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C Ch ha ap pt te er r 4 4 The Plight of African Americans in Michigan: Residential Segregation, and Predictable Outcomes in Mortgage Lending and Educational Achievement JOE T. DARDEN INTRODUCTION The last chapter provided a historical context for the evolution of black urban geographies in the northern United States. The Great Migration resulted in the relocation of millions of African Americans and the emergence of the national black ghetto system. Black migration to northern cities, which started slowly but exploded by World War II, continued after the 1950s. Northern and Midwestern industrial cities and black populations , whether of lower or middle income status, became highly segregated. Midwestern states, such as Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan gained large African-American populations that were highly concentrated in the older central cities, such as in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Detroit. Racial prejudice and discrimination took many forms in the 20th century and resulted in the inequalities in urban and metropolitan areas that continue into the 21st century. The purpose of this chapter is to assess some of the most critical issues facing African Americans in the state of Michigan. Three important issues with spatial components include residential segregation, educational inequality, and disparities in mortgage lending. Racial segregation is examined for selected metropolitan areas of Michigan, using the most recent data available. Also, the extent of inequality between African-American and white educational achievement is assessed. The chapter also examines disparities in mortgage lending in metropolitan areas within the state of Michigan. Results show persistently high levels of residential segregation, a wide black-white academic achievement gap, and large disparities in mortgage lending. Following the results, the implications for new public policies are discussed. AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND OTHER MINORITIES IN MICHIGAN: DEFINING THE PROBLEM Racial minorities are increasing in size and will continue to make up substantial proportions of Michigan ’s total population. In 2000, the African American population reached 1,412,742. This represented a slight increase in the Black population’s percentage of the total population, 13.9 percent in 1990 and 14.2 percent by 2000. The total number of Asians in Michigan totaled 176,510, 1.8 percent of the total population, while Latinos (who may be of any race) totaled 323,877, or 3.3 percent of the total population. Native Americans and Hawaiians were less than 1 percent of the State’s population (Table 4.1). More significantly, however, is the population trend within the age category under-18 years and younger. While the general population experienced an increase in the under-18 population of 26 percent, the same age group among blacks and Latinos realized substantially larger increases, 32 percent for African Americans and 38 percent for Latinos. These trends indicate that Michigan schools will experience trans-cultural, trans-ethnic, and transnational changes at an increasingly 42 Joe T. Darden rapid rate during the first decade of the 21st century. In short, the continued growth of racial minorities will present new challenges to policy makers in the State. Changes must occur in the educational system and the housing market, if the needs of these populations are to be met. Table 4.1. Population of Racial Minorities in Michigan in 2000 Number Percent of Total Population Group Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Redistricting Data (P.L. 94–171) Summary File. It can be argued that the major equity problem to be confronted in Michigan, in large part, is related to the white majority’s efforts to maintain racial inequality through direct and indirect racial discrimination in housing and mortgage lending. Discrimination results in both residential and school segregation. Segregation leads to isolation for some and other forms of racial inequality for others, including major socioeconomic and service differences between the separate neighborhoods where whites and African-Americans reside. Racially segregated neighborhoods and schools, combined with other inequities, including unequal financial resources, reinforce segregation by race and class because they result in white and middle class avoidance of black neighborhoods. The long-term results of segregation and isolation continue to be obvious, population depletion, decaying infrastructure, and the continuation of socially- and economically-deprived neighborhoods. Such neighborhoods have consequences for the general welfare of the residents who must live there. In Michigan cities , the residents of such neighborhoods are disproportionately African-American. Of particular importance, given the history of unequal schools between the races in America, are the growth of minority children in Michigan and the quality of education provided on a district-by...

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