About this project
      The U.S. census made official last year what most of us already knew -- Metro Detroit is the nation's most segregated area.
      And while many people, regardless of race, seem outwardly content living politely separate lives here, some are unaware there's a price for that preference.

Reports in this series
Go Part I: Racial Attitudes
The Detroit News looks at Metro Detroit's sometimes startling attitudes toward segregation today, the extent and reasons for racial separation and how they play out in the lives of families white and black.

Go Part II: Paying for Preferences
Segregation is the norm for Metro Detroiters, but it carries heavy costs. From segregated schools to stagnant property values to a lack of exposure to the nation's increasing diversity, we pay for our preferences.

Go Part III: Where We're Headed
Are we fated to continue living apart? If so, what will the future toll be? The Detroit News looks at the factors that could break down racial barriers, the factors that keep them standing and how living patterns in other metropolitan areas have changed.

Go Part IV: Community Forum
Calling segregation a silent curse that can no longer be ignored, more than 200 people from across Metro Detroit gathered to look for ways to close the chasm between blacks and whites.

Go Part V: The Impact of Affluence
Blacks and whites in Metro Detroit pay steep but unequal prices for their segregated living patterns. The Detroit News study found that Metro Detroit is unusual in the way that blacks and whites live apart at virtually every income level.






© Copyright The Detroit News.



Sunday, January 13, 2002

New segregation: Races accept divide
More than four decades after Americans fought and died to end segregation, many in Metro Detroit are comfortable living apart. 01/13/02

Monday, January 14, 2002

Race attitudes improve after 9-11
Metro Detroiters may be feeling more kindly toward their neighbors of different races after Sept. 11. But some experts say the warm, fuzzy feelings may not last long enough to change the area's high levels of segregation. 01/14/02

Image
The Detroit News

"We're still dealing with stuff we were dealing with during the civil rights time," said Detroit teacher Julia Tolliver.

Where we live
Efforts to integrate are 'just an illusion'
James Kiner first watched his Detroit neighborhood and now his Southfield neighborhood become predominantly black. "It doesn't bother me," said Kiner, 67, who is black. "It just happens." 01/14/02

Commentary: Mark Silverman
Segregation too costly to ignore
The U.S. census made official last year what most of us already knew -- Metro Detroit is the nation's most segregated area. 01/14/02

What the Numbers Show
Racial divide widest in U.S.
By any definition, the gulf between black and white is as wide or wider in Metro Detroit neighborhoods than any metropolitan region in the nation. 01/14/02

By the numbers
Metro Detroit by race
 01/14/02

The Racial Divide
Locale links segregated cities
Detroit and other Great Lakes metro areas are the bastions of segregation in the United States, where common histories, growth trends and demographics have helped make them stand out from the rest of the country. 01/14/02

Neighborhoods
Detroit slow to find ways to integrate
For all the similarities between Metro Detroit and other highly segregated regions, there is much that sets Detroit apart -- and more than just a few points on a segregation index. 01/14/02

Methodology
Segregation scores based on census data
What do we mean when we say "segregation," and how do we measure it? 01/14/02

Voices
Metro Detroit residents speak out on segregation
 01/14/02

Detroit News/WDIV Poll
Attitudes toward living apart
 01/14/02

The past:
A policy of exclusion
WARREN -- Nothing in his training had prepared young Bill Whitbeck, up-and-coming Washington bureaucrat, for the scene he faced: a hot Sunday night, angry protesters, and a car that wouldn't start. 01/14/02

Politics
Young, riots cast shadow on Detroit
It is an article of faith for many Metro Detroiters that the city's decline can be traced to two events: the riot of 1967 and the election of Coleman A. Young in 1973. 01/14/02

Timeline
Major moments in Metro Detroit race relations
 01/14/02

The present:
Mistrust keeps races living apart
Caroline Mallory and her husband asked about the color of their neighbors when they looked for a home. Janine Houle-Gurka and her husband didn't. 01/14/02

Attitudes
Stereotypes born of racism have endured
William Allen has lived in Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston and New York, and considers Detroit "the most race-conscious place I've lived." 01/14/02

Two families, one history
Families' paths are worlds apart
They were children in 1943, growing up just a few blocks from each other on Detroit's east side, when their world exploded. 01/14/02