Racial Blind Spots: A Barrier to Integrated

Communities in Chicago?
Maria Krysan
Department of Sociology and
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
University of Illinois at Chicago
 Three Questions About Blind Spots

 Do blacks, whites, and Latinos have different

community “blind spots”?
 Do blacks, whites and Latinos of the same social,
economic and geographic background have
different “blind spots”?
 Does community racial/ethnic composition
predict “blind spots,” net of the respondent’s and
community’s other characteristics?
Data Source: 2005 Chicago Area Study

 Multi-stage area probability sample

 Cook County residents aged 21 and older
 Face-to-face survey interviews
 Interviews conducted in English and Spanish
 Sample Size:
Whites (n=279)
Blacks (n=237)
Latinos (n=235)
 Question #1

 Do Blacks, Whites, and Latinos have different

community “blind spots”?
Whites’ Blind Spots (14 communities where
33% or greater “don’t know anything about”)
Ashburn (65%) Country Club Hills (43%)

Morgan Park (56%) Beverly (43%)

Bronzeville (55%) Harvey (42%)

Matteson (49%) Norwood Park (39%)

South Shore (48%) North Chicago (39%)

Olympia Fields (45%) Homewood/Flossmoor (38%)

West Chicago (44%) Pilsen/Little Village (35%)

African Americans’ Blind Spots (13 communities
where 33% or greater “don’t know anything about”)

Libertyville (55%) North Chicago (41%)

Crystal Lake (54%) Glenview (40%)

Norwood Park (54%) Arlington Heights (37%)

Waukegan (46%) Logan Square (35%)

West Chicago (43%) Downer’s Grove (34%)

Albany Park (43%) Uptown (33%)

Elgin (42%)
Latinos’ Blind Spots (28 communities where
33% or greater “don’t know anything about”)
Olympia Fields Crystal Lake Bolingbrook Arlington Hts.
(71%) (60%) (46%) (42%)
Ashburn (69%) Harvey (56%) Hyde Park Oak Lawn
(46%) (38%)
Matteson W. Chicago Bronzeville Bridgeport
(68%) (54%) (46%) (37%)
Libertyville Beverly (50%) N. Chicago Skokie (37%)
(64%) (45%)
Country Club Waukegan South Shore Schaumburg
Hills (63%) (49%) (45%) (37%)
Home/Floss Aurora (47%) Norwood Park Uptown (37%)
(63%) (44%)
Morgan Park Downer’s Naperville Lakeview
(60%) Grove (47%) (44%) (33%)
Overlap In Community Blind Spots: Whites, African
Americans and Latinos
Whites African Latinos
Americans
North Chicago North Chicago North Chicago
(39%) (41%) (45%)

Norwood Park Norwood Park Norwood Park

(39%) (54%) (44%)

West Chicago West Chicago West Chicago

(44%) (43%) (54%)
Overlap in Community Blind Spots: Whites and African
Americans

Whites African Americans

Overlap in Community Blind Spots: Whites and Latinos

Whites Latinos
Ashburn (65%) Ashburn (69%)
Beverly (43%) Beverly (50%)
Bronzeville (55%) Bronzeville (46%)
Country Club Hills (43%) Country Club Hills (63%)
Harvey (42%) Harvey (56%)
Homewood/Flossmoor (38%) Homewood/Flossmoor (63%)
Matteson (49%) Matteson (68%)
Morgan Park (56%) Morgan Park (60%)
Olympia Fields (45%) Olympia Fields (71%)
South Shore (48%) South Shore (45%)
Overlap in Community Blind Spots: African Americans
and Latinos
African Americans Latinos
Arlington Heights (37%) Arlington Heights (42%)
Crystal Lake (54%) Crystal Lake (60%)
Downer’s Grove (34%) Downer’s Grove (47%)
Libertyville (55%) Libertyville (64%)
Uptown (33%) Uptown (37%)
Waukegan (46%) Waukegan (49%)
 Question #2

