Race Relations in Urban America - Essay Example

Urban America Prompt 1: Race Relations The United States is a cosmopolitan society comprising of people from varied backgrounds. Racism has remained a feature of fundamental concern in the history of the country. The social feature continues to influence relations even in the modern day society. The relations among the whites, the African Americans and Native Americans among other ethnic group continues to influence the social structure in the country thereby influencing the most vital features of the society such as peace, social values and economic growth among others. The Urban America continues to experience unique features of race relations. Urbanization results in increased interaction among people in the urban centers. The stability of such urban centers relies on the nature of the relationships. The political, economic and social developments in modern day urban America continues to show tendencies of aggressions among the races as the discussion below shows. Racial segregation is rife in a number of American Urban centers as every race continues to strive for economic independence. Both the blacks and the whites strive to overcome a number of stereotypical beliefs that had held them back for a number of years. Blacks continue to desire for economic empowerment “the desire of the black economic elite in these three southern cities to broaden the resource base of the community through black owned enterprises also provided important sanctions for the separate city” (Silver and Moeser 09). Such individualistic approaches with each racial group striving for its own interest influenced the settlement of people in the cities thereby leading to the formation of suburbs among other unique homogeneous neighborhoods. Politics remains the heartbeat of any nation, politicians form governments and influence economies. This implies that the nature of politics in a country shows the values of the citizens. American politics remained a preserve for the white majority for a long time. African American among other minority racial groups did not take part in the politics and governance. However, the trend has changed in the modern day America (Sassen 65). The number of African Americans holding political positions has increased to a point that the country currently has a black president. Such developments show a change in attitude since a large percentage of whites voted for the black president in both his elections. Despite the numerous developments in racial integrations especially through urbanization, American cities continue such major urban problems as unemployment, poverty, toxic pollution, traffic jams, crime and housing among others. Such problems require effective government policies and appropriate political unions to eradicate. Unfortunately, a number of government policies have systematically enhanced economic segregation as the rich continue to obtain better opportunities thereby dominating the poor “Politically, the problem is not so much the existence of poverty but the gap between the rich and the poor (Peter, Swanstrom and Mollenkopf 26). The system of creating suburbs favors the rich who have the financial abilities to purchase the housing units. This segregates the poor who constitute the market for consumables. Economic segregation influences racial segregation thereby affecting racial relations in the urban centers. In order to overcome such urban challenges, the country requires a comprehensive policy agenda that will include all the important measures of equity in the suburbs and eradicate competition between localities. This would help maximize land use while eliminating exclusionary zoning of citizens. Economically, the country has grown to a level where it accommodates every American irrespective of ethnicity. The government has formulated a number of systematic legislations to help create a progressive economy, one that safeguards the interest of every employee. Such legislations as the wage bill coupled with the numerous other labor relation laws enhance the creation of cosmopolitan work places in the country that uphold the equality of the citizens. Such developments are responsible for the rapid economic growth of the country thus enabling the country become the world’s leading economy. The changing politics in the country continued to create an equal playing field for all the races to enjoy economic freedom. The development of the entertainment industry for example created a favorable field for African Americans among other races who have since proceeded to develop a multibillion-dollar and multi-racial industry in the country (Zukin 53). Despite the numerous positive developments in race relations in the country, a number of negative tendencies in race relations persist. Such developments as the Ferguson shootings and the subsequent black protests in numerous cities show the racial animosity that exists beneath the flourishing economy in the United States. Such developments are results of prolonged racial discrimination of the African American community that led to the development of some stereotypes that persists to date. Economic statistics in the country show that whites continue to live better lives than the African Americans. Most of the whites have stable jobs and, therefore, enjoy economic stability while the African Americans have high numbers of unemployed people. The same is the case with literacy levels. As explained earlier, for a long time African Americans did not enjoy a number of civil liberties. They did not seek education and could not therefore seek formal employment. Such developments led to a generation of unemployed and illiterate African Americans a feature that led to the domestication of poverty in American cities. This led to the development of ghettos thus the domestication of poverty in such settlements. The economy of the United States continues to suffer from the effects of such eras. A majority of blacks are unemployed a feature that makes black neighborhoods unsafe and insecure. The police force among other law enforcement agencies, for example, has a higher number of whites than blacks (Sinclair 44). Such developments coupled with the existing stereotypes about African Americans lead to the growing animosity between the ethnic group and the police service. Police shootings enhance the animosity thereby instigating the violence witnessed in the country. In retrospect, the thrust of the course shows the developments of race relations in the country. The pattern shows mixed tendencies. On one hand, urban America is an economically viable place where every American enjoys civil liberties. Additionally, the economy continues to grow thereby presenting opportunities to the Americans irrespective of their races. On the other hand, the existing racial stereotypes continue to influence race relations thereby leading to racial animosity. The police service continues to show the existence of such animosities with white officers using excessive force when operating in African American neighborhoods. Works cited Gans, Herbert J. The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community. New York, NY: Columbia Univ. Press, 1982. Print. Sassen, Saskia. Cities in a World Economy. