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Why Chicago is SO Segregated
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Feb 28, 2025
#chicago #blackhistory #blackexcellence Chicago is often called the most segregated big city in America. And that's for a good reason. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future videos! Check out the books we love and recommend in our Black Excellence Book Club: https://www.blackexcellence.com/store/ Some links are affiliate links, which means we earn a very tiny commission if you make a purchase. __________________________________________________________ Sharing interesting and noteworthy stories in Black culture. All content provided by Black Excellence Media, LLC is for entertainment purposes only. None of the information or advice provided is to replace professional advice. Website: https://blackexcellence.com
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today we're going to talk about where
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most of my family's from and that's the
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big city of Chicago and when people
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think of Chicago they often picture
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either one of two things the glittering
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Skyline deep dish pizza and a city
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buzzing with culture and history or they
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keep coming up to me asking all the time
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isn't it dangerous to go to Chicago
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don't people always get shot in Chicago
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well maybe it's a little bit of both but
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beneath the surface lies a troubling
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reality Chicago is often called the most
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segregated big city in America America
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this isn't just a random label either
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it's a title rooted in decades of
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policies practices and systematic
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inequalities that have carved deep
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divisions into the city's neighborhoods
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and not only is Chicago a city that has
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effectively used segregation many
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historians believe that Chicago is a
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city that invented very effective
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segregation the type of segregation
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Chicago invented was so perfected even
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decades later the city is just about as
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segregated as it was back in the 1930s
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and this conation comes at a cost one of
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the biggest costs is the years black
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Chicagoans live versus white Chicagoans
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a 2018 study published in the National
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Library of Medicine found that if you're
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a black person living in Chicago you are
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facing a life expectancy that's almost a
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decade shorter than a white person
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living in the same city and here's
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what's even more puzzling that life
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expectancy Gap grew worse from 2012
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where it was 8.3 years Chicago's
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segregation story starts with The Great
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Migration between 1916 and 1970 millions
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of black families fled the oppressive
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South searching for better opportunities
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in the north cities like Chicago
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promised industrial jobs and freedom
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from Jim Crow laws in Chicago this
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transformation brought new life to the
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city but also deep anxiety amongst its
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white power Brokers rather than Embrace
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diversity they blazed a path of
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segregation determined to confine the
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city's growing black population to the
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South and West sides areas riddled with
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deteriorating housing and few
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opportunities the early efforts to
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enforce this separation did not come
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quietly between 1917 and 1921 Chicago
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became a battleground of racially
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charged violence tensions boiled over in
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the sweltering summer of 1919 initiated
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by a simple yet devastating moment at
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the 31st Street beach 17-year-old Eugene
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Williams a black teenager floated too
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far along Lake Michigan inadvertently
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Crossing an un written but deadly racial
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boundary a group of white beach goers
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incensed by his presence began hurling
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Stones one actually struck Williams
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sending him under the waves where he
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drowned his tragic death sparked seven
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harling days of chaos fires consumed
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homes bullets flew through neighborhoods
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and streets became the stage for brutal
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beatings by the time peace was restored
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38 people lost their lives 15 White and
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23 black residents Chicago's Elite saw
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this bloodshed as a dire threat to their
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vision of a grand prosperous metropolis
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and so they hatched a plan to reassert
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control one that didn't rely on mobs of
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violence but on the power of paperwork
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led by influential real estate Moguls
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the Chicago real estate board devised a
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sophisticated and Insidious solution
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racially restrictive covenants these
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legal agreements written directly into
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property Deeds forbid the sale of homes
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to a black person with chilling
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efficiency these covenants blanketed the
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city talking entire neighborhoods behind
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invisible and impenetrable Gates the
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spread of these covenants was Swift
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described by the Hy Park Herald in 1927
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as a marvelous delicately woven chain of
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armor encircling white enclaves from Hy
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Park to Southshore this approach sold as
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a way to preserve property values and
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peace set a president that other cities
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soon adopted with tacid approval from
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national leaders the strategy reshaped
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Urban Landscapes Across America and
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uring segregation remained deeply
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embedded in the nation's housing
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policies for Generations as a result
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black Chicagoans were confined to
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neighborhoods like the Southside
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creating a densely populated area known
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as the black belt by the way Chicago
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real estate board became the National
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Association of Realtors and the
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organization had to apologize in 2020
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yes 2020 for its role in fueling
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segregation then came red lining
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probably the most effective tool in not
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just segregating black people but making
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sure our communities get economically
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devastated in the 1930s the federal
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government introduced a practice called
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redlining which mapped out neighborhoods
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by perceived investment risk
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predominantly black areas were labeled
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high risk or red zones making it nearly
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impossible for residents to get loans or
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mortgages this disinvestment devastated
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black neighborhoods leaving them
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underfunded and overcrowded and actually
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whenever these towns actually became an
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epicenter for money they started doing
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well well they just came in and burned
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them down but that's a whole another
