Geography Education

Is there racism and discrimination in Japan? I was surprised to find out that almost all of my high school students (about 1000 students) were not aware of t...

Aboriginal leaders threaten to ban tourists from a top Australian landmark in protest at "racist" government policies.

A teaser trailer for the MLK Streets Project, a documentary film examining the state of the many avenues, boulevards and thoroughfares named after the slain ...

This video echoes much of what the authors of the fantastic book "Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory" say (in fact one of the authors is shown in this video).  Throughout America, streets that are named after Martin Luther King Jr. frequently are in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods.  This video highlights the irony between the historical memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and places of memorialization that bear his name.   

Questions to ponder: If Matin Luther King Jr. represents non-violence, then why are streets bearing his name often in 'violent' neighborhoods?  Where should Martin Luther King be memorialized in the United States?  Only in the South?  Only in predominantly African-American communities?  Do the geography of the spaces where he is memorialized say something about the United States?    

Tags: historical, culture, landscape, place, race, unit 3 culture, USA, urban, poverty, unit 7 cities, book review. 

I Have a Dream Speech Martin Luther King's Address at March on Washington August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring fro...

U.S. census data shows racial diversity is increasing in major cities across the United States. But highly diverse neighborhoods are still rare, newly arrive...

I've read within the last few months articles mentioning that segregation in inner city neighborhood are on the rise, and other headlines stating that ethnic diversity within urban areas is at an all-time high.  My first reaction was, "so which is it?"  This research shows how to make sense of both of these trends which seem contradictory.  For more context on this issue, see: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/06/watch-these-us-cities-segregate-even-they-diversify/2346/

For a segregation at all time low article, see: http://www.scoop.it/t/geography-education/p/1145693870/segregation-hits-historic-low

For the link to 'segregation is still rampant,' see: http://www.scoop.it/t/geography-education/p/1103106026/reports-of-the-end-of-segregation-greatly-exaggerated

TED Talks In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial...

The Trayvon Martin shooting has been a very polarizing social issue; many athletes, actors and even politicians have donned hoodies in solidarity to speak out against racial and social injustice.  This is a good opportunity to discuss race in the classroom, beyond the Trayvon Martin incident.  I find this particular TED Talk heartwarming (and fairly non-controversial although he hintsstrongly that he is against the death penalty), while still casting the light on injustices in the United States, specifically looking at the racial differences within the criminal justice system.      

An exodus of African-Americans from struggling industrial cities such as Detroit and the growth of Sunbelt states have pushed racial segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas to its lowest level in a century, according to a new study.

Fifty years ago, nearly half the black population lived in a ghetto, the study said, while today that proportion has shrunk to 20%. All-white neighborhoods in U.S. cities are effectively extinct, according to the report.  While the urban geography of North America is not post-racial, many of the glaringly institutionalized problems (e.g.-redlining) have lessened.  

"The Manhattan Institute just released a new study by economists Ed Glaeser and Jacob Vigdor called 'The End of the Segregated Century.' It cheerfully notes that segregation is at its lowest level since 1910 and that all-white neighborhoods 'are virtually extinct.'

Their report seems accurate enough in describing the changes and is consistent, in many respects, with other research. Yet, in focusing exclusively on change, the report fails to convey that segregation is still quite high throughout much of America. Moreover, the summary and discussion are misleading in their insinuation that “the end of segregation” has failed as a 'driving force' behind increasing socio-economic equality between races."