Diversity: Are We Self-Segregating?

[A screen shot of the DC metro area by race. How does your neighborhood compare?]

Diversity: Are We Self-Segregating?

A study released this week revealed that “affluent Blacks and Hispanics live in neighborhoods that are noticeably poorer than neighborhoods where low-income Whites live.”

The study, by Brown University Sociologist John Logan, relied on census data from 2005 to 2009 to show that (with the exception of the District and Atlanta, where Blacks and Hispanics who are well-off still live in neighborhoods of equal status to low-income Whites and Asians), segregated neighborhoods are still a very prominent reality throughout our nation.

"Separate translates to unequal even for the most successful Black and Hispanic minorities… African Americans who really succeeded live in neighborhoods where people around them have not succeeded to the same extent," said Logan.

At a time when the wealth gap between Whites and minorities is at its highest, should we be concerned about the implications and causes for these housing disparities? Or is it possible are we self-segregating as a means to cope and maintain a sense of unity in our common struggles?