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story for a whole another video urban
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planning further reinforced segregation
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take the Dan Ryan Expressway built in
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the 1950s it wasn't just a highway it
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was a barrier deliberately designed to
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separate black and white neighborhoods
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these physical and systematic barriers
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cemented the racial divisions in Chicago
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making it hard for black residents to
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access better housing jobs or schools
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segregation in Chicago isn't just about
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where people live it's about
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opportunities they have in predominantly
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black neighborhoods disinvestment has
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led to lower property values fewer job
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opportunities and underfunded schools
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without Equitable funding which they're
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still not getting schools in these areas
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struggle to provide quality education
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limiting the future prospects of these
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students on the flip side predominantly
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white neighborhoods have better funded
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schools thriving local businesses and
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more robust Public Services it doesn't
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take a genius to see that these
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disparities create a cycle lower
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investment leads to fewer opportunities
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which leads to deeper poverty which then
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perpetuates segregation when the federal
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government sent funding for public
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housing to Urban centers in the late 40s
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and 50s almost all of these units were
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built in black neighborhoods because the
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need for housing was so massive but
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since the area where black people were
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allowed to live was small these public
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housing units became large towers AKA
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projects housing a large number of
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people in them I have family members
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that grew up in these type of projects
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and let's just say it was a horrible
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experience with very little care and
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maintenance these public housing units
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deteriorated over time leading the city
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to demolish them starting in the 1990s
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and these demolitions led to a whole
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other issue for the city which is a
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whole topic for another video
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segregation isn't just about housing and
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economics it's also about how
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communities are treated in Chicago
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minority neighborhoods have long been
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overp policed discriminatory practices
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and high-profile cases of police
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violence like the killing of lacoin
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McDonald have deepened mistrust between
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black communities and law enforcement
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for much of Chicago's history political
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power has been concentrated in the hands
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of white leaders who often prioritize
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the interest of white residents the
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city's powerful political machines
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maintain the status quo resisting
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efforts to address segregation even when
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the city elected Harold Washington its
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first black mayor in 1983 systematic
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change was slow Chicago's neighborhoods
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are famous for their distinct identities
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from the historic streets of Bronzeville
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to the vibrant heart of Chinatown while
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this diversity is something to celebrate
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it also highlights the city's separation
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many residents live their entire lives
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in racially homogeneous neighborhoods
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limiting opportunities for
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cross-cultural understand Landing this
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separation extends to social spaces
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public areas schools and workspaces
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often reflect the division seen in
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housing creating a city where people
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from different racial and economic
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backgrounds rarely interact this lack of
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interaction perpetuates stereotypes and
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deepens divides the north of Chicago is
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known as the white part of Chicago while
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the south is the black side the west
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side is mostly populated by Latino
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Chicagoans this segregation issue is not
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new to Chicago trust me Chicago knows it
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has a segregation issue over the years
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the city has made efforts to tackle
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segregation laws like the Fair Housing
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Act of 1968 aim to eliminate
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discriminatory practices and
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organizations like the Chicago area fair
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housing Alliance work to promote
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Equitable housing policies programs like
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the neighborhood opportunity fund
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provide grants to businesses and
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underserved areas critics argue that
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many of the initiatives lack the scale
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or funding needed to make a a
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significant impact gentrification has
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also complicated the picture while some
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see it as revitalization others view it
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as displacement as longtime residents
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are placed out of their neighborhoods
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and of course Chicago isn't the only
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city with segregation issues but it's
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divisions are particularly Stark unlike
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cities like New York or Los Angeles
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where neighborhoods are often mixed
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Chicago segregation deeply entrenched
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Studies by groups like The Brookings
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institution consistently rank Chicago
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among the most segregated cities in
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America fixing Chicago's segregation
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problem won't be easy but it's not
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impossible it starts with acknowledging
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the root causes and committing to
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systematic change reforming zoning laws
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increasing investment in underserved
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neighborhoods and holding institutions
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accountable for discriminatory practices
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are all essential steps ultimately
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addressing segregation in Chicago
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requires more than policies it requires
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a shift in mindset the only way that
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this is going to work is everyone starts
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doing it together that means the
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residents the leaders and organizations
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have to create a more inclusive City
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where everyone has the opportunity to
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thrive that's it for this episode
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hopefully now you see how things that
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were done in the past have a huge effect
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on the present we'll see you on the next
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video don't forget to like subscribe and
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comment and I'll see you guys on the
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next one
#Discrimination & Identity Relations
#Housing & Development
#Poverty & Hunger