US/segregation

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About

Segregation is no longer explicitly enforced by law in the US, and in fact there are many laws designed to fight it, but in many ways it continues – although it can now more accurately be described as "failure to integrate completely" rather than any kind of active attempt to keep people separated.

It also remains a problem almost exclusively with black people, whereas any number of other ethnicities that used to be discriminated against (Jewish, Italian, Polish, Irish...) seem to be more or less fully integrated into American society and culture.

News

• 2006-11-14 Census: Race Disparities in Income, Education, Home Ownership Persist in U.S.: includes some figures
• 2002-01-21 Segregated schools hurt students' bid for success

Data

• 2005-08-30 Income Stable, Poverty Rate Increases, Percentage of Americans Without Health Insurance Unchanged: includes some significant figures by ethnic/race group

Notes

Much of the resistance to integration may be cultural, in that each culture's way of doing things – especially in the area of education – clashes. In two towns (Athens and Durham) where I have lived and been involved with schooling a child, the public schools were reportedly receiving great pressure from the black parents to be like drill sergeants – get the kids to memorize and regurgitate facts instantly, on demand. (The ending sequence of "Black Man" by Stevie Wonder (Songs in the Key of Life) came strongly to mind. I originally assumed that the call-and-answer session had been staged specifically for the recording, but now I have to wonder if this is what the black parents actually want? Further investigation is clearly needed.) --Woozle 08:03, 13 November 2006 (EST)