The neighborhood perception example, referring to why people avoid certain neighborhoods, that we discussed in class is very interesting to me. Are people wary of entering certain neighborhoods because they have high concentrations of Black people (or Latinx people) or because they view the neighborhoods are more dangerous or violent independent of race? I think that this is a nuanced question and almost certainly varies from person to person, but my feeling is that race plays the larger role. People will know that a neighborhood is predominately filled with Black people and then from that will assume that this neighborhood is dangerous.

Why is this? I think that it is because Black people are associated with violence and poor living conditions regardless of the actual nature of a neighborhood. I would imagine that the poor perception of these communities creates further disadvantage in these communities because wealthy people with advantage and capital aren’t going invest in Black neighborhoods if they aren’t even willing to visit them. Also, the neighborhood violence and disorder that is prevalent in lower class Black neighborhoods may be a greater product of class than race. Of course, this class situation is perpetuated by race, but I would not be surprised if other poorer communities had the symptoms as poorer Black communities.