Ghetto Segregation

Ghettos in the United States have derived from a myriad of social issues, which have contributed to the exacerbated poverty and crime rates in neighborhoods all across the “Land of the Free”. One of the most prevalent and destructive factors that have contributed to ghettos in the United States is segregation. In the U.S. today, segregation is a residential pattern with one racial group far outstripping its percentage in the region while other racial groups in the region are significantly underrepresented in the neighborhood (Shelby 39). The segregation one might witness today is not the same segregation regimes used in the past, categorized as institutional racism. For example, the Jim Crowe Laws and Apartheid forcibly separated and isolated

A few of these factors include: discrimination, institutional racism, private residential choices, street crime, urban renewal and economic inequality (Shelby 39). The fact about today’s segregation patterns is that black segregation directly corresponds with concentrated disadvantage. In fact, several intellectuals who’ve studied influences, such as American philosopher and author Tommie Shelby, that have contributed to the prevalence of black ghettos refer to the residents as the “ghetto poor”. These two terms have become so synonymous that it made logical sense to tie them together when describing the individuals living in these deprived neighborhoods. Furthermore, it is no secret that black people have continuously been put at an economic disadvantage. With this comes the phenomenon of class prejudice in which affluent, white families seek to “carve out enclaves” that exclude poor, minority groups, majority of which are black. Even more corrupt is that fact that the wealthy upper class whites have the legal power to do this because of the “institutional nexus of home-ownership rights, tax policy, local political autonomy, and the authority to restrict school district membership” (Shelby

Although very comical (as most SNL skits are), it is perhaps masked with a tinge of darkness coupled with an obvious and very bold comment about today’s society. Four female friends are having brunch and are discussing the “dilemmas” they’ve recently been through. They repeatedly use the phrase “so ghetto” when referring to their petty issues, hence the ironic title “So Ghetto”. One of the friends, played by the host Elizabeth Banks, finally voices her complaints with the same tone and mannerisms as her friends except this time her complaints are shockingly reminiscent of the real and prevalent complications of race divided Ghettos. Among some of the dilemmas Banks mentions are “living with that poor family in low income government housing”. Of course this generates laughs, but it is an issue SNL is in no way making light of. Like many of the skits it creates, the show successfully appeals to its audience with humour while at the same time concealing a warning about the state of our neighborhoods. As previously stated, the contemporary black ghetto