes, in creating the conditions for white flight and blockbusting and all that good stuff. They describe large amounts of survey data from the last several decades that show whites favoring desegregation but being afraid or unwilling to live in neighborhoods that are more than 20-30% black. They walk you through the statistical analysis showing how geographic concentration of poor people leads to more poverty, and on and on.
They also distill a century's worth of integration activism and government and real estate industry response in the form of legislation and federal oversight--or in this case, mostly not--to show how a combination of powerful interests have created and sustained the black ghetto.
Like many sociological works, it tends towards repetition. You have the sense that chapters are written to be excerpted, one chapter read here and there in a college course. I can imagine the Stokely Carmichael critique that it too often proposes integration with whites as a solution to black problems, as if whites were inherently a 'good influence.' But the authors do a good job of proving that blacks desire residential integration and would prefer to live in mixed neighborhoods, and thus grounding their arguments on choice and freedom rather than the civilizing effects of middle class white neighborhoods.
There are also some new (to me) ideas about the importance of coalition politics in building community and productive assimilation. New immigrants to America tend to live in ethnic enclaves but not highly segregated ones: those legendary all-Jewish areas of New York were probably 50% Jewish, 20% Polish, and 30% Italian. These groups worked together on local politics to get neighborhood needs met and receive patronage. Ethnic coalitions helped each group maintain identity while participating productively in a democratic society. High rates of black residential segregation prevent interethnic coalition building and make it (paradoxically) in the black community's immediate interest to remain segregated in order to maintain control of "safe" elected positions. Separatism produces its own power--real, but weaker than that of a wider coalition.
The authors also manage to synthesize prevailing arguments about the determining roles of race vs. class in maintaining the black underclass. Well worth the read.
Denton and Massey's classic details the psychosocial forms that racism takes, in creating the conditions for white flight and blockbusting and all that good stuff. They describe large amounts of survey data from the last several decades that show whites favoring desegregation but being afraid or unwilling to live in neighborhoods that are more than 20-30% black. They walk you through the statistical analysis showing how geographic concentration of poor people leads to more poverty, and on and on.
They also distill a century's worth of integration activism and government and real estate industry response in the form of legislation and federal oversight--or in this case, mostly not--to show how a combination of powerful interests have created and sustained the black ghetto.
Like many sociological works, it tends towards repetition. You have the sense that chapters are written to be excerpted, one chapter read here and there in a college course. I can imagine the Stokely Carmichael critique that it too often proposes integration with whites as a solution to black problems, as if whites were inherently a 'good influence.' But the authors do a good job of proving that blacks desire residential integration and would prefer to live in mixed neighborhoods, and thus grounding their arguments on choice and freedom rather than the civilizing effects of middle class white neighborhoods.
There are also some new (to me) ideas about the importance of coalition politics in building community and productive assimilation. New immigrants to America tend to live in ethnic enclaves but not highly segregated ones: those legendary all-Jewish areas of New York were probably 50% Jewish, 20% Polish, and 30% Italian. These groups worked together on local politics to get neighborhood needs met and receive patronage. Ethnic coalitions helped each group maintain identity while participating productively in a democratic society. High rates of black residential segregation prevent interethnic coalition building and make it (paradoxically) in the black community's immediate interest to remain segregated in order to maintain control of "safe" elected positions. Separatism produces its own power--real, but weaker than that of a wider coalition.
The authors also manage to synthesize prevailing arguments about the determining roles of race vs. class in maintaining the black underclass. Well worth the read.
February 2, 2019
An excellent work of sociology that explores the roots and dynamics of poverty and housing segregation in American cities. This work is a bit old now, but even if you have read a lot on housing segregation, I'd still recommend this insightful book. The main argument is that housing segregation is the central cause of the "underclass," or the emergence of a persistently poor, crime-field, "pathological" set of AA neighborhoods in cities across the country. Massey explores the history of this segregation, including an outstanding chapter on the Fair Housing Act of 1968, in which he shows that the act only passed because it was gutted of enforcement provisions. The federal government then did very little to carry out the act (especially the Reagan admin, which was so hostile to fair housing and other civil rights provisions that it sparked the passage of a tougher fair housing act in 1988).
