Racial Segregation

On a recent episode of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” an experiment was conducted on racial segregation.  During an open house, a white actress played the role of a racist home-seller who doesn’t want to sell to “certain people”.  In front of others she attempted to steer away certain racial and ethnic groups, making statements that could not be mistaken for anything other than racist remarks.  The social experiment was conducted to see if bystanders would intervene and call her out.  Although many people appear shocked by what they hear, most walk away and say nothing. Dovidio, the Yale University social psychologist assisting in the experiment, explained that the individuals breaking the norm should be seen as heroic.  Moreover, he argues that “If you’re really concerned about racism, you have to take an active step and confront the racist.”  Click the link, to see an an excerpt of the February 17th episode of What Would You Do? See the link below for a more thorough description of the episode.   To learn more about the research on racial residential segregation, see the link below for an article published in Sociology Compass written by Adelman and Gocker.  Additionally, they had a guide published in the same journal to accompany the article which contains recommended authors and online materials, as well as a sample syllabus, for anyone interested in learning or teaching about racial residential segregation.

Real Estate Racism: A Social Experiment

 Adelman and Gocker’s Review of the Research

 Teaching and Learning Guide for: Racial Residential Segregation in Urban America