That's the way it is

In Bonilla’s article titled, “The Central Frames of Color-Blind Racism,” he talks about the four frames of color-blind racism, which are abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of race. Out of the four frames, the concept of naturalization stood out to me the most as I tried to relate it to my own experiences growing up in communities that are predominantly white.

When discussing residential segregation “natural” and “that’s the way it is” are used to normalize events or actions that could be interpreted as racially motivated (Bonilla, 37). Saying things are natural or that’s the way things are, justifies segregation because not everyone has equal access to housing. If it is natural for people to gravitate towards and live by people who are like themselves, in my family’s case living in River Forest a predominantly white community was not a “natural” decision my parents made based on their race. River Forest is a community that is 84.7% white and 5.6% black. When I looked up the demographics of River Forest I did not expect the percentage of blacks living there to still be that low. River Forest is an affluent community where houses and apartments do not come cheap so, many families cannot afford to live there. Could that be the only reason why the black population is so small? That black families simply cannot afford to live in River Forest? This lead me to think about Tim Wise’s speech titled, “The Pathology of White Privilege,” when he said that, 2006 was the highest year of housing discrimination.

It is possible that black families who were interested in living in River Forest faced some discrimination when looking for housing. I’d like to not think that they did but this is a relevant issue that many families still face today. As discussed in Lipsitz, “The Possessive of Whiteness,” the government plays a major role in enhancing the possessive investment in whiteness through housing, policies, laws, programs, etc. This will continue to limit the opportunities for blacks when it comes to owning a home or obtaining loans to do so. We have to acknowledge that blacks will continue to be disadvantaged if polices and laws do not change. “That’s the way it is” is not a good enough answer! It is up to us to change things, in order to do so we have to face the present and continue to speak about these issues inside and out of class.