I thought what really made this book interesting was its explanation for how segregation causes and underclass and how this class' problems spread from one generation to another. The main point was that housing segregation concentrates poverty, which concentrates and normalizing the social/behavioral ills of poverty. Let me unpack this: If a segment of the population that is disproportionately poor is more evenly distributed throughout the population, it benefits from the variety of things that a slightly wealthier community usually provides: better schools, safer streets, more intact families, better relations with the police, inter-ethnic political alliances, etc. This is roughly what happened with many white and Hispanic groups, for whom housing segregation obstacles were far lower. If, however, a poorer group is concentrated together, and whenever the wealthier among that group tries to move the ghetto "follows" them as whites flee the area, social and behavioral problems become concentrated, intensified, and even normalized. The community, in a sense, becomes less than the some of its parts: people are moving around constantly (see the book Evicted for more on this), policing is more aggressive, norms about parenthood and upkeep of homes are reduced (in a population that already didn't have a lot of resources for these things anyway), and a kind of despair, anger, and short-term thinking can set in.
Massey only explores this dynamic for inner city black neighborhoods, where housing segregation, poverty, and crime are more intensely concentrated. However, I think it would be interesting to apply it to post-industrial white American towns and other contexts. I'd also say that this explanation of housing segregation's relationship to stubborn poverty could be accepted by both conservatives and liberals, although I think conservatives would have to go farther in setting aside the personal responsibility fixation.
This book also uses a handy measurement to show that African-Americans have been uniquely segregated in American history. It's an index of segregation that aggregates all the census tracts in a city and averages out the percentage of the average black person's neighbors that would also be black. SO if the segregation index is 90, that means that 90% of black people would have to move to other neighborhoods to achieve a perfectly integrated city. It means that 90% of the average black person's neighbors are also black. Chicago, for example, was hyper-segregated in the 70s and 80s, recording scores well over 90. I found this to be a really useful measurement for the level of segregation in a city. It also convincingly shows that old ethnic neighborhoods (Italians, Irish, etc), to the extent that we could measure, were never anywhere near as segregated as black neighborhoods, usually getting a score of around 30.
As you can probably tell, this is a heavily sociological work, but to me this is the best kind of social science work because it is a problem that screams out for good data. Massey is also a good historian, as he offers the reader a basic narrative of housing segregation and urban race relations in the 20th century. He also does a great job explaining how his argument challenges existing arguments (in the early 1990s) about inner city poverty and crime. I could see some people objecting to his argument as implicitly critical of majority African-American neighborhoods, saying that he's saying that it isn't good when a bunch of black people are congregated in the same places. That's not his argument though. His argument is that the unique exclusion of AA's from the mainstream of American life, including housing segregation and broader socio-economic mobility, has made the concentration of poverty in black neighborhoods a creator and sustainer of broader problems. It really has nothing to do with black culture inherently, contra many conservative rationalizations of black poverty. I think this is a really important contribution.
I thought what really made this book interesting was its explanation for how segregation causes and underclass and how this class' problems spread from one generation to another. The main point was that housing segregation concentrates poverty, which concentrates and normalizing the social/behavioral ills of poverty. Let me unpack this: If a segment of the population that is disproportionately poor is more evenly distributed throughout the population, it benefits from the variety of things that a slightly wealthier community usually provides: better schools, safer streets, more intact families, better relations with the police, inter-ethnic political alliances, etc. This is roughly what happened with many white and Hispanic groups, for whom housing segregation obstacles were far lower. If, however, a poorer group is concentrated together, and whenever the wealthier among that group tries to move the ghetto "follows" them as whites flee the area, social and behavioral problems become concentrated, intensified, and even normalized. The community, in a sense, becomes less than the some of its parts: people are moving around constantly (see the book Evicted for more on this), policing is more aggressive, norms about parenthood and upkeep of homes are reduced (in a population that already didn't have a lot of resources for these things anyway), and a kind of despair, anger, and short-term thinking can set in.
Massey only explores this dynamic for inner city black neighborhoods, where housing segregation, poverty, and crime are more intensely concentrated. However, I think it would be interesting to apply it to post-industrial white American towns and other contexts. I'd also say that this explanation of housing segregation's relationship to stubborn poverty could be accepted by both conservatives and liberals, although I think conservatives would have to go farther in setting aside the personal responsibility fixation.
This book also uses a handy measurement to show that African-Americans have been uniquely segregated in American history. It's an index of segregation that aggregates all the census tracts in a city and averages out the percentage of the average black person's neighbors that would also be black. SO if the segregation index is 90, that means that 90% of black people would have to move to other neighborhoods to achieve a perfectly integrated city. It means that 90% of the average black person's neighbors are also black. Chicago, for example, was hyper-segregated in the 70s and 80s, recording scores well over 90. I found this to be a really useful measurement for the level of segregation in a city. It also convincingly shows that old ethnic neighborhoods (Italians, Irish, etc), to the extent that we could measure, were never anywhere near as segregated as black neighborhoods, usually getting a score of around 30.
