The Persistence of Segregation in the 21 Century Metropolis

The traditional black-white color line in the American metropolis is being replaced by a more complex pattern of color lines involving multiple groups with different racial and ethnic origins. The consequences are positive in some respects, but they do not overcome the continuing barriers to equal opportunity. The degree of segregation has receded from the near-apartheid that was created in the black ghettos of Northern cities in the middle decades of the last century. Yet the experience of segregation continues to impact blacks of all economic classes. Today's color lines also involve Hispanics and Asians. The multiethnic metropolis is fostering a degree of neighborhood diversity that used to be quite rare. At the same time all-minority areas, now including blacks, Hispanics, and sometimes Asians, continue to be reproduced, and the disparities in community resources between white and minority neighborhoods remain deeply entrenched.