Sonia Malhotra

Race Literacy Quiz

Health and racism tend to be looked at as general terms, but how they relate to each other

is a complex web. The race literacy quiz at first looked easy until I noticed that I had gotten all

but one question correct. The biggest surprise came from the question that asked about the net

worth of a black and white family, giving a white family eight times as much of a net worth

(Question 17). That’s a very large difference, which has accumulated over time through

generations. As the quiz suggests that this is cause of home ownership rates, which gives blacks

a disadvantage. This brings in a sense of fear that if this type of disparities continues on the gap

will become so large that it will be impossible to close. The disparity of net worth is correlated

with home ownership disparity, which can also be associated with modern day segregation.

Segregation has become more apparent in neighborhoods, jobs, and schools. Many

people live where they do, because of what they can afford. In the race literacy quiz, the 2000

census reveled that housing segregation “is largely a result of past housing discrimination, but it

is perpetuated today by unfair practices of predatory lending, and racial steering” (Question 19).

For the people who try to get housing in better neighborhood, are forced out of them by means of

fraud lenders. As racial steering comes into play, buyers and renters are steered into

neighborhood based of their race, which never gives a blacks and Latinos the option of

intermingling with other race. The racy Literacy quiz looked into how “black and Latino

mortgage applicants are 60% more likely than whites to be turned down for loans” (Question

17). This automatically prevents a black or latino from being able to purchase a house, and

instead are left to rent. Owning a house is a luxury that many people would want, but without a

loan it can be hard to start off on that path for blacks and Latino. The article How Racism Hurts-
Literally modern day segregation is seen through “residential housing, unsafe housing . . . and

target marketing of alcohol” (2). In regards to health, housing segregation has turned into a

domino effect. People are unable to afford and get loans, which would cause them to have to

look for work nearby and send their kids to a school in the same district near them. This idea of

racial steering took me back to when I first moved to the United States as an immigrant, and was

constantly moving from one avenue to another. If I look back to it, I did not have a community

park or a produce market near me instead there were lots of taco stores and a jack in the box.

There were no healthy options to choose from.

As discussed in the Alameda Country report, many public polices can be created and

enforced to reverse the damage caused by public policies. Public polices can begin by getting

creative and finding ways to incorporate low cost options that are ideal for our health. Having a

community park, farmers markets once a week can give these community accesses to healthier

options (Alameda County Report 7). The ideal concept to prevent housing segregation would be

to offer people options of living in different communities. It’s not necessary true that the poor

should live on one side and the rich on another. As discussed in the Alameda County report and

by Nancy Krieger, childhood health is crucial (Alameda County Report 9). It’s important for

public polices to focus on giving children the attention they need as they are developing. By

incorporating different races into each community, a better understanding is formed which

reduces the stress that a minority will feel because they are immigrant or a minority.
 Work Citied

"Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Race ." CA News Reel 2003: n.

pag. Web. 16 Sep 2010.

<http://www.newsreel.org/guides/race/10things.htm>.

"Health Inequalities in the Bay Area ." Bay Area County Report (2010): 10-18. Web. 19 Sep

2010. <https://ilearn.sfsu.edu/file.php/10371/Week_One/barhii_report08.pdf>.

"LIFE and DEATH Unnatural Causes." Alameda County Report (2010): 10-28. Web. 19 Sep

2010. <https://ilearn.sfsu.edu/file.php/10371/Week_One/Alameda_County_exec_summ.pdf>.

Drexler, Madeline . "How Racism Hurts-Literally ." Boston Sunday Globe July 5, 200: 2-3. Print.