New research says discrimination and segregation continue to plague Illinois and other Midwestern states.
According to the report "Race in the Heartland," while more black Americans live in the 12-state Midwestern region, equity metrics here are worse than in other states.
Report author Colin Gordon, professor of history at the University of Iowa, explained the problem stems from the industrial boom, when many African-Americans sought job opportunities in the Midwest. He said they found what he calls an "architecture of segregation."
"Because African-Americans fled into the Midwest for largely unionized manufacturing jobs, the collapse of that manufacturing-job base and the unions that accompanied it, does enormous damage," Gordon said. "Jobs move out to the suburbs, but the people who used to hold those jobs are quite literally stuck in place."
Between 1970 and 1980, Chicago lost roughly 118,000 blue-collar jobs while its suburbs added 237,000. Some 14% of Illinois residents are black, and the report said they face disparities in multiple areas - including poverty, infant mortality, incarceration, home ownership, education level and wealth accumulation.
Despite efforts to close racial gaps, Gordon explained, Chicago is among the eight most segregated cities as of the 2010 census.
"Chicago has been somewhat successful in diversifying its economy and not relying on that old industrial job base, but it's still very starkly segregated," he said. "And then, of course, the forgotten part of Illinois, which is across the river from St. Louis. The Illinois side of that metro region is really struggling mightily."
Gordon noted these disparities are not the result of the inevitable consequence of globalization and technological change, but rather clear and intentional public policies.
"Policies segregating housing, that undercut the power of labor unions, that made decisions about whether to fund enforcement of civil rights or not," he said. "So while in some respect it's a sort of dismal catalogue, it's also a hopeful one because what we've done by policy can also be undone by policy."
The report said solutions should focus on where they can do the most good, with policies to improve schools, jobs, safety nets, neighborhoods and families' financial security.
