In the US, until recently, there was a division of the white population, blacks and Indians, the so-called racial segregation. The definition of this phenomenon is best revealed through its legal and factual aspects.
Background
De jure segregation began in 1865 after the official abolition of slavery in America. The famous 13th amendment banned slavery and at the same time legitimized the existence of separate Negro schools, shops, military units.
In the early 20th century, the United States passed a series of laws segregating ethnic Japanese, such as the Asian Exclusion Act, making it nearly impossible for them to become American citizens.
Household segregation
In settlements where the way of life has not changed for many decades, the population of differentnationalities traditionally settled in areas isolated from each other. So, in most cities, household segregation initially arose. What this means can be explained by the example of New York, where throughout the history of its existence, isolated black, Chinese, Japanese quarters were formed.
Household segregation took many different forms. For example, separate education for blacks and whites has existed in the United States for more than a hundred years. The first legal ban on school segregation was adopted in several US states only in 1954, and its implementation was accompanied by active opposition from the white population.
The ban on mixed marriages of "whites" and "coloreds" was just as ugly. Children from such marriages were subjected to cruel ridicule and bullying. Often, both Negro schools and white schools did not want to accept them.
Army Affairs…
The legal foundations for segregation in the US Army at the legislative level were laid back in 1792. The Militia Act stipulated that only "a free able-bodied white male" could serve. It was not until 1863 that an official procedure for drafting blacks was established. Moreover, Negroes served in separate units, where even the majority of officer positions were occupied by whites. They were discriminated against in the assignment of non-commissioned officer ranks, as well as in the awarding of medals and insignia.
Until the 50s of the XX century, the situation in the army practically did not change. Separate service, a ban on participation in hostilities,discrimination in the awarding of ranks - all this is army segregation. It was not until the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 that this unconstitutional phenomenon would be consistently eradicated became clear.
Current state of affairs
Problems of segregation remain quite relevant today. In a report by Harvard University professor Gary Orfield in 2006, it was noted that over the past decades, almost all the achievements of American society, thanks to which segregation was eradicated, have been lost. What this means in modern conditions is not difficult to understand by examining maps that show racial stratification in the United States depending on the area of residence.
Compiled from the passport data of residents of several dozen states, these maps provide a visual representation of the existence of serious household segregation. In particular, the black urban population of Detroit, St. Louis, Birmingham continues to settle separately from the white.
There is also an opposite opinion, according to which in the US there is a clear general trend towards mutual integration of the population. Over the past 10 years, racial segregation has declined in every major US city.
It is believed that the election of an African-American Barack Obama to the post of President of the United States allowed to minimize such a shameful phenomenon as segregation. That this phenomenon in American society is practically obsolete, is declared in the report of economists Edward Glauser from Harvard University and Jacob Vigdor from Duke University.
Btheir study notes that in 2010, only 20% of the black population of America lived in "black ghettos", while in 1960 this figure reached 50%. However, the degree of integration in major US cities continues to vary, with populations in Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas more integrated than those in New York. Of the 13 cities with the highest proportion of African Americans, New York shows the least commitment to integrating "coloreds". Despite all the loy alty programs in place, it remains one of the most segregated cities in the US.
