Nick Lilak University High School

Hirsch details events, processes, and policies leading to creation of a second ghetto in Chicago. Surprisingly, Hirsch never clearly identifies exactly what he means by the "second ghetto." The reader has to dig through this text with intent of discovery to uncover the most basic themes. Fortunately, our colloquium provided such a reader in our facilitator, Toure Reed. With Toure's assistance, we spent a significant amount of time clarifying the "second" relative to the "first" ghetto. This distinction is important as it provides the greatest lesson potential in Hirsch's book. But, this issue, as is the case with others throughout the book, is hidden among text bedecked with statistics and dates. The trees effectively hide the forest.

This is not to say that the digging isn't worth it; it's just not necessary. Understanding the origin of the second ghetto tells us much about what we are as a nation and who we are as a people. Instead of a continuous ghetto beginning after the second great migration, Hirsch demonstrates that the creation of the second ghetto is separate and distinct from the first. The separation is temporal in that the first ghetto was created in the 1920s and the second between 1940 and 1960. This seems clear. The critical distinction, and that which requires the most examination however, is the basis for their difference. This difference is policy.

Whereas the first ghetto was created and organized by the private sector (e.g., neighborhoods, individual families, businesses, churches), the second ghetto was influenced largely by public policy local, state, and federal. Moreover, Hirsch argues the case that such policies were planned with intended purposes of segregation. Hirsch does an effective job laying out research to support these conclusions but, again, he often loses the reader with unnecessary detail.

This book clearly makes one think about how we might fix the inequalities that result from ignorance. Unfortunately, Hirsch does not offer insights into how things might have been influenced by alternative policies. There's little hope offered here and no reference to how easily things could have gone a different way. Instead, we are left with a detailed story that wears heavily on the soul. We examine the details and creativity applied to ensure that we effectively categorize and stigmatize ourselves for the expectation of short term gains. This is the story of man doing his best to be his worst.

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