Friday, February 18, 2011

Segregation In America: 'Dragging On And On' : NPR

Segregation In America: 'Dragging On And On' : NPR: Racial segregation in the U.S. housing market has ebbed since its peak, around 1960. But it can be hard to find a truly integrated American neighborhood, according to demographer John Logan of Brown University, who has been has been parsing the latest census data.

'Black-white segregation is a phenomenon that is dragging on and on,' Logan tells NPR's Steve Inskeep.

And instead of gaining momentum, the rate of integration seems to be slowing down, in Logan's view. Asked about the reason for that slowdown, Logan said that he sees one important factor.

There is, he says, 'a significant part of the white population that is unwilling to live in neighborhoods where minorities are 40, 50, 60 percent of the population. That is, [they're] uncomfortable with being a minority in their neighborhood.'

The result is a continuation of the 'white flight' that made headlines in the 1960s and '70s.