Boston, A Divided City --- Why Are People of Different Races Not Living Together

Yvonne Lian, 2019

Boston is still a racially segregated city. As someone who comes from a different culture and is influenced by western pop media, I imagined a metropolitan city as big as Boston would have been a true melting pot where all races live together. However, the data presented by the online mapping program, Social Explore, indicates that racial segregation still prevails such that most neighborhoods consist of a single racial background. Within these neighborhoods, I chose exemplary census tracts to examine the racial compositions and their relation to median household income, poverty, and education. Moreover, differences across time are also analyzed to further explore the dynamics of white and black residents. Additionally, census block group data provide further detailed information about the population. In this paper, I specifically look at one of the richest and poorest neighborhoods in Boston: Beacon Hill and Mattapan. Drawing from the book Excerpt from American Apartheid and The persistent Geography of Disadvantage, I argue that in Boston, whites and blacks are racially segregated regardless of social class. Moreover, white prejudice contributes largely towards the perpetual black apartheid. And finally, racial segregation feeds into the persistence of intergenerational poverty and economic disadvantage.

Methodology All data obtained from the paper come from Social Explorer. The data used are from dataset ACS 2017 (5-year estimate), census 1970. 1970 is chosen as a comparison time frame because it is located at the end of the second Great Migration, where an estimated 6 million Blacks left the South and flood into urban neighborhoods, especially in the Northeast (United States Census Bureau, 2012). After the Civil Rights Movement, atrocious racial segregation was finally being addressed. Nevertheless, the progress of the social movement did not ease out the disadvantages African Americans faced in society. The demographics serve as a baseline that showcases the scope of the city before the migration. The census tracts used for the Beacon Hill neighborhood are 201.01, 202, 203.01, 203.02. The census tracts used for the Mattapan neighborhood are 1010, 1011, and 1001. Though in the 1970s, the naming of the census tracts is different, the division remains similar despite a few areas later separated into two. Hence, the data across time can still be compared.

History of Beacon Hill and Mattapan neighborhood Beacon Hill is one of the oldest and upscale neighborhoods in the Boston area. It is placed at the prime location close to the Charles River on the plain of what was originally a hill. With its brick walls, cobblestones, purple windows, and Greek Revival architecture style, this neighborhood remains one of the city’s finest and most luxurious. Mattapan started out as a community for the Native Mattahunt Tribe in the early 1600s. At the end of the 21st century, Irish, Jewish, and other immigrants settled into this neighborhood. However, the predominantly white inhabitants were replaced by a large group of African communities starting from the 1970s. Today, it is one of the most concentrated black neighborhoods in the city. It is said to have an “urban-suburban mix feel” because it is located at the center of the city, distant from the downtown area.

Segregation of whites and blacks Among Northern metropolitan areas, for example, blacks, no matter what their income, remain highly segregated from whites. (Massey and Denton American Apartheid excerpt.pdf, 1993) This remains true in the Boston Metropolitan area. Although comprising 1/4 of the city's whole population (169,042 of 669,158), blacks are unevenly distributed in the city, concentrating almost solely on the black belt. In both Beacon Hill and Mattapan, racial segregation is apparent. The extravagant Beacon Hill neighborhood is comprised of mostly white families who have a high income. Even wealthy black families who live in Beacon Hill stay in specific areas with a small population of other black families. On the other hand, most black families are concentrated in the so-called "black boomerang" area located at the center of the Boston city. The Mattapan 2 neighborhood is located at the bottom end of this black belt and comprises blacks from different social classes.

This racial segregation has persisted over time. The 1970s data reflect that white comprised 98.33% of the population while the black population was 0.39% (see appendix 1). The racial population has remained stagnant over the past 47 years, such that still only 1.08% of the population lives in the area in 2017 (see appendix 2). Though one might assume that the lack of blacks in this area is caused by wealth, but the data presented in the census block group suggests a hidden story. The fortunate few black families are only located in certain block groups. In tract 201.01, white and black households compose 90.55% and 1.08%, respectively (see appendix 1). This is already a vast and unnatural difference. Yet the census block group reveals that one census group (201.01 block1) contains 5.36% of blacks while the remaining three groups comprise nearly none. In fact, 2 census block groups contain 0% of black inhabitants. Similarly, in tract 203.02, no black inhabitants are found in the entire area with a 1054 population (see appendix 1). These data show that Beacon Hill remains a predominantly rich white neighborhood, where even wealthy blacks are not invited. Though some wealthy blacks disperse in surrounding affluent areas, the northern area has significantly fewer blacks than the central Boston area, where they are densely populated.

