American Apartheid. Segregation and the Making of the Underclass

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This powerful and disturbing book links persistent poverty among blacks in the United States to the deliberate segregation they face in American cities. It reveals how the black ghetto was created by whites in the early twentieth century to isolate urban black populations. Despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968, segregation persists today through a complex interplay of individual actions, institutional practices, and governmental policies. In some urban areas, the level of black segregation is so extreme that it is termed "hypersegregation." The authors illustrate how this systematic segregation leads to the formation of underclass communities during economic downturns. Under such conditions, any rise in black poverty significantly increases the geographic concentration of poverty and deteriorates social and economic conditions in black neighborhoods. As residents adapt to this harsh environment of racial isolation, they develop attitudes and behaviors that further marginalize their communities and hinder their success in mainstream society. This book serves as a sober challenge to the notion that race is losing significance in the United States today.