Blog #10: Project #3
My focus for Project #3 are the potential barriers to the American Dream through segregation. My topic is centered around the accessibility of the American Dream and the ways the American Dream has been kept out of reach of minorities. In other words, I am focusing on how racial discrimination has
limited opportunities to achieve the American Dream. Additionally, I will examine how segregation
may have impacted the pursuit of the American Dream. My context is race and the effects of segregation. I have split my paper up into three sections: segregation in regard to occupational limitations, educational barriers, and housing discrimination.
I focused on chapter four, "Dreaming in Black and White", from American Dream in the 21st Century. From this chapter, I learned that racial segregation is still a major problem facing American citizens. This chapter explains how the emergence of suburbia has aided in discrimination in housing and residential communities. The context of this chapter begins from reciting the history of African Americans and how they have always been subjected to Whites and their views of them. Loewen, the author of this chapter, argues that African Americans have never had the same Dream as privileged Whites because of residential segregation. He explains, "We now live in two Americas at once...we live in an integrated America (on the job, on most college campuses, on American Idol, in the armed forces, in the White House, and in the Catholic Church), and we live in a segregated America (where we live and, too often, how we vote)" (Loewen 73). This racial separation through residency, ever since the emergence of suburbia, has caused a division between races and a split in the American Dream; all in all, racial segregation as impacted the American Dream. Discrimination in city suburbs has deep historical roots that have been hard to change ever since. African Americans today still face barriers in certain neighborhoods and find themselves living in primarily black suburbs. Despite their economic or social status, African Americans, and minorities in general, face segregation in housing communities and tend to live in low-income areas in comparison to Whites.
Throughout my research on my focus, I found out that racial segregation and discrimination is not limited to residential or housing limitations. For example, racial discrimination is found in workplaces and occupational jobs, as well. Some white workplaces discriminate against races other than white in order to make their work place pure. The president at Reitman Research and Strategy, LLC Meredith Reitman develops the claim that white workplaces are formed through a process of whitewashing in “Uncovering the White Place: Whitewashing at Work,” published in Social & Cultural Geography (Apr. 2006). She concludes that, "The white workplace is created and maintained through a process of whitewashing in which everyday practices seek to deny racial politics, superimpose white culture and normalize that culture in place" (Reitman 279). After reading her article, I found myself asking questions: Why are workplaces doing this? Does this seem fair? Discrimination and segregation still happens today, and in more places than one; this huge problem needs to be addressed.
After I completed my research, I have come to the conclusion that segregation is still a prominent issue in today's society. Historical problems that have generated decades, even centuries ago, are still in the back of the minds of some Americans. These mindsets are what we have to change, if we want to change the fate of our country and expand the accessibility of the American Dream to all minorities.
I focused on chapter four, "Dreaming in Black and White", from American Dream in the 21st Century. From this chapter, I learned that racial segregation is still a major problem facing American citizens. This chapter explains how the emergence of suburbia has aided in discrimination in housing and residential communities. The context of this chapter begins from reciting the history of African Americans and how they have always been subjected to Whites and their views of them. Loewen, the author of this chapter, argues that African Americans have never had the same Dream as privileged Whites because of residential segregation. He explains, "We now live in two Americas at once...we live in an integrated America (on the job, on most college campuses, on American Idol, in the armed forces, in the White House, and in the Catholic Church), and we live in a segregated America (where we live and, too often, how we vote)" (Loewen 73). This racial separation through residency, ever since the emergence of suburbia, has caused a division between races and a split in the American Dream; all in all, racial segregation as impacted the American Dream. Discrimination in city suburbs has deep historical roots that have been hard to change ever since. African Americans today still face barriers in certain neighborhoods and find themselves living in primarily black suburbs. Despite their economic or social status, African Americans, and minorities in general, face segregation in housing communities and tend to live in low-income areas in comparison to Whites.
Throughout my research on my focus, I found out that racial segregation and discrimination is not limited to residential or housing limitations. For example, racial discrimination is found in workplaces and occupational jobs, as well. Some white workplaces discriminate against races other than white in order to make their work place pure. The president at Reitman Research and Strategy, LLC Meredith Reitman develops the claim that white workplaces are formed through a process of whitewashing in “Uncovering the White Place: Whitewashing at Work,” published in Social & Cultural Geography (Apr. 2006). She concludes that, "The white workplace is created and maintained through a process of whitewashing in which everyday practices seek to deny racial politics, superimpose white culture and normalize that culture in place" (Reitman 279). After reading her article, I found myself asking questions: Why are workplaces doing this? Does this seem fair? Discrimination and segregation still happens today, and in more places than one; this huge problem needs to be addressed.
After I completed my research, I have come to the conclusion that segregation is still a prominent issue in today's society. Historical problems that have generated decades, even centuries ago, are still in the back of the minds of some Americans. These mindsets are what we have to change, if we want to change the fate of our country and expand the accessibility of the American Dream to all minorities.
We would like to think of oppression as something in our past but unfortunately that is just not the case. We clearly aren't doing something right if little progress has been made towards a more equal society. Perhaps we should look to the citizens instead of the politicians. We as people should be standing up for the injustices. It is insane to see all the areas affected by oppression. I found it shocking when you included that discrimination against races other than white lead to a "Pure work place." That is absolutely ridiculous. This topic is very important and I am glad to see quite a few people writing on the matter.
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