Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

In 1906, W. E. B. Du Bois wrote that the “problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the Color Line” ( Du Bois 1995 : 42). This statement has come to represent the perpetual effects of racism in US society. It also is often used as a precursor to discussing the social phenomenon of segregation. While segregation in US society largely focuses on issues of race and ethnicity, it is more complex than this. Segregation is both the formal and informal separation of one group from another. Often this division is based on markers of difference, where race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual orientation, or religion is used as the foundation for justifying a split between groups and populations. The repercussions of these separations are vast, creating and supporting structural inequality within societies. The most common form of segregation is de facto, which consists of divisions between groups of people in specific areas of their social lives such as in the workplace, housing, and schools. Historically, this often occurred as the result of immigration; people tend to move to where they know other people or where there is a population similar to them. The effects of this are visible today as many cities have neighborhoods that have large concentrations of people of the same ethnicity and/or religion. This type of segregation is shaped by a host of systemic influences such ... log in or subscribe to read full text