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press, 2000. Print. Silver, Christopher and Moeser, V. John. The Separate city: Black communities in the Urban South, 1940-1968. Kentucky: The University of Kentucky Press, 1998. Print. Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. Cambridge, Mass: R. Bentley, 1971. Print. Zukin, Sharon. The Cultures of Cities. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1995. Print. Peter, Dreier., Swanstrom, John and Mollenkopf, Todd. Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-First Century. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001). Prompt 2: Conversation among authors Introduction Authors from the first half of the semester are indeed in a conversation with authors from the second health of the semester. The authors address similar social developments albeit in different periods. The nature of their conversation proves the claim that race relations are the thrust of the course. The various authors analyze the nature and developments of race relations in the United States. In doing this, they discuss similar themes topical issues most of which are the factors affecting the structure of American center as the discussion below portrays. In American Babylon: Race and the Struggle for Postwar Oakland, Robert O. Self, an author from the first half of the semester provides a detailed story of the postwar Oakland. In his story, Self uses the metaphor of Babylon to describe the political struggle over resources, jobs, space, and property, “the struggles in the city led to the formation of two political fronts in the city to vouch for the interests of the citizens” (Self 33). The two movements included the black power movement and the conservative and tax reform-oriented political movement in the city’s suburbs. The experiences in the two regions influenced the political affiliations thus the nature of the movements. After the Second World War, the city of Oakland became an industrial hub in the region. The war had liberated the city from the previous skewed settlement, and prejudicial citizens thereby creating a new industrial hub that attracted both the whites and the blacks. The city of Oakland therefore attracted new set of immigrants of both whites and black immigrants who sought employment on the bourgeoning industries. The new deal liberalization of the Second World War had succeeded in creating moderate market regulation, classic individualism and racial liberalization. The city was, therefore, new and ready for a new set of settlement pattern as it offered varied opportunities to different groups. However, the liberalization of the city of Oakland also raised a number of questions among the residents. Key among the questions was on control and power a feature that led to the rapid development of racial segregation and political identities that readily became entrepreneurial identities. The federal government and the prevailing national politics enhanced the creation of segregated yet homogeneous suburb communities. Racism remains rife in Self’s Babylon just as is the case in the city of Los Angeles. The whites and blacks fought for resources and control. The whites enjoyed political and economic superiority. They readily set up firms and occupied jobs. Additionally, the government favored the whites who set out to create decent suburb settlements around the city. They enjoyed basic amenities such as piped water, electricity and schools in the neighborhoods. Africa Americans among other minority groups on the other hand settled in clustered neighborhoods that readily turned into urban ghettos. They lacked both political and economic might and therefore lived on the perils of the whites who owned companies. Racism was rife as the whites limited their interactions to their ilk, and so did the blacks. The rising poverty and maltreatment of blacks led to rise of crimes in the city of Oakland. Crimes and violence among other social crimes became rife often spilling over to the suburbs. Additionally, the blacks formed political movements as they began vouching for their rights. Oakland became a political ye segregated city as the different racial groups began vouching and protecting their rights. From the second half of the semester, Camille Z. Charles discusses a number of similar themes in his book Won't You be my neighbor? The book argues that the city of Los Angeles is among the most racially segregated cities in the country. The author, therefore, investigates the nature and the history of the segregation. In doing this, Camille Z. Charles discusses a number of similar factors and thematic issues to those that Robert O. Self discussed in his history of the city of Oakland. The author explains that people in the city live in clustered yet homogeneous neighborhoods owing to the heightened racial tensions among the various races living in the city. The racial segregation is a fundamental factor that affects the quality of life in the city. The author cites the Watts violence of 1965 and the Rodney King riots of 1992 as some of the evidence for the level of segregation and mistrust in the city. He uses evidence-based study to show the nature of the inclination that people of various racial groupings have for their kind, “such settlement patterns foster mistrust reinforces stereotypes thereby degrading the quality of life in the city” (Charles 77). As explained earlier, racial relations is a vital feature in the modern day America. Racial relations influence the formation of a cohesive nation and encourage the development of patriotism. The country and the city of Los Angeles, for example, have a cosmopolitan social structure. As such, integration would help create formidable social structure and enhance diversity even in places of work thereby leading to a rapid development of the country. The recent developments in California among other cities in the country continue to prove the claims that Charles makes in his book. He explained that segregated living structures as is evident in the city of Los Angeles fosters mistrust and enhances the existing stereotypes. In recent years, white police officers have used excessive force when interacting with black suspects. A number of white police officers have shot numerous black unarmed suspects some of the shots were fatal thereby leading to nationwide protests. Such developments prove that segregation reaffirms the existing racial stereotypes. In retrospect, the authors from both the first and the second section of the semester are conversing. The authors such as Robert O. Self and Camille Z. Charles address similar issues and even share points of view. In fact, the two authors study the historical developments in the state of California a feature that makes most of their arguments similar. They both explain the detrimental effects of racism and class struggles. Racism in the country has resulted in mistrust among the various racial groups thus responsible for the instability in the country. However, Camille Z. Charles, unlike Self, argues that the new creed of Americans continues to show optimism of coexisting with people from diverse racial backgrounds Works cited Charles, Camille Z. Won't You Be My Neighbor?: Race, Class, and Residence in Los Angeles. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006. Internet resource. Self, Robert O. American Babylon: Race and the Struggle for Postwar Oakland. Princeton (N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print. Read More