Sal Velasco

While reading, Making of the Second Ghetto by Arnold Hirsch, I realized a few things. First, this is a difficult book to read. Second, I am surprised how little I knew about the events that occurred, especially so close to home. I remember hearing that riots had taken place but never heard or read about the details or facts of these events. I was surprised to read details of the Cicero riots since I have lived in or near Cicero my entire life. I cannot recall learning about the riots.

I want to focus on one of the questions that Touree asked in the beginning of the colloquium, "Why did Blacks/African Americans settle in the south side?" There are three reasons that the Blacks settled on the south side. I believe the first reason lies in the Great Migration, the migration came from America's south. Odds were that most blacks entered a city from the south. It is safe to state the second reason as that the elected officials and the citizens of cities where migrating blacks settled decided to "contain" these new "immigrants" in the south. "Why have them all around the city?" they must have asked themselves. However, a serious problem arose when the black population exploded and exceeded the allocation of housing in their communities. This population was sent west. "And, we still keep them out of the city," they said give them more land, more housing and move them away (two birds with one stone). A third and important reason I believe was the job market. One of the few jobs that most of the "new immigrants" were allowed to have were located south in the stockyards. The houses were usually the closest to each other and worst.

I strongly believe that the poor and inadequate housing problem has not been addressed for many minorities, blacks, Latinos, and other immigrants. It is sad that the media was very willing to downplay the events that had occurred in Chicago in order for it not to escalate as were the Detroit riots. It was not very hard for me to believe the fact expressed in this book that the ghetto was not an accident. It did not just happen. It was planned by the city from the beginning to keep Blacks "contained" to a specific area just as it had done with many other ethnic groups and the way America had done with the Native Americans before them.

I hope that more money can be redirected into these "projects" and the education for their children without losing some of them as they are relocated to the suburbs or rural areas. I hope that something is done soon.

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