The gaps between rich and poor,
the privileged and disadvantaged, and between white communities and communities
of color are growing, creating what many argue is our country’s defining
challenge: the opportunity gap. Long-standing evidence indicates that
residential segregation is central to this gap. People who live in communities
that are racially segregated and experience concentrated poverty are less
likely to possess the assets and resources needed to overcome disadvantage. For
a child in a poor neighborhood, it is not only the poor schools, the inadequate
health care, lack of economic and social capital, the dearth of affordable and
nutritious food, environmental hazards, police violence, and inadequate
transportation. It is these factors, working in tandem and reinforcing one
another, that conspire against opportunity. This panel will explore how residential segregation and the compounding
effects of concentrated poverty and racial inequality become a source of
systemic disadvantage.