Racial lines were drawn over the city’s history and remain entrenched by people’s choice, economics
Thepaths taken by Colin Lampark and Rosalyn Bates help illustrate whyChicago is the most racially segregated big city in America.
Both are young professionals with handsome earning potential. Bothmoved to the city a few years ago—Lampark, 28, to Lincoln Park; Bates,31, to Bronzeville. And both chose neighborhoods reflecting their race,a practice common in Chicago.
Their personal stories, and many others, explain why blacks inChicago are the most isolated racial group in the nation’s 20 largestcities, according to a Tribune analysis of 2008 population estimates.To truly integrate Chicago, 84 percent of the black or white populationwould need to change neighborhoods, the data show.
The calculations paint a starkly different picture from the onesbroadcast across the nation during Barack Obama’s Election Night rallylast month, when his hometown looked like one unified, harmonious city.Continue…