 Do blacks, whites and Latinos of the same social,

economic and geographic background still have
different “blind spots”?
Control Variables

 Education
 Income
 Age
 Gender
 Presence of Children <18 in Household
 Currently married or not
 Number of years living in Chicago metropolitan
area
 If respondent was born in U.S.
 Racial Differences in Blind Spots:
Blacks vs. Whites
Blacks > Whites Whites > Blacks Whites > Blacks,
cont.
Arlington Heights Ashburn Loop
Crystal Lake Austin Matteson
Libertyville Beverly Maywood
Waukegan Bridgeport Morgan Park
Bronzeville Oak Lawn
Country Club Hills Olympia Fields
Harvey Pilsen/Little Village
Home/Floss South Shore
Hyde Park
 Racial Differences in Blind Spots:
Latinos vs. Whites
Latinos > Whites > Whites >
Whites Latinos Latinos, cont.
Arlington Hts. Ashburn Logan Square
Crystal Lake Austin Maywood
Libertyville Beverly Morgan Park
Schaumburg Bridgeport Melrose Park
Waukegan Bronzeville Oak Lawn
Cicero Pilsen/LV
Humboldt Park South Shore
 Racial Differences in Blind Spots:
Blacks vs. Latinos
Latinos > Blacks Blacks > Latinos
Country Club Hills Pilsen/Little Village
Crystal Lake Cicero
Harvey Berwyn
Homewood/Flossmoor Melrose Park
Hyde Park Humboldt Park
Matteson Logan Square
Morgan Park
Olympia Fields
Schaumburg
South Shore
 Question #3

 Does community racial/ethnic composition

predict “blind spots,” net of the respondent’s and
community’s other characteristics? That is, are
the blind spots, racial blind spots?
Question #3, Summary of Effects of
Community Racial Composition
Community White African Latino
Racial Respondents American Respondents
Composition Respondents

% white n/a n.s. “-”

% black “+” n/a n.s.

% Latino “-” “-” n/a

% foreign
born
“+” “+” “-”
Question #3, Summary of Effects of
Community Racial Composition
Community White African Latino
Racial Respondents American Respondents
Composition Respondents

% white n/a n.s. “-”

% black “+” n/a n.s.

% Latino “-” “-” n/a

% foreign
born
“+” “+” “-”
Question #3, Summary of Effects of
Community Racial Composition
Community White African Latino
Racial Respondents American Respondents
Composition Respondents

% white n/a n.s. “-”

% black “+” n/a n.s.

% Latino “-” “-” n/a

% foreign
born
“+” “+” “-”
 Conclusions

 Community knowledge—or the lack thereof—may be a

barrier to residential integration.
 Currently integrated communities must have demand
from all groups; but whites are relatively less
knowledgeable about integrated black-white communities
and white-Latino communities.
 Latinos appear to be knowledgeable about many different
kinds of communities—more so than whites—but only
after controlling for background characteristics.
 African Americans have relatively few “blind spots.”
 Racial/Ethnic Identity of Buyers’ Real
Estate Agent by Race/Ethnicity

100 Whites
98 Blacks
Latinos
80

60 70 70

40

20

0
Same Race
 Policy Implications

 In addition to enforcement and testing, the Fair Housing

Act of 1968 mandated the “affirmative furthering” of
integrated housing.
 This study suggests that community knowledge is an
area where relatively unobtrusive policies might be
instituted, to help break down racialized community “blind
spots” through education and outreach.
• The Oak Park Regional Housing Center, for example, works to
affirmatively market the racially integrated community of Oak
Park. That it is an integrated community equally well-known
among whites, blacks, and Latinos is suggestive of its
success.
• Movesmart.org, which seeks to educate homeseekers via the
internet (an increasingly important tool for homeseekers) is
also another mechanism for overcoming racial blind spots.