A RECENT SURVEY OF THE AVERAGE AMERICAN FOUND THAT WE ARE
REALLY GOOD ITSELF SEGREGATING.
IN FACT, THE STUDY FOUND THAT THE AVERAGE WHITE AMERICAN HAS
ONE BLACK FRIEND, ONE LATINO FRIEND, AND ASIAN FRIEND, ONE
MIXED-RACE FRIEND, AND ONE FRIEND OF ANOTHER RACE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
THEY HAVE 91 WHITE FRIENDS.
THAT SHOWS THAT IF YOU ARE AWAY, YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO HANG
OUT WITH OTHER WHITE PEOPLE.
THE SAME IS TRUE OF BLACK PEOPLE, BUT IT IS NOT AS STARK.
THE AVERAGE BLACK AMERICAN HAS 83
BLACK FRIENDS, BUT THEY HAVE EIGHT WHITE FRIENDS, TWO LATINO
FRIENDS, USUALLY ZERO ASIAN FRIENDS, THREE MIXED-RACE
FRIENDS, AND ONE FRIEND OF ANOTHER RACE.
AND THEN FOUR FRIENDS OF AN UNKNOWN RACE.
HOW DID THEY DO THIS STUDY OR SURVEY?
THEY FOUND A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE.
THEY SURVEYED THESE INDIVIDUALS AND ASKED THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT
THE GROUP OF FRIENDS.
THEY ASKED ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT DEMOGRAPHICS
LIKE GENDER, AGE, TO HIDE THE FACT THEY WERE TRYING TO GAUGE
THE RACIAL GROUP THAT THEY HANG OUT WITH.
THIS IS HOW THEY FOUND OUT THAT WE DO SELF SEGREGATE.
THIS IS NOT TO CRITICIZE WHITE PEOPLE OR BLACK PEOPLE.
IT IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE ARE MORE LIKELY TO SPEND TIME
WITH AND HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE US.
IT DOES HAVE SOME NEGATIVE RAMIFICATIONS.
FOR INSTANCE, YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO UNDERSTAND THE
STRUGGLES OF A CERTAIN GROUP OF PEOPLE IF YOU ENGAGE WITH THEM.
YOU ARE LESS LIKELY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR STRUGGLES IF
YOU SEGREGATE YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE-MINDED OR
OF THE SAME RACE AS YOU.
>>I DON'T AGREE BECAUSE I THINK IT IS SURPRISING THAT WE ARE
SURPRISED BY THIS CONSIDERING THAT SEGREGATION IN TERMS OF
CERTAIN AREAS IS AS BLATANT AS LITERALLY BLACK AND WHITE.
YOU CAN GO THROUGH CERTAIN AREAS ñ
I HAVE LIVED IN L.A. FOR SIX YEARS AND IT IS SO OBVIOUS TO
ME.
I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A SPECIAL OUTLOOK BECAUSE I COME FROM
SOMEWHERE ELSE?
IT'S SO OBVIOUS, YOU DRIVE DOWN JEFFERSON BOULEVARD, ONE SIDE
IS A COMMUNITY THAT IS CONSIDERED A LOWER ECONOMIC
UNITY AND THE RACE IS SPECIFICALLY ONE OR TWO
DIFFERENT RACES.
IT IS SO OBVIOUS BECAUSE AREAS ARE CREATED TO HUB CERTAIN
RACES.
THIS TAKES ME BACK TO AN ARTICLE I READ IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.
NEW YORK CITY, CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE CITIES IN THE
WHOLE WORLD, THEY ARE LOOKING TO TRY TO ASSESS AND ADJUST
RACIAL SEGREGATION.
IN NEW YORK, A CITY WHERE YOU WALK THROUGH AND THINK IT IS
DIVERSE.
THERE IS STILL SEGREGATION WHEN IT COMES TO HOUSING.
THERE IS STILL SEGREGATION WHEN IT COMES TO CERTAIN RACES
BECAUSE IT IS THE WAY THE SYSTEM WAS SET UP IN THIS COUNTRY.
>>LET ME CLARIFY, I THINK SELF-SEGREGATION IS ABSOLUTELY
SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS.
WITH THAT SAID, OF COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO DEAL WITH
NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE PEOPLE FROM LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IS
IMPACT MINORITIES MORE THAN ANYTHING.
SO YOU HAVE CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE MORE
MINORITIES, YOU HAVE PLACES THAT HAVE WEALTHY WHITE INDIVIDUALS.