Instead of entering the white neighborhoods, most middle-class and lower-class African Americans remain inside the black belt. This constraint, however, may be involuntary and a continuation of historical injustice. In the housing market in the 1960s, blacks were denied the opportunities to own a house outside of the black neighborhood simply and solely because of their race. They were seen as unacceptable tenants who would alienate their neighbors. Moreover, brokers would direct them to the housings away from such areas. Outright racial-based refusals were common; a person quoted a landlord as saying, "We have come to an agreement that we will not rent to Negroes on this street." In addition, he was abruptly invited to seek housing in Roxbury, i.e., in the "black boomerang" area (“Discrimination in Housing in the Boston Metropolitan Area,” 1963). These quotes illustrate the countless stories that lead African Americans to concentrate more on the existing black neighborhood. Although the expansion of the black belt has occurred, African Americans still densely reside in these neighborhoods: In the 2017 data, 89.24% are occupied by black only family households in census tract 1010.01, Mattapan (see appendix 3). Some whites still remain in this neighborhood, and their reasons for staying will be analyzed in detail in the next section.

White Flight and the persistent black belt White prejudice is such that when black entry into a neighborhood is achieved, that area becomes unattractive to further white settlement and whites begin departing at an accelerated pace (Massey and enton American Apartheid excerpt.pdf, 1993). White flight is one of the reasons that result in racial segregation. This quotation reveals the unfortunate truth that keeps black Americans from incorporating into white neighborhoods. Black Americans expressed a strong preference to live in desegregated and racial-parity neighborhoods. In fact, 63% desire to reside in a half-black and half-white neighborhood (Excerpt from American Apartheid, Massey and Denton, 1993). However, they found themselves living in a black neighborhood years later, even when they bought a house in what was originally white neighborhood. Such scenario is showcased in the Mattapan area by comparing data from the 1970s to the 2017s. The area that has the densest blacks now has the least blacks in the neighborhoods (tract 1001), where the black population has only grown by 3%. However, the area where it had the most white inhabitants, (tract 1010) now has the most blacks inhabitants, growing from around 5% to 87%, while the white population plummeted from 94.54% to 7.85% (see appendix 4&5). The white and the black community almost reversed. Surprisingly, this census block group has the highest income median in the Mattapan area. So why would the middle-class blacks move from one traditionally black neighborhood into another black neighborhood in close proximity? One of the reasons is white prejudice: When middle-class blacks move into a supposedly better white neighborhood, whites flock together and move out, therefore transforming it into a middle-class black neighborhood. Nevertheless, whites are still found in this neighborhood. However, by looking closely at the data, I have found that the only whites who remain are those who cannot move. In the predominantly black Mattapan area, whites who live in this neighborhood earn half as much as their black neighbors. The median white household income is 21,803 dollars, which is almost half of the black median household income ($41,360). All the whites living in the area have a poverty status (498 of 498), though not necessarily living below the poverty line (152) (see appendix 6).

Therefore, tract 1010.01 of the Mattapan area consists of mostly lower-middle-class blacks and lower-class whites. It was at first surprising to see that tract 1010.01 has the highest median income and highest poverty rate (26%). Within the same tract, the census block shows that in some blocks there are 0 families below the poverty level (block group 2&3). While in other neighborhoods, the poverty rate is as high as 36% (block4,5,6) (see appendix 7). Comparing the different census block groups, the racial to economic status overlapped such that places with the most blacks have the lowest poverty rate. Hence, the most disadvantaged whites don’t live with the most underprivileged blacks, but rather live in a relatively better and less racially diverse black neighborhood.

