De Jure Segregation: Legal Separation of People by State Law - Research Paper

Introduction

De jure segregation is the legally allowed or enforced separation of groups of people (Rothstein, 2017). De jure is derived from Latin to mean the law. The segregation, therefore, happens due to laws set by the State. Another type of segregation is de facto segregation, in which people decide to segregate them themselves by choice or circumstances, such as was witnessed in the post-war era when Whites chose to move away from Black-dominated areas. Racial segregation was outlawed in the 90s but continues to happen based on gender and age. California has adopted various policies on de jure segregation, including Los Angeles.

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De Jure Segregation of Los Angeles

Segregation has been a problem in America since the 1920s when the Whites voluntarily refused to live in the same neighbourhoods with African Americans. As a consequence, the segregation spread to schools. Parents were not willing to let their White children share classes with those of the Black community. Parents, therefore, pressurized the Los Angeles Board of Education to allow de facto racial segregation of schools. In Los Angeles, children of the Black community were concentrated in Central Avenue, Jefferson High School and Jordan High School, and later Fremont (Orfield, Frankenberg, & Hawley, 2016). At the time, Los Angeles was also one of the cities with a very diverse population, which made it easier for African Americans to survive. Japanese-Americans and Mexican Americans were too dark, so they also shared in the ridicule. Higher learning was also limited for Now-whites, as Whites were accorded entry into the best universities. In 1963, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed Crawford v. Los Angeles City Board of Education (LACBE), a lawsuit against segregation in high schools (Orfield et al., 2016). In this case, David Starr Jordan and South Gate high school, and led to an equalization of opportunities between Whites and non-whites. The achievement of balanced schools was however tricky, as the neighborhoods dictated with school children went to. White-dominated regions such Lakewood had Whites only school, while African Americans were left to scramble for the rest.

Rothstein (2017) offers a comparison of the segregation in living standards and housing by sarcastically suggesting that since homes in Lakewood go for $567,000, African-Americans should pay something closer to $75,000. African Americans were not allowed to own homes in the suburban area since they were considered unable to meet the standards. Rothstein uses the sarcastic statement to illustrate the financial hardships that non-whites suffered due to residential segregation. Cities, State governments and homeowners associations implemented laws that had been passed legally to bar Africans from living among Whites (Ong, Pech, Chhea & Lee, 2016). The government also participated in the racial segregation by building separate houses for Whites and African Americans.

In Santa Monica, the federal government supported a development that was purely for Black workers, but African Americans in Los Angeles rejected it. The project was shifted to Watts, but it later caught fire and destroyed millions of dollars. The incidence led to American banks refusing to lend money to African American homeowners in some neighborhoods, which fuelled the hatred. California was considered liberal and culturally diverse, which suggests that if this was happening in California, the other States were worse.

In his book, Rothstein is keen to show how infrastructure contributed to segregation through real estate practices. Those in the planning and construction industry are a suitable audience for Rothstein as he explains how they diversify or prevent a diversity of communities. In the 1920s, environmental justice was unheard of, which was later introduced by Senate Bill 1000 (Bobo, Oliver, Johnson, & Abel, 2015). Los Angeles was among the most diverse cities, so took time before it implemented policies passed by national real estate groups through manuals. Homeowners took time before implementing de jure segregation laws as residents comprised of various races.

Restrictive Covenants

Restrictive covenants also called residential racial covenants became common after the US Supreme Court in Buchanan versus Warley case ruled that it was illegal for state and city governments to segregate neighborhoods based on race as stated in the 14th Amendment on equality. However, in 1926, the 1917 ruling was overturned to allow Los Angeles homeowners to sell their homes to whomever they preferred since the agreement was private. African Americans later challenged the decision in 1940, but the case was never completed. The restrictive covenants primarily worked against Japanese-Americans, as they could afford the homes but were barred by segregation. It was due to restrictive covenants that community elders in Los Angeles planned the all Japanese-American development in Jefferson Park but was rejected and instead implemented at Watts. The Japanese- Americans remained concentrated in certain areas where they were allowed to buy or lease land in. In 1962, Californians voted to get rid of the Rumford Act on Housing that gave the Fair Employment Practices Commission power to act on behalf of tenants and homebuyers. The act gave the commission power to force owners to sell the property to anyone without discrimination based on race.

