EDUC 206: Segregation, Redlining, and School Segregation Assignment

 

Redlining and other forms of residential segregation are deeply connected to the history of race in America. By zoning cities along racial lines, redlining has produced lasting and intergenerational disparities in the lives and opportunities of minoritized racial groups. Redlining illustrates the complex and enduring impacts of racial discrimination in the economy because it is related to both educational opportunities (access to schools, public infrastructures) and wealth (through property values). Therefore, redlining not only influenced where people could live but the opportunities available to them because of where they lived. This created a highly persistent form of racial inequality whose impacts are still felt today. 

 

 

 

In this assignment, we will assess the consequences of redlining to contemporary Milwaukee. We will begin by examining how Milwaukee was originally redlined by consulting the online resource Mapping Inequality at https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=10/43.03/-88.299&city=milwaukee-co.-wi 

 

 

 

This resource allows us to explore the geography of the U.S. federal government’s policy of redlining and its ongoing legacy on today’s residential patterns. Redlining originally designated four types of areas: Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red. 

 

 

 

Please follow these steps to complete the assignment:

 

Step One

 

1. Use Mapping Inequality’s map of Milwaukee to view how it was redlined in the 1930s. Identify six neighborhoods in Milwaukee – at least two red districts, two yellow districts, one blue district, and one green district. 

 

 

 

2. Click on each of these districts in the map to explore how each district was described (see upper left side of screen). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can switch between the map and the describing document by using the “Show Scan” / “Show Map” option in the district’s area descriptor. 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Pay attention to the language used in the descriptions. Consider the belief system behind the use of terms like “infiltration”, “favorable influences”, “detrimental influences”, and so forth. (Please note that “relief” means families who used welfare support). 

 

 

 

 

 

For each of the six neighborhoods you choose, please respond to the following. Add each response to the table below:

 

1. What role did race (“Negro”, “White”) and/or ethnicity (“Greeks”, “Italians”) play in the definition of the area? What patterns did you find? Are they consistent with redlining?

 

2. How was the area described physically (‘well maintained’, ‘conveniences’, ‘desirable’, etc.)?

 

3. What role did economic class play in the definition of the area (e.g., ‘manual workers’, ‘low salaried’, ‘professional’)?

 

4. Did positive or negative descriptions of race, physical space, and economic class tend to go together? Why or why not? 

 

Neighborhood Role of Race in Defining Area Physical Description of Area Role of Economic Class in Definition Did Race, Space, and Economic Class Intersect? How?

 

Red #1

 

Red #2

 

Yellow #1

 

Yellow #2

 

Blue

 

Green

 

 

 

Step Two 

 

To help connect past to present, we will use SocialExplorer.com to see what Milwaukee looks like today. Please go to https://www.socialexplorer.com/profiles/essential-report/milwaukee-city-wisconsin.html . This will show you Milwaukee at the city level.

 

 

 

To view Milwaukee at the neighborhood level, enter a Milwaukee zip code into the search bar as shown below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For each zip code, investigate the following:

 

• Race and ethnicity (click on the demographics tab, then scroll down)

 

• Educational attainment; in particular, look for bachelor’s degree or higher. 

 

• Per capita and median household income (Economics tab)

 

• Percentage of owner-occupied housing units (housing tab)

 

• Median house value (housing tab, scroll down)

 

Zip Code Race/Ethnicity Educational Attainment Per Capita/Median Household Income % Owner-Occupied Housing Median House Value

 

53217

 

53226

 

53218

 

53214

 

53206

 

53205

 

 

 

Step Three – School segregation and achievement

 

About 43% of school funding in Wisconsin comes from local property taxes (Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, 2016), which are, in turn, connected to property values. School funding is directly associated with student achievement (Learning Policy Institute, 2018). We can therefore hypothesize a relationship between redlining and institutionalized segregation  current inequities in neighborhoods,  current educational achievement. In Step Three, you are going to look at one more body of data to see if evidence supports this hypothesis. 

 

1. Go to the Milwaukee School Quality Map: https://mkeschoolmap.org/map

 

2. Search each of following zip codes in the “Filter by zipcode” box. Scroll down to “enrollment type” and uncheck “autonomous charter” and “private”. We won’t use those schools in this comparison because they are funded differently. 

 

3. For each zip code, investigate the following: 

 

• Proportion of schools significantly exceeding or exceeding expectations (# of schools out of total in zip code)

 

• Proportion of schools meeting expectations (# of schools out of total in zip code)

 

• Proportion of schools meeting few expectations or failing to meet expectations (# of schools out of total in zip code)

 

(NOTE: School accountability is determined by the Department of Public Instruction, and these accountability ratings include a variety of data points, including Achievement, Growth, Target Group Outcomes, and On-track to Graduation. For the purposes of this activity, we are using accountability as a proxy for academic achievement.)

 

Zip Code Race/Ethnicity (from Step 2) Median house value (from Step 2) Proportion of schools significantly exceeding or exceeding accountability expectations Proportion of schools meeting accountability expectations Proportion of schools meeting few expectations or failing to meet accountability expectations

 

53217

 

 

53226

 

53218

 

 

53214

 

 

53206

 

 

53205

 

 

 

 

Step Four – Reflection (Be sure to follow required format as indicated below)

 

Compare contemporary data (Step Two and Step Three) with the descriptions from the original redlining documents (Step One). There are limits to these comparisons because formal Milwaukee city limits don’t include suburbs that are geographically very close to the city, and some of today’s zip codes may be difficult to correlate to the original redlining map. 

 

 

 

Nevertheless, try your best and consider these questions: 

 

• Do past “undesirable” neighborhoods remain low-income or racially segregated today? Have any of the neighborhoods significantly changed, racially and/or economically, from past to present? To what extent do race and economics still seem to correlate (go together) in Milwaukee?

 

• Is there a pattern between past “undesireable” neighborhoods and current academic achievement? 

 

• Discuss how a history of institutional racial discrimination may impact Milwaukee today, and how residential segregation may impact other indicators of well-being such as educational attainment, family wealth, employment opportunities, and so forth. Remember to use data from this assignment and other course materials to support your arguments.  

 

 

 

Write up your responses on the next page. Format: one full page, single-space, Times New Roman 12-point font, 1” margins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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