Unequal City: Race, Schools, and Perceptions of Injustice

242 Pages·2015·11.34 MB·English

by  Carla Shedd

UNEQUAL CITY

UNEQUAL CITY
Race, Schools, and
Perceptions of Injustice
Carla Shedd
Russell Sage Foundation • New York
The Russell Sage Foundation
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Sara S. McLanahan, Chair
Larry M. Bartels Kathryn Edin Shelley E. Taylor
Kenneth D. Brody Lawrence F. Katz Richard H. Thaler
Karen S. Cook Nicholas Lemann Hirokazu Yoshikawa
W. Bowman Cutter III Peter R. Orszag
Sheldon Danziger Claude M. Steele
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shedd, Carla.
Unequal city : race, schools, and perceptions of injustice / Carla Shedd.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-87154-796-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61044-852-9
(ebook) 1. Minority students—Illinois—Chicago. 2. Segregation in education—
Illinois—Chicago. 3. Discrimination in education—Illinois—Chicago. 4. Social
stratification—Illinois—Chicago. 5. Equality—Illinois—Chicago. 6. Racism—
Illinois—Chicago. I. Title.
LC3733.C4S54 2015
371.8290773ʹ11—dc23 2015008748
Copyright © 2015 by Russell Sage Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United
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cording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Reproduction by the United States Government in whole or in part is permitted for any
purpose.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.
ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Text design by Suzanne Nichols
RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION
112 East 64th Street, New York, New York 10065
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
About the Author ix
Preface xi
Chapter 1 Introduction: Crossing Boundaries of Race,
Class, and Neighborhood 1
Chapter 2 “And We Are Not Saved”: Safe Passage Through a
Changing Educational Landscape 19
Chapter 3 Of the Meaning of Progress 45
Chapter 4 The Universal Carceral Apparatus 80
Chapter 5 To Serve and Protect? 120
Chapter 6 Conclusion: Paradoxes of Progress 157
Acknowledgments 163
Appendix A Methods 167
Appendix B Survey Questionnaire: Perceptions of Social
Injustice and the Legitimacy of the Law and
Compliance with the Law 171
Appendix C General Interview Protocol 182
Appendix D C hicago Community Areas 184
Notes 187
References 205
Index 217

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 2.1 Chicago High School Students’ Perceptions of 35
Insecurity, by Race, 2001
Figure 2.2 Chicago High School Students’ Perceptions of 36
Insecurity, by School Racial Composition, 2001
Figure 2.3 Chicago High School Students’ Perceptions of 37
Gang Population, by School Type, 2001
Figure 3.1 Racial and Social Isolation and Resources and 60
Opportunity at the Four Chicago High Schools
Figure 3.2 Students’ Perceptions of Social Injustice, by Race, 67
2001
Figure 4.1 Percentage of Contact with Police for Chicago 87
Ninth- and Tenth-Graders, by Race and Level of
Severity, 2001
Figure 4.2 Chicago High School Students’ Contacts with 88
Police, by Race and Level of Severity, 2005
Map 2.1 The Concentration of Poverty in Chicago by 30
Community Area
Map 2.2 Perceptions of Safety Among Surveyed Chicago 32
Youth
Map 4.1 Chicago High School Students’ Perceptions of 101
Criminal Injustice, by Race, Gender, Class, Age,
and Neighborhood Area
Map 4.2 Chicago High School Students’ Contact with 103
Police, by Neighborhood
viii List of Illustrations
Photo 2.1 Police Outside Fenger Academy High School, 20
Chicago, in 2009
Photo 2.2 “Love RIP”: Agape Community Center, 342 West 21
111th Street, Chicago, the Site of Derrion Albert’s
Fatal Beating in 2009
Photo 2.3 Looking from the East Toward Agape 22
Community Center, Across the Unofficial “Safe”
Zone for Students Traveling Home to Altgeld
Gardens from Fenger Academy High School
Photo 4.1 Main Entrance to Tilden Career Community 81
Academy, Chicago
Photo 4.2 Main Entrance to Harper High School, Chicago 82
Table 1.1 Characteristics of Four Chicago Schools, 2006 13
Table 2.1 Racial Demographic Data on Pre-K Through 25
Twelfth-Grade Students in the Largest U.S. Public
School Districts, 1987–2009
Table 2.2 Racial Demographic Data for Chicago Schools, 27
Pre-K Through Twelfth Grade, While Under the
Desegregation Consent Decree, 1987–2009
Table 2.3 Distance Traveled by Chicago High School 38
Students Between Home and School, by School
Racial Composition
Table 4.1 Chicago Ninth- and Tenth-Graders’ Contacts 87
with Police, by Race and Level of Severity, 2001
Table 4.2 Chicago High School Students’ Racialized 105
Perceptions of Criminal Injustice, by Level of
Police Contact
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carla Shedd is assistant professor of sociology and African American studies
at Columbia University.