ABSTRACT
Racial segregation is the institutional nexus that enables the transmission of poverty from person to person and generation to generation and is therefore a primary structural factor behind the perpetuation of the urban underclass. A large share of black America remains involuntarily segregated, and because life chances are so decisively influenced by where one lives, segregation is deeply implicated in the perpetuation of black poverty. Because of the persistence of white prejudice against black neighbors and the continuation of pervasive discrimination in the real estate and banking industries, a series of barriers is placed in the path of black social and geographic mobility. Private lenders originating non-Federal Housing Administration loans took their cue from the government, and the practice of redlining became institutionalized throughout the lending industry. Race-conscious steps need to be taken to dismantle the institutional apparatus of segregation, and class-specific policies must be implemented to improve the socioeconomic status of African Americans.
