Introduction
Residential patterns have been hypothesized to affect intergroup relations. Various research studies have been conducted to establish the holding power of this hypothesis. One of the very basic approach to the studies of residential patterns and their effects on intergroup relations has been the assertion that the residential patterns result in prejudiced intergroup relations. Prejudice, in this case, refers to negative beliefs, feelings, and action orientations regarding a certain group of people. Further, research studies have also underscored the assertion that prejudice is a result of social learning, and it gets transmitted through folklore and; hence, gets supported by the existing social arrangements (Wilner, Walkley, & Cook, 1952). Based on this understanding, this research paper presents a brief and concise study of the effect of residential patterns in intergroup relations in Columbia City and use this information to make empirical conclusions in the larger South Carolina region. Intergroup relations, in this case, will refer to the relations between the white population and the African-American population in South Carolina. Based on the understanding of race relations in the United States and many parts of the world, this paper asserts the position that residential patterns are a major factor in the escalation and continued the existence of strained race relations between the African-Americans and the Hispanic communities in the South Carolina region.
Step 1: Using Secondary Data
South Carolina currently has a population of 4,896,146. The median household income stands at $45,033. More than 18.3% of the population lives below the poverty line, and consequently, more than 15.9% of the population is not insured (United States Census Bureau, 2016). Owning a house in South Carolina costs about $137,600 and additionally, at least, 85% of the population has attained at least a high school level of education. On the composition of the population, the statistics indicate that the African-American population in the region stands at 45.98% of the total population hence placing the region as one of those with the highest black populations in the United States (United States Census Bureau, 2016).
South Carolina has a long history of strained race relations. According to past research, the region started receiving the slaves as early as the 16th century (Weaver & Bagchi-Sen, 2015). The economy of the region was, therefore, anchored on the trade, which was supported by the mere fact that the Southern states were the main recipients slaves and the state even had a name for is; the black ivory. Rationally, the proximity of South Carolina, compared to the northern states, to West Africa was the main reason as to why the region has high numbers of African Americans. Additionally, South Carolina also remains in the books of history as one of the states that supported Confederacy during the Civil War. Notably, it is also at the Fort Sumter, South Carolina where the Confederate war started on April 2, 1861. The Confederate states fought to secede from the union and to continue with the trade in slavery. More than 3 million black people died in the Confederate war that lasted four years (Gordon, 2003).
After the Confederate War and the Civil War in the United States, the Southern states continued with their attempts to uphold slave trade. The slaves simply had no rights and more than that, they did not even have a way to make a living or places to settle. South Carolina used this hopelessness among the black people to continue forcing the slaves to work on cotton farms for survival. It created the new generation of enslavement in which the white population was now the employer and the black population the slaves or in the new term the employees. Segregation persisted, and the blacks continued living in dilapidated structures, and when the slave labor ended, the whites and the blacks remained in the segregated residential areas (Heringa, Bolt, Dijst, & Kempen, 2014). More than two centuries later, the segregation is still evident in many parts of South Carolina with some region apparently being left to the white population with only a few super rich people managing to purchase houses in high-end areas. Further, the black population continues to dominate the number of homeless people in South Carolina. Additionally, the black population is also the majority being supported through the residential housing in the state (Cooper, Smalls‐Glover, Metzger, & Griffin, 2015).
Step 2: Using an Observational Study
Columbia City is the largest city in South Carolina, and it is also the capital of South Carolina. The city is also home to the South Carolina University, which takes students from all across South Carolina and consequently, the university provides the best location for an observational study on the residential patterns and the intergroup relations. Based on this understanding, the South Carolina University was used as one of the sites for the observational study of the residential patterns and how they affect the intergroup relations.
Columbia City was named after Christopher Columbus, and it was one of the very first planned cities in the United States. Walking through the streets of the city, it is not difficult to pick the fact that the houses in which the white population lives are concentrated in certain regions of the city while the houses owned by the African-American are located in different parts of the city. The regions that are white dominated, concerning ownership of residential properties, are considered to have people with higher incomes as seen by the larger houses. The suburban areas are also dominated by the white population with few people from other communities and groups such as blacks.
The downtown Columbia is dominated by the African American population. The houses are smaller than in the regions dominated by the whites, and the population density is also high. In this side of Columbia, there are a few white people who are in the lower economic class. Additionally, the population in the regions mainly occupied by the whites has higher numbers of homeless people. Focusing on the city's housing program, the populations in these houses mainly comprises of African-American, but there are also white people in these houses indicating that more black people as compared to the whites are consistently seeking support from the government for housing. On the basketball pitches in the city, there are higher populations of black people than there are white players; indicating high levels of segregation in the game. In the American football pitches, the number of white people is higher than those in the basketball pitches, but the number of black players is also equally high.
