Whiteness in Americas Geographic Structures - Essay Example

 According to Lipsitz (1995), possessive investment in America's geographic structures is the idea of possession which comes from a region or neighborhood being dominated by Whites or other races such as African American or Asian American. While other races in America may not be hesitant if white individuals come to live in their areas, white people in particular may try to protect their neighborhood from an ‘invasion’ of other races.The evidence for these statements is given by Lipsitz with statistical data which shows how whites can find it easier to get a house in the suburbs while African Americans or other races are cajoled towards moving into the inner cities.

While America places a premium on social mobility and often makes it difficult for people to come out of the middle class to the upper class, it also creates a hindrance to geographic mobility in terms of certain areas being dominated by one race or another.The roots of this issue come to light from the end of the Second World War where development in urban housing took place at a breakneck speed. Even at that time, the way cities were planned and the direction taken by governmental decisions segregated black Americans from white Americans.

The same trends can be seen taking place even after the civil rights movements especially when it comes to living in the suburbs which appear to be dominated by white people with African Americans few and far between. Lipsitz (1995) does not say that this division is out in the open, nor does the writer suggest that governments actually enforce this division but there is some blame given to the policy lines adopted by the powers that be. For example, more African American areas in the suburbs had been targeted for demolition during the constructions of highways than homes owned by white Americans and even though it may not really be a conspiracy, the statistics given by Lipsitz are quite startling.

Perhaps the most important question raised by Lipsitz (1995) is the idea of enforcement of the law since the laws to ensure fair housing are certainly there on the books even today. However, it is the enforcement of these laws which is lacking and needs help from outside sources to support the case of those African Americans and other races who feel disenfranchised and left out of the housing system. Clearly, the African American / Caucasian American question still remains to be answered and housing is not the only issue which faces American in terms of race relations.

At the same time, if this question is successfully answered and handled to the satisfaction of the concerned parties it would certainly go a long way towards improving race relations.Works CitedLipsitz, G. 1995, ‘The possessive investment in whiteness’, American Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 218-233.