Persistence of intergenerational poverty and economic disadvantage The persistence of intergenerational poverty and economic disadvantage is inextricably linked to location and place. (Florida, 2013) Racial segregation has long-lasting effects on the disadvantaged poor black communities. Education level from 1970 remains similar to that in 2017 in both the rich Beacon Hill neighborhood and the poor Mattapan neighborhood. In the 1970’s, the majority of Beacon Hill residents had a Bachelor’s degree.. As an example, census tract 201 had a bachelor's degree of 70% and a 1.2% percentage who received an education less than high school (see appendix 8). Similarly high levels of education prevail. In 2017, tract 201.01 have a bachelor's degree of 89.5% and a less than high school degree of 2%. Astoundingly, in track 203.02, more than 96% of its residents have a bachelor's degree and only have only 0.6% of its residents have less than a high school degree (see appendix 9). Residents in the area put great efforts into maintaining the elite education for their children, which therefore creates a positive loop. On the other end of the spectrum, the education level in 2017 Mattapan also remains similar to that in the 1970s but with a decrease. In census tract 1010, the bachelor degree obtainment rate was 17.09% in 1970 and dropped to 13.68% in 2017 (see appendix 10). Worse, the percentage of the population who didn't receive proper education rose significantly, from 4.11% to 13.68% (see appendix 11). The highest bachelor degree obtainment and the least years of schooling also correspond to the aforementioned high median income and a high poverty rate of the area. These alarming rates correspond to a study in 2018 which found that more than 80 percent of children living in affluent neighborhoods attend high-quality public schooling with higher test scores compared to only 5 percent in the historically black communities of Mattapan (O'Brien, 2018). As told in The persistent Geography of Disadvantage, "Two-thirds of black children who were raised in the poorest quarter of US neighborhoods a generation ago now raise their children in similarly poor neighborhoods" (Florida, 2013). It is argued in the article that family neighborhoods affect the quality of living and many dimensions of people's lives, such as their friends, the quality of schools, and the people around them. The poverty level in these neighborhoods persists partly due to the low levels of education the children receive. The poverty level remains similar to that in 1970. The highest level of poverty in the 1970s was at 26.1 percent in the 1001 district; in 2017, the highest level of poverty in the surrounding area is also at 26.43 in the 1010.01 districts. Though not in the same census tract, poverty still persisted in the Mattapan neighborhood (see appendix 1).

Conclusion In sum, racial segregation is prominent in both Beacon Hill and Mattapan; one is an extensively wealthy white neighborhood and the other is predominantly poor black. Although in both instances, people from other races are present, they are contained in small amounts and concentrated in a few census block groups within the census tract. White prejudice contributes to racial segregation and is identifiable in the out-migration of the white population in the Mattapan area since the 1970s. Blacks are, in turn, constrained to the “black belt.” Additionally, intergenerational poverty and economic disadvantage are linked to space and location — affluent neighborhoods like Beacon Hill carried on their advantages to the next generation. The black community, however, has disadvantaged surroundings that feed into the downward spiral, leading to higher rates of poverty and lower rates of schooling in the area. Though racial inequality has been at the forefront of everybody’s minds since the Civil Rights movement, the demographics presented in this paper, however, indicate that geographical racial segregation remains as wide as it was nearly 50 years ago. As suggested in The Persistent Geography of Disadvantage, consistent and sustained resources should be invested to multifaceted institutions segregated poor neighborhoods to mitigate the still ongoing racial inequality.

References: Discrimination in Housing in the Boston Metropolitan Area. (1963). Florida, R. (2013, July 25). The Persistent Geography of Disadvantage. Retrieved November 17, 2019, from https://www.citylab.com/equity/2013/07/persistent-geography-disadvantage/6231/ Massey and Denton American Apartheid excerpt.pdf. (1993.). O’Brien, (2018, July) An Evaluation of Equity in the Boston Public Schools’ Home-Based Assignment Policy, from https://news.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ BPSHBAP.pdf Pattillo, Black Picket Fences chs. 1-3.pdf. (1999).