Focusing the campus, one is likely to observe groups of black students and white students walking separately than to see groups that have people from the two populations walking together. In the lecture halls, one is likely to see black students sitting together in rows and white students sitting together. Though this may at times be considered as random due to the interactive sessions in the class, it can still be used to show that segregation still exists in Columbia and by extension in South Carolina. Other than in the university, the places of worship also indicate some level of segregation. The Catholic churches are likely to have more whites than African-Americans while in other churches the populations of African-Americans are higher indicating continued segregation even though this is rarely mentioned. The discussions among the white and black populations are also another source of information on the nature of intergroup relations with the black population frequently referring to the words ‘I am black’ than the white population refers to themselves by race. Lastly, it was likely to observe more integrated groups of ladies than to see integrated groups of boys both on campus and on the streets of Columbia City; hence, indicating gendered racial segregation.
Step 3: Analysis and Reporting of Research
The communities living in Columbia and by extension in the entire South Carolina are segregated along ratio lines. It is based on the findings of an observational study conducted on the streets of Columbia City and in the South Carolina University. According to the research, the black community and the white community in the South Carolina region live in segregated communities (Cooper et al., 2015). Evidence for the segregation is seen in the existence of separate places of worship for the white and black communities in the region. While the segregation is not spoken of or even instituted by any formal structures, evidence indicates that racial segregation exists as an inherent trait among the populations living in the region.
The other major finding is that racial segregation in the region is highly gendered. It means that one is likely to observe higher levels of segregation in one gender and lower levels of segregation in another gender. Particularly, higher levels of segregation are observable in the male population between the white and black population than between in the female population. Accordingly, approaches to dealing with the issues of racism in the region should be approached in a manner that attempts to explain why the racial segregation is inherently gendered in South Carolina (Gordon, 2003).
According to research, more than 10 million slaves in the US passed through the Charleston port in South Carolina (Barrington, Messias, & Weber, 2012). It contributed to the fact that most of these slaves settled in the South Carolina region among other southern states in the US. Further, research indicates that there continues to be reported high levels of racism in the region. South Carolina has been in the global news recently with news of race-related violence. A good example of this includes the Charleston's shooting of black people by police operatives and the subsequent demonstrations by the black population in South Carolina.
While slave trade ended ages ago and racial segregation banned in all formal settings. The current research finds that racial segregation continues to be passed down through folklore from one generation to the other. It takes place in the residential settings. The mere fact that the white populations appear to be living in better conditions and better residential areas acts as enough support for the observation that racial segregation between the blacks and the whites in the South Carolina region is constructed along residential patterns. Further, research indicates that the chances of finding an unemployed youth among the African-Americans are higher than that in the white population (Weaver, & Bagchi-Sen, 2015). The residential patterns also affect other factors such as access to education and access to employment opportunities.
The observations herein listed exist due to the presence of racially inclined prejudices. It means that racial prejudice in the residential settings leads to the creation of adverse opinions about one race or the other. For instance, the white population has for long been considered to be superior to the whites and discriminatory by the black people (Heringa, Bolt, Dijst, & Kempen, 2014). It is based on the observations made on the existence of racially skewed distribution of resources and access to opportunities by the whites. On the other hand, the black population is viewed as violent, poor, and uneducated by the white population while the poor black feel oppressed and disenfranchised. Such prejudices are passed through generations, and though the passage is rather passive, it leads to the persistent reporting of prejudices in the region.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper presents an observational research on the influence of residential patterns in intergroup relations. The observational study was conducted in the city of Columbia in South Carolina and used to assess race relations in the region. The findings indicate that racial segregation runs inherently between the white and black populations and though there are no formal settings in which segregation is enforced, the observation of how people behave in the streets confirms the existence of segregation. Consequently, this paper concludes that discriminatory intergroup behavior is strongly conditioned by the residential patterns.
References
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Cooper, S. M., Smalls‐Glover, C., Metzger, I., & Griffin, C. (2015). African American fathers' racial socialization patterns: Associations with racial identity beliefs and discrimination experiences. Family Relations, 64(2), 278-290.
Gordon, J. W. (2003). South Carolina and the American Revolution: A battlefield history. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
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Wilner, D. M., Walkley, R. P., & Cook, S. W. (1952). Residential proximity and intergroup relations in public housing projects. Journal of Social Issues,8(1), 45-69.
