Dark Ghettos Summary

In the book, Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform, Shelby discusses self-segregation and integration of different neighborhoods. He proposes that blacks prefer to live amongst themselves and segregate themselves due to their cultural ties. Shelby urges the government to not force racial integration on society as whites would not instantly help the less financially advantaged blacks and that “this practice [self segregation] is not incompatible with justice” (67). However, this claim can be questioned because during the New Deal era of the 30’s and 40’s, the government pursued an active role in segregating neighborhoods and demolishing integrated neighborhoods. This revelation brings about an important question: Is self-segregation still “just” even with evidence that the government has actively segregated

neighborhoods, which was a pretext to the creation of modern day ghettos?

Despite his acceptance that the government is necessary in order to get rid of ghettos, Shelby rejects the idea of integration and goes off the belief that self-segregation is a natural occurrence due to similar interests and culture by members of the same race. Even with evidence showing that the government purposely segregated groups, the idea of self-segregation isn’t unjust and even without the government, was bound to happen due to clash of interests and beliefs. Past administrations may have been racist and caused more segregation and divisions, but the notion that integration is just and that self-segregation is unjust are not entirely correct. As Shelby mentions in his book, blacks “often have an affinity for one another, and these valuable social ties sometimes express themselves as a desire to live together” (61). Society today is an example of Shelby’s words, as many immigrants, such as Hispanics and Asians, tend to live and mingle with members of the same race. It can be claimed that past

government policies led to the gradual self-segregation idea. However, even if self-segregation began due to various policies in the past, the idea of different ethnicities segregating themselves from others is not an unjust idea, as it is a matter of preference and choice. Whites avoid neighborhoods with a significant black population because “many blacks have characteristics that make them undesirable as neighbors (for example, criminal backgrounds, unattractive cultural traits)” (50). Likewise, blacks tend to stay together because they hold similar cultures, beliefs, and values that often clashes with other groups, such as whites being more conservative in views and blacks being more liberal. As a result, it would be unjust to force integration and in the end, the idea of self-segregation, even counting in government intervention on forcing segregation, is not incompatible with justice.
Despite the government planting the seeds for self-segregation, the notion of self-segregation would have still spread even without the government as groups that have similar cultural bonds tend to stay with each other. This idea isn’t limited to just blacks, but for many other immigrant groups as well. Self-segregation isn’t unjust and is a matter of choice by people and shouldn’t be seen as an unfair norm in modern day society.