Intergration for the Nation

To no surprise, Chicago is still one of the most segregated cities in the country. In the stereotypical view, African-Americans are confined to the southside, Latinos and Polish to the westside, and Caucasians to the north and surrounding suburbs with Asians secluded to Chinatown and Bridgeport. However, there are instances where integration is apparent. The best examples are Hyde Park, Wicker Park, Bronzeville/Bridgeport and Lincoln Park. Even with those shining examples, it is not enough to really make the city as diverse as it can be.

There are neighborhoods that are suffering and it is mostly because of the disparity in wealth and race. Some of the most dangerous neighborhoods, Englewood, Roseland, Back of the Yards, Little Village, are also some of the most impoverished and are dominated by one race.

 I am not saying the problems in these neighborhoods are specifically about race, but with integration, some can be fixed. Still using Chicago as an example, Englewood was once majority populated by Caucasians. The neighborhood was thriving. It wasn't until the 60s-70s that the white people started to move out and an influx of African-Americans moved in. Unfortunately, that's when the deterioration started. And that situation isn't limited to just Englewood. This is similar to many neighborhoods across America with the same problem. People would rather move away than integrate. Whether it is because they sought something better, see one particular group of people (not just race, but also financial standing) as inferior, or they feel endangered, people just aren't too accepting of integration as the fix to poverty and to level the field.

I will say that integration is a lackadaisical attempt by governing powers to not do what they are supposed to do, which is actually take action and fix the problems directly instead of side-stepping them and using scapegoats. However, whatever the solution, it at least has to experimented with to see if it is positive. I'm in favor of integrating people of many different races and finances. You just can't integrate a group in poverty with another group in poverty because that's not doing anything but causing more problems, such as violence and possibly more poverty. That's like spreading spoiled mayonnaise on stale bread. With more money and people of different backgrounds coming into a neighborhood, with people who show that they care about their homes and neighborhood, hopefully, it will become infectious towards in the neighborhood. Lead by example.