As you can probably tell, this is a heavily sociological work, but to me this is the best kind of social science work because it is a problem that screams out for good data. Massey is also a good historian, as he offers the reader a basic narrative of housing segregation and urban race relations in the 20th century. He also does a great job explaining how his argument challenges existing arguments (in the early 1990s) about inner city poverty and crime. I could see some people objecting to his argument as implicitly critical of majority African-American neighborhoods, saying that he's saying that it isn't good when a bunch of black people are congregated in the same places. That's not his argument though. His argument is that the unique exclusion of AA's from the mainstream of American life, including housing segregation and broader socio-economic mobility, has made the concentration of poverty in black neighborhoods a creator and sustainer of broader problems. It really has nothing to do with black culture inherently, contra many conservative rationalizations of black poverty. I think this is a really important contribution.
February 3, 2018
I will be honest to say that I did not read every page of this book, mainly because I am familiar with the content. I am currently enrolled in class that addresses many of the social topics that goes on society, whether that be police brutality, race contentions, civil rights and other things. In particular. Blacks living in the modern world after slavery. It is a touchy subject that will infuriate a lot of people, even may separate two races but it cannot be ignored. Regarding the content of this book, the main idea was that Blacks still live in segregated cities. Despite the efforts to eliminate barriers that prevented racism. sadly racism is alive and well whether subtle or overt.
I am not too big on a lot of statistical data. but they are very relevant. I do think that this book should be required reading to college and even lower level courses. It pains me to read through all of this material, mainly cause I wonder have me made any progress with discrimination? Racism and policies are still enforced, it is only be ignorance that we are blind to what goes on before us.
Really detailed but informative book that will modify how you perceive segregation.
I am not too big on a lot of statistical data. but they are very relevant. I do think that this book should be required reading to college and even lower level courses. It pains me to read through all of this material, mainly cause I wonder have me made any progress with discrimination? Racism and policies are still enforced, it is only be ignorance that we are blind to what goes on before us.
Really detailed but informative book that will modify how you perceive segregation.
Read
August 20, 2021The book is very well researched and written. Naturally, taking a full course load during summer, along with other commitments, I gradually lost interest in finishing it.
October 23, 2013
If we must shift to a national curriculum, this book should be on the mandatory reading list.
November 18, 2018
chapter 6 - how to build an underclass/ a ghetto and 7- how to sustain it were whew.
April 20, 2022
Honestly a must read for every American. very accessible and comprehensive discussion of residential segregation in the US. However, I had some issues with the description of the “culture of poverty”. I think it depicts Black people as easily manipulated and simple. The description was somewhat one dimensional , and I wish that they had included actual narratives of Black ghetto residents to corroborate/validate their wide claims.
no
July 19, 2023Massey and Denton want ghettoes desegregated. No, whites won't move there; there isn't money to subsidize suburban housing for poor people. Focus on this unworkable solution ensures further defunding of housing for the black poor. --Frances Fox Piven, The Breaking of the American Social Compact, p. 88.
April 13, 2008
Massey and Denton propose a theory of the American "urban underclass" that is based on premise that residential segregation--the ghetto--is a condition that has been created and perpetuated by white America throughout the 20th century and intensifying since the 1950s. Based exclusively on US Census data, they show that African Americans are by far the most segregated demographic in the US: the richest African Americans are still more segregated than the poorest Hispanics.
The consequences of residential segregation are devastating and, Massey and Denton argue, are the precipitating factors in the perpetuation of the urban underclass. They include poorly funded neighborhood schools (which fail to give students exposure to a more diverse racial environment, multiplying the challenge of escaping the cycle perpetuating the ghetto) and isolation from social networks (that are the primary connection to jobs and upward mobility for whites).
White flight and black exclusion are the two ways that residential segregation is perpetuated. If exclusion methods like neighborhood associations, real estate agent steering, and threats of violence do not do the job and the black population grows beyond 10% or so, whites leave the neighborhood in droves for the suburbs. When polled, few African Americans say they prefer to live in all black neighborhoods. To the contrary, they overwhelmingly support an even proportion of 50% black and 50% white, supporting the argument that the ghetto is imposed by whites upon blacks.
