Section 8's Failure to Integrate: The Interaction of Class-Based and Racial Discrimination

Abstract

In his book, As Long as They Don't Move Next Door, Stephen Grant Meyer examines the history of housing segregation in the United States. He asserts that, while African Americans have made great advancements toward equal citizenship, the continued tendency of Whites and African Americans to live in separate neighborhoods remains a significant impediment to improving race relations in the United States. Meyer concludes that the negative perception many Whites have of African Americans is responsible for the lack of integration found in America's neighborhoods. This Book Review takes Meyer's analysis a step further and argues that in order to promote long-term change in neighborhood integration, it is also necessary to address the underlying class-based fears, grounded in the protection of their property, that cause many white Americans to discriminate against African Americans.