Environmental Racism in Mount Vernon and Buchanan New York - Thesis Example

I. Introduction
Violence, it has been said, is as American as apple pie. Some would argue that so is racism. After four hundred years in which those in the mainstream have used every means at their disposal to subjugate minorities such as Blacks and Native Americans, one would think that in these enlightened times, when many racist laws have been overturned, there would be no cause for worry on the part of minorities. It seems that the attitudes that engender racism are so entrenched that they find novel ways to rear their heads.

A. Statement of the research problem
If the charges of those who claim that America suffers from environmental racism are true then it is likely that some evidence could be found when two population groups, one white and one black, are examined closely. If it is indeed true then it is likely that more than just getting evidence from hearsay there would be some objective material to substantiate this. In effect, is there a difference between Mount Vernon, which is predominantly black, and Buchanan, which is predominantly white in terms of environmental abuses and degradation?

1. Description of Mount Vernon and Buchanan
In Mount Vernon, one does not have to roam long to notice that the people appear poorer and are mostly black. The city shares a boundary with the Bronx, one that stretches another place known as Bronxville, which is a wealthy neighbourhood. As a New York Times article explains, “In a county that is overwhelmingly white, Mount Vernon's minority community now represents the majority, with 60 per cent of the city's 68,000 residents identifying themselves as black or African-American” (Foderaro 2003). In all fairness, not all the people in Mount Vernon are poor. In the northern part of Mount Vernon, million-dollar homes can be found along with their manicured lawns. Another part of Mount Vernon that is not exactly poor is Fleetwood which has a vibrant commercial sector. To get a better perspective it is important to note that Mount Vernon lies only 25 minutes away from Manhattan and is itself divided by an east-west railway into white and black worlds. For blacks, ever since the end of World War II there has been a steady influx into this town, increasing in numbers from 11% in 1950 to the current population, which some have pegged to be more than 50%. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was a site of one of the integration battles. At the same time as blacks moved into Mount Vernon, there was an outflow of whites. "There is no outward racism here," says one of the town's defenders. "Our whites and blacks get along well, except when whites feel that their jobs and homes are threatened" (Mount Vernon 1970).

Unlike the impoverished Mount Vernon, Buchanan, which is part of Westchester County, New York, is an affluent neighbourhood with a mostly white population. Westchester County lies in the northern part of New York City is one of the most affluent parts of America. There is low unemployment in this area and a large contingent of professional and managerial workers. Whites make up 96 per cent of the population of Buchanan, with blacks making up five per cent and others from other population groups filling in the rest.

2. Contextual background
a. Theoretical relevance
In a nation such as America which is eager to spread democracy around the world and to show the rest of the world a better way, it is good to reflect on the nation from time to time and to examine if the nation is living up to the dreams of its founding fathers, which was to create a more perfect union. It is of great significance, in such a nation, to continually re-examine what matters most in the society and to make efforts to rectify some of the elements that jar with the way America would like to see itself. Though America would have the whole world believe that it is a place where many different people can live together it is not so easy to say that all these diverse groups are living with any measure of equality. It is significant that all over America neighbourhoods with predominantly black populations suffer more from some of the environmentally undesirable amenities such as dumps.