SEGREGATION IN CHICAGO IS FAR FROM OVER
This powerful graphic shows the racial breakdown of neighborhoods in Chicago in more recent times. The blue areas are white neighborhoods, and the green areas are black neighborhoods. In the vast majority of the green neighborhoods, the percentage of African-Americans is as high as 96%. This embedded racial segregation is common in larger cities, but is rarely spoken about.
WHY IS THIS AN ISSUE? HOW DO WE FIX IT?
In the primarily black neighborhoods, there are not enough well-paying jobs, and there is also a lot of people that don't have good skills, or have a history of jail time and arrests, which is due to the war on drugs (Bogira, Steve). This embedded segregation has existed since the Great Migration, 100 years ago, and not much has changed when you compare maps of Chicago's communities now and then. So why hasn't it changed? First off, because race is topic that comes with a huge amount of stigma in today's society, and is difficult for Americans to discuss without getting heated. And second, because desegregation is just such a difficult thing to find solutions for. The best way we can do it is to represent these people in the city government of Chicago, create more middle class jobs, and create more affordable housing so people can move out of the crime-ridden neighborhoods into nicer ones.