The Debate Over Racial Steering
Please note: the notion of "a debate over racial steering" should in no way be taken to suggest that racial steering is lawful in the US. It is not. Under US civil rights law racial steering in order to create or maintain segregation is unlawful and has been the target of civil rights reform since at least the mid-20th century.
Is having racially segregated neighborhoods such a bad thing? This is the major question being posed by leading researchers. There are two dominating theses. The first thesis suggests that racially segregated neighborhoods are characterized as being blighted, having a lack of educational resources, and having high levels of violence. The second thesis challenges this notion and suggests that these neighborhoods are thriving economically. They have developed protective markets, have strong and stable social networks, and because of these networks, they have built high levels of social capital.
Read more about this topic: Racial Steering
Famous quotes containing the words debate, racial and/or steering:
“Like man and wife who nightly keep
Inconsequent debate in sleep
As they dream side by side.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)
“Rarely do American parents deliberately teach their children to hate members of another racial, religious, or nationality group. Many parents, however, communicate the prevailing racial attitudes to their children in subtle and sometimes unconscious ways.”
—Kenneth MacKenzie Clark (20th century)
“The boat is made of dry reeds, and a monkey is steering it.”
—Punjabi proverb, trans. by Gurinder Singh Mann.