Massey and Denton's hypothesis does not require (though they do mention approvingly) the assumption that black urban culture itself contributes to urban poverty, a view that African American Studies scholars like Robin D.G. Kelly reject. Residential segregation alone can account for the crisis. For this reason, I think it is an issue that deserves more attention than any other facing urban America today, and this book convinced me.
The consequences of residential segregation are devastating and, Massey and Denton argue, are the precipitating factors in the perpetuation of the urban underclass. They include poorly funded neighborhood schools (which fail to give students exposure to a more diverse racial environment, multiplying the challenge of escaping the cycle perpetuating the ghetto) and isolation from social networks (that are the primary connection to jobs and upward mobility for whites).
White flight and black exclusion are the two ways that residential segregation is perpetuated. If exclusion methods like neighborhood associations, real estate agent steering, and threats of violence do not do the job and the black population grows beyond 10% or so, whites leave the neighborhood in droves for the suburbs. When polled, few African Americans say they prefer to live in all black neighborhoods. To the contrary, they overwhelmingly support an even proportion of 50% black and 50% white, supporting the argument that the ghetto is imposed by whites upon blacks.
Massey and Denton's hypothesis does not require (though they do mention approvingly) the assumption that black urban culture itself contributes to urban poverty, a view that African American Studies scholars like Robin D.G. Kelly reject. Residential segregation alone can account for the crisis. For this reason, I think it is an issue that deserves more attention than any other facing urban America today, and this book convinced me.
November 14, 2020
Strongly recommend this book to anyone who's interested in the subject of race in America. It's a bit older than many of the popular contemporary books that you'll find in this field (published in 1993) but it stands out for its dogged focus on a political science-based approach to the issue. Indeed, the book is full of charts depicting trends in segregation and social isolation over time, with the authors going to great lengths to explain their methodology and how to interpret the results.
The other interesting move this book makes is placing residential segregation at the center of the conversation. Though many in my milieu are likely familiar with redlining, structural racism, issues with policing, and so forth, a major underlying factor in all of these discussions is the *concentrated* nature of poor black communities in cities across the United States. Such concentration locks these communities into spirals of economic decline, complicates the project of political coalition-building, and dampens the life prospects of young people in a way that can't be simply explained through race or class-based arguments (though both of those are key interlocking factors).
One argument the authors make, which I instinctively took with a grain of salt, is that residential segregation plays a key role in giving rise to an "oppositional culture" within black communities that devalues traditional American values such as family and marriage. The logic that the authors lay out seems plausible, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was a certain degree of insensitivity or lack of facility with black culture at play. In any case, if you do read, make sure you read that section carefully.
The other interesting move this book makes is placing residential segregation at the center of the conversation. Though many in my milieu are likely familiar with redlining, structural racism, issues with policing, and so forth, a major underlying factor in all of these discussions is the *concentrated* nature of poor black communities in cities across the United States. Such concentration locks these communities into spirals of economic decline, complicates the project of political coalition-building, and dampens the life prospects of young people in a way that can't be simply explained through race or class-based arguments (though both of those are key interlocking factors).
One argument the authors make, which I instinctively took with a grain of salt, is that residential segregation plays a key role in giving rise to an "oppositional culture" within black communities that devalues traditional American values such as family and marriage. The logic that the authors lay out seems plausible, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was a certain degree of insensitivity or lack of facility with black culture at play. In any case, if you do read, make sure you read that section carefully.
April 14, 2023
This important sociological work persuasively demonstrates the reasons for, and the results of, the inner city ghettos. The cause was segregated housing because whites did not want to live with Black people. Black people were systematically prevented from participating in a free market for housing, and were instead forced to live in certain all-black areas. This had the effect of concentrating poverty, which in turn led to other cultural ills and a downward economic and social spiral.
Sometimes the exposition can get a bit dry as the authors repeatedly present the stats, explain the stats, and unpack the stats, but this is a necessary exercise.
This landmark book was published in 1993 and the reader can’t help but wonder how much—or how little—may have changed over the past 30 years.
Joseph wrote an excellent review here, so I am thankfully spared the trouble of writing a proper summary myself:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sometimes the exposition can get a bit dry as the authors repeatedly present the stats, explain the stats, and unpack the stats, but this is a necessary exercise.
This landmark book was published in 1993 and the reader can’t help but wonder how much—or how little—may have changed over the past 30 years.