Redlining

Redlining was "marking" of areas that were dominated by undesirable racial elements such as Jewish, Black and Hispanic people. The color was used to mark where one lived, where they could live, and where they could not. The racism was not as severe in Los Angeles, but parts of the city such as Freemont and Jefferson Park had been marked as black-majority areas while others such as Lakewood were marked "non-African" areas. African dominated areas were cut from essential supplies such as sanitation and barred from owning homes. Los Angeles was affected by redlining before the establishment of HOLC maps (Grodzins, 2014). In college, students exhibited fear and suspense over certain areas, considering ethnic and racial heterogeneity as a problem. White students were already creating boundaries between them and non-white students since they termed them as low-class residents. In the 1930s, the Los Angeles housing authority collaborated with local surveyors and Work progress administration to mark blighted districts, which accelerated the redlining practice. The practice has had lasting effects, which are felt to date, as Los Angeles is currently rated among the top ten most segregated metropolitans. The culture has been carried forward, as can be witnessed in Los Angeles to date. For instance, in Jefferson Park, the majority of the residents are still African Americans, while Lakewood still has a majority of Whites, some of whom acquired the property during that period.

Block-Busting

Due to redlining, block-busting happened often and was aimed at preventing non-Whites from acquiring houses in same areas. White supremacists would buy the property that was being sold at low prices to prevent other races from acquiring them. Block-busting was not an issue in the 1920s until a court in 1962 outlawed the practice. Whites who did not want to share their neighborhood would incite homeowners to sell their property at throwaway prices for fear of the region changing residents' preferences. For instance, a community that was initially inhabited by Whites, id other races start moving into the neighborhood, then its value depreciates, which is a loss to the owner. To avoid such, they opted to sell the houses at lower prices. A changing neighborhood was also not accepted as mortgage banks and other financial institutions.

Public Housing

Public housing during the segregation period was a concern during the segregation period due to redlining and block-busting. The Non-white community joined forces to build public houses, but the ideas were not readily accepted. An example is the Jefferson Park proposal, which was opposed and had to be implemented in Watts.

Effects of Segregation

The levels of education were different in schools dominated by Whites versus those dominated by Blacks. Schools with a White majority had better teachers, better facilities, and received more funding from the government. Blacks were often hurdled in classes, which translated into poor delivery. Higher learning chances were also limited for Blacks, as Whites were able to bargain their way into the best institutions of higher learning (Orfield, Frankenberg, & Hawley, 2016). Universities such as the Southern University were left for Blacks, yet it was far and inaccessible from Los Angeles. However, considering how the neighborhoods were structured, having segregated schools was easy, as the population of schools is determined by those who live around the place. Redlining also reduced the readiness of the government to invest in those areas, which led to more crowding in schools.

The economy depended on whether neighborhood was changing or constant. Communities that experienced changes were unstable economically since investors were not willing to take risks in such areas. The reduced number of tenants also translated into low sales from business people in a specific area. A sudden increase in population also increased the crime rate in the area, as more people were unemployed (Ong et al., 2016). Most well-paying jobs were also reserve for Whites, while manual low paying jobs were left for Blacks. The difference I income accounted for a low crime rate in White-dominated areas while African American dominated had frequent criminal occurrences.

Current Status of the Neighborhoods

The effects of segregation are still felt in the neighborhoods to date due to the instilled cultures since the 1940s. The separation of regions based on race is still present, although less significant (Clark, Anderson, Osth, & Malmberg, 2015). Taking an example of Lakewood, the area still has more White homeowners than other races. Zones that had infrastructure developed and social amenities set up in the segregation era are more habitable and provide more jobs. However, the same areas express more cases of lifestyle-related diseases since most of the residents have a sedentary lifestyle.

Conclusion

Segregation has been a problem in America since the 1920s when the Whites voluntarily refused to live in the same neighborhoods with African Americans. The segregation period was characterized by block-busting, redlining and restrictive covenants, all at aiming to separate Whites and non-whites. The segregation affected the distribution of resources and infrastructure, which is felt in Los Angeles to date. Areas dominated by Whites are still more developed than those that Blacks occupied. Due to the segregation on living standards and housing, Los Angeles is currently among the top mist segregated cities.

References

Bobo, L. D., Oliver, M. L., Johnson, J. J. H., & Abel Jr, V. (Eds.). (2015). Prismatic metropolis: inequality in Los Angeles. Russell Sage Foundation.

Clark, W. A., Anderson, E., Osth, J., & Malmberg, B. (2015). A multiscalar analysis of neighborhood composition in Los Angeles, 2000-2010: A location-based approach to segregation and diversity. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 105(6), 1260-1284. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282413628_A_Multiscalar_Analysis_of_Neighborhood_Composition_in_Los_Angeles_2000-2010_A_Location-Based_Approach_to_Segregation_and_Diversity

Grodzins, M. (2014). Metropolitan segregation. Scientific American, 197(4), 33-41. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/50-years-ago-in-scientific-american-white-flight-1/

Ong, P., Pech, C., Chhea, J., & Lee, C. A. (2016). Race, Ethnicity, and Income Segreg...