AT THE SAME TIME, THAT IS ONE FACTOR.
BUT SELF-SEGREGATION DOES HAPPEN.
IT IS EVIDENT ON SCHOOL CAMPUSES, COLLEGE CAMPUSES.
PEOPLE HANG OUT WITH OTHERS THAT LOOK AND ACT AND BEHAVE JUST
LIKE THEM.
IT'S JUST THE FACT OF THE MATTER.
>> IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL TO LIKE
FORCE THEMSELVES OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE TO BE FRIENDS
WITH OTHER PEOPLE?
I DO IT BECAUSE IT IS IN MY NATURE.
I DON'T CARE.
WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND OUT THAT I HAVE WAY MORE
DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES THAN THE AVERAGE WHITE AMERICAN.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE SAID ABOUT THE STUDY.
ONE THING THAT PEOPLE WANT TO SENSATIONALIZE ABOUT IS THAT
WHITE AMERICANS HAVE LESS BLACK FRIENDS THAN BLACK AMERICANS
HAVE WHITE FRIENDS.
THAT IS A FACTOR THAT IS NOT THAT SURPRISING WHEN YOU TAKE
INTO CONSIDERATION THAT 223 MILLION WHITE AMERICANS EXIST,
AND ONLY 38 MILLION BLACK AMERICANS EXIST IN AMERICA.
THAT IS OBVIOUSLY INCLUDING HISPANIC WHITES, WHICH IS KIND
OF LIKE ANA KASPARIAN.
THAT WAS A JOKE.
>>I LIKE THAT.
>> SURPRISINGLY, THE NUMBERS ADD UP.
THE NUMBERS MATCH UP.
>>RESEARCHERS MENTIONED THAT.
THEY SAID THE POPULATION DIFFERENCES DO PLAY A ROLE IN
THE DISPARITY THAT YOU SEE HERE.
>>THAT IS RIGHT THERE IS A DISPARITY.
>>THAT EXISTS.
I DO THINK IT IS PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT WE DO TEND TO HANG OUT
WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE US.
I DON'T THINK THAT WE ARE DOING THAT CONSCIOUSLY.
I DON'T THINK MOST PEOPLE THINK, I DON'T HANG OUT WITH THAT
BLACK PERSON.
I THINK A LOT OF IT HAPPENS SUB CONSCIOUSLY.
THIS IS ANECDOTAL, BUT I THINK IT IS INDICATIVE OF WHAT
PEOPLE EXPERIENCE.
WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, I REMEMBER ALL THE ARMENIAN KIDS
HUNG OUT WITH THE ARMENIAN KIDS.
I HUNG OUT WITH THE LATINO KIDS.
>>THAT IS WHY I SAID THAT.
WHITE HISPANIC ANA KASPARIAN.
>> THE BLACK KIDS HUNG OUT WITH THE BLACK KIDS.
IT WAS JUST VERY EVIDENT TO ME.
IT MADE ME WONDER WHAT KIND OF IMPACT THAT HAS ON SOCIETY.
WHEN WE HAVE THESE STORIES ABOUT BLACK LIVES MATTER, OR BLACK
PEOPLE OR MINORITIES GETTING HARASSED BY COPS WITH THE STOP
AND FRISK POLICY,
YOU HAVE PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE ACTING
SUSPICIOUSLY, OR THEY SHOULD BE OUT AT THIS TIME OF NIGHT.
THERE IS A DISCONNECT, OR LACK OF UNDERSTANDING WITH WHAT
OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DEALING WITH.
I THINK ENGAGING WITH ONE ANOTHER CAN HELP SOLVE THAT.
I KNOW THAT CERTAINLY HAPPENED WITH THE GAY COMMUNITY, RIGHT.
OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THE GAY COMMUNITY HAS MADE MASSIVE
STRIDES WHEN IT COMES TO EQUALITY IN THE COUNTRY.
THERE IS STILL A LONG WAY TO GO, BUT THEY HAVE MADE MASSIVE
STRIDES.
ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THAT HAS HAPPENED IS BECAUSE GAY PEOPLE
WERE COMING OUT AND DOING SO CONFIDENTLY.
THEY WERE NO LONGER WILLING TO STAND BACK IN THE SHADOWS AND
HIDE.
ALL OF A SUDDEN ALL OF THESE BIGOTED FAMILY MEMBERS WERE
LIKE OH, MY DAUGHTER OR SON IS GAY.
>>BUT YOU CAN'T SAY MY SON IS BLACK.
>> I