Joseph wrote an excellent review here, so I am thankfully spared the trouble of writing a proper summary myself:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
November 13, 2022
The data-driven argument of this book demonstrates how and why America has a segregated underclass distinctly within the Black population. White people exhibit a preference for primarily white, or "not too Black" neighborhoods, which, combined with multiple cultural and structural forces, create natural tipping points that create irreversible Black ghettos. I've read a lot more economic research and relatively little sociology research. Sociology is often treated as a lighter, less rigorous field within social sciences. This book disproved that perception for me. It sequentially controls for income and skin tone, over time, to show how the segregating forces affect Blacks distinctly more than any other BIPOC or immigrant group. It's also balanced in it's sources, including input and research from the likes of Charles Murray (who provided a cover testimonial).
November 6, 2019
This is the book I've been looking for that clearly and succinctly identifies the root cause of black poverty, unemployment, crime and high rate of fatherless households in America. While the book has an academic tone to it it is highly readable and goes to the heart of the matter without boring you with lots of unnecessary detail. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the persistent and systemic failure of welfare and social programs in the US. Especially those that target the black communities in the US.
December 30, 2018
Standard classic: Important research that argues segregation forms the spatial/structural foundation of the creation of the black underclass.
April 4, 2019
Hands down one of my favourite books. Jarring and realistic narration of how segregation started and never ended.
November 4, 2019
A thorough and thoughtful examination of the systems of segregation and inequality. An oldie but a goodie. Certainly a must-read!
April 23, 2021
We don't often use the word apartheid to describe the US but when you define it we are its earliest manifestation, South Africa learned from us.
November 2, 2022
Will be recommending this to friends who don't believe systemic racism is real.
October 1, 2023
If you are questioning why America is "the way it is" currently, or learning about race relations in America, this is a MUST read.
May 6, 2021
This book has false statistics about the black race here in America and I couldn’t finish reading this book.
March 16, 2018
Incredibly insightful. In no history class did I get such a thorough picture of the nature of segregation- especially not as it relates to recent times. While I have thoughts their discussion of oppositional identity and have critique of some nuance regarding that, over all the historical account of segregation, policy, and its effects was excellent.
April 1, 2022
This is an excellent book that explains how the inner city black neighborhoods came to be what they are today, and what we would need to do to change that. Written like a textbook, it is PACKED with data, numbers, and tables.
It was a long and sluggish read (only 236 pages but a dense 236 pages!). In the end, I'm very glad I read it. It answered many of my questions and helped me understand so much.
It was a long and sluggish read (only 236 pages but a dense 236 pages!). In the end, I'm very glad I read it. It answered many of my questions and helped me understand so much.
December 15, 2014
A very informative but heart wrenching read. The main focal point is discrimination in housing. To illustrate how serious that problem is, it was necessary for the effects of poverty, isolation & segregation to be understood as well. The description of discriminatory practices such as redlining, blockbusting, spoken & unspoken restrictive covenants is given a detailed history & how that affects communities is demonstrated in the results of concentrated isolation & segregation. Understanding how all of that comes together paints a grim & depressing picture. That picture is made worse by how the Federal Housing Act of 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination & the riots that followed, was rendered impotent as it was passed & made virtually useless by legislation & lack of enforcement that followed until the Amendments passed in 1988 to fix the issues that were either known at the time the act was passed or within a few years after. The attitudes of white people in regards to integration in principal vs practice are talked about as well & it historically has not matched up well.
Whether this issue affecting black communities is one of race or class is given some time towards the end of the book. Considering what I learned from the book & the arguments put forward, I think it is both though leaning more so towards race in regards to black people. That is to say, they are not to the exclusion of each other & the issues in these communities would be better solved by attacking both issues, not one or the other, but the role that race plays cannot be denied. Political will is necessary and given what I know about money in politics, that is unlikely to happen to the extent necessary without tackling that issue as well. Enforcement of penalties & legislation is necessary as well without obstacles to the audits necessary to flush out these issues & the need for suits to be brought by these audits. Still, that isn't enough. To me, it makes clear the importance changing the perception of integrated neighborhoods & eliminate segregation across the board to allow people a chance at upward mobility & access to resources that living in neighborhoods that are integrated across race & class provide. It cannot be islands of integration in a sea of segregation.
It is a very good book that, as sad heart wrenching as it was to read & comprehend the effects described, has helped inform my view of the reality in this country & our communities.
