racial segregation in Pittsburgh (Crafton, McKees Rocks: apartments, leases, neighborhoods)

[I_Like_Spam]

I hear a lot of complaints here about racial segregation here in Pittsburgh, and they certainly have some merit.

However, compared to the historical record just within my lifetime, most of the real barriers have been broken down.

The Allegheny County Housing Authority had unofficial "Jim Crow" projects. In McKees Rocks, example given, African American tenants were usually placed in the McKees Rocks Terrace and the projects behind the shopping center. White tenants got leases in Uansa and Ohio View Acres.

In the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, they did give tenants apartments in the same projects without regards to race, but placed them in separate buildings based on ethnicity.

The county had separate swimming pools based on race in South Park, and the city did as well, some of the pools remaining racially segregated through the 60's. Kennywood's pool was closed shortly after they were pressured to de-segregate it.

When I was a kid at Langley, I never heard of the idea of a black student from Sheraden or Crafton Heights or Westwood. Many working class areas were virtually or actually 100% white through the 70's with the adults freaking out over the idea of that status quo being broken.

Some young people get the impression from their schooling that segregation was only a reality in the south, and they don't realize how far Pittsburgh has come in the short time of my own lifetime.

There are still economic problems, and some people don't always get a fair shake, but the strict segregational pattern has definitely been broken.

[gg]

If you are black with a college degree, you are set for life. I wish I had it so good. Tis, great for some though.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

If you are black with a college degree, you are set for life. I wish I had it so good. Tis, great for some though.

Not so:



We're all in this horrid recession together.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Except us educated white men.

[steindle]

Very curious how h_curtis is going to refute this empirical evidence so that he may continue feeling trodden upon for being white. Let's watch.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Some random set of graphs with nothing else isn't really empirical evidence.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

Some random set of graphs with nothing else isn't really empirical evidence.

Only because you're king nitpicker. . .yes it definitely is. Empirical evidence needs to be neither robust nor definitive; rather, it's simply a set of observations that offers insight to an underlying hypothesis. And because that's exactly the way in which these charts are being used, they're empirical evidence.

Edit: And yes, as the data suggests, Curt's hypothesis is wrong.

[ferraris]

HCurtis' sentiments aren't uncommon. I know too many people that greatly overestimate the prevalence of affirmative action. They'll dismiss black people with degrees, because it's assumed they only got in due to their race. Or even if they respect the degree, they'll still assume they had their school paid for because of it. To be fair, there indeed are cases where race is used as a criteria for admission or scholarships, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

[hinsey86]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

If you are black with a college degree, you are set for life. I wish I had it so good. Tis, great for some though.

My black female ( double whammy ) friend with a PhD who has struggled for years fighting the " good ole boys club"....Might slightly disagree.

[stburr91]

The days of segregation may be gone, but separation is still very prevalent today.

Here is the city as of 2010

27.2% African America
2.9% Asian
2.5% Other
67.4% White


Now let's look at some of the neighborhoods people call most desirable. As you can clearly see, the "desirable neighborhoods" do not reflect the city averages.

Shadyside

5.4% African American
19.9% Asian
0.9% Other
71.9 % White


Point Breeze

4.6% African American
3.3% Asian
0.9% Other
89.1% White


Regent Square

1.8% African American
3.1% Asian
1.0% Other
92.3% White


Squirrel Hill North
3.2% African American
17.0% Asian
2.2% Other
75.0% White


Squirrel Hill South

3.2% African American
11.4% Asian
1.0% Other
82.0% White