Whether this issue affecting black communities is one of race or class is given some time towards the end of the book. Considering what I learned from the book & the arguments put forward, I think it is both though leaning more so towards race in regards to black people. That is to say, they are not to the exclusion of each other & the issues in these communities would be better solved by attacking both issues, not one or the other, but the role that race plays cannot be denied. Political will is necessary and given what I know about money in politics, that is unlikely to happen to the extent necessary without tackling that issue as well. Enforcement of penalties & legislation is necessary as well without obstacles to the audits necessary to flush out these issues & the need for suits to be brought by these audits. Still, that isn't enough. To me, it makes clear the importance changing the perception of integrated neighborhoods & eliminate segregation across the board to allow people a chance at upward mobility & access to resources that living in neighborhoods that are integrated across race & class provide. It cannot be islands of integration in a sea of segregation.
It is a very good book that, as sad heart wrenching as it was to read & comprehend the effects described, has helped inform my view of the reality in this country & our communities.
August 4, 2013
1. The Great Migration + racist governmental policies + discriminatory acts by realtors and lenders + individual acts of prejudice = American Apartheid, the curious case of blacks being heavily segregated throughout the country's major urban centers, especially those in the Midwest and Northeast.
Segregated housing + economic downturn which disproportionately affected blacks = heavy concentration of poverty for blacks, which in turn caused the associated effects of poverty (crime, drug abuse, single mother households, welfare dependency) to manifest themselves in greater numbers and proportion in those communities.
2. Although published in 1993, and although segregation has trended downward in the last 20 years, all this means is that black communities have gone from hypersegregated to just segregated.
3. I read this in college and didn't realize it until I received the book from the library and recognized the cover. Scary how much I took in in college is no longer with me.
Segregated housing + economic downturn which disproportionately affected blacks = heavy concentration of poverty for blacks, which in turn caused the associated effects of poverty (crime, drug abuse, single mother households, welfare dependency) to manifest themselves in greater numbers and proportion in those communities.
2. Although published in 1993, and although segregation has trended downward in the last 20 years, all this means is that black communities have gone from hypersegregated to just segregated.
3. I read this in college and didn't realize it until I received the book from the library and recognized the cover. Scary how much I took in in college is no longer with me.
January 19, 2015
While this book is getting fairly dated at this point, being from the early 1990s, I still think it should be required reading for every American. It describes in great detail the federal, state and local government housing policies and practices, and individual citizen actions, that led to and reinforced housing and community segregation in the U.S. It also does an excellent job describing the effects of housing segregation in the population that is segregated.
I would be very interested in any book that has updated its analysis in recent years to know how various efforts since it was written have impacted residential segregation in the U.S.
It is definitely a dense read, because the the authors do such a deep and thorough job with the material, so expect it to take a while, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.
I would be very interested in any book that has updated its analysis in recent years to know how various efforts since it was written have impacted residential segregation in the U.S.
It is definitely a dense read, because the the authors do such a deep and thorough job with the material, so expect it to take a while, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.
December 23, 2023
Massey and Denton put together a masterful work. I was a little worried when it started because the first two chapters were just retelling theory and philosophy.
My worries were misplaced, they covered reams of data and really dived deep into the numbers to support their hypothesis. I will say that they make an incredibly compelling case for how institutions have perpetuated an underclass. I did wonder if all this correlation did equal causation. The conclusion I came out to was it wasn't entirely relevant if it was causation. The correlations showed the problem and the solutions presented were reasonable and had a track record of lowering that correlation.
I highly recommend this one. It's tragic but very important.
My worries were misplaced, they covered reams of data and really dived deep into the numbers to support their hypothesis. I will say that they make an incredibly compelling case for how institutions have perpetuated an underclass. I did wonder if all this correlation did equal causation. The conclusion I came out to was it wasn't entirely relevant if it was causation. The correlations showed the problem and the solutions presented were reasonable and had a track record of lowering that correlation.
I highly recommend this one. It's tragic but very important.
September 17, 2007
This book, for me, had the same comprehensive explanatory power of Guns, Germs, and Steel. It makes sense of so much in contemporary race relations and inequalities. I think everyone should read this book.
November 9, 2024
What would Massey and Denton need to change to update this book? Pretty much nothing. Still so relevant and why housing policy is so vital to ensuring the progress of the country its people. Does not hold back when it confronts white supremacy in housing policy and attitudes. Should be required reading for anyone in urban development programs.
May 10, 2013
It's getting old, but this book is still depressingly accurate. Also, man, Chicago doesn't come out looking good. That hurt in some deeply personal, but probably healthy way and will likely continue to do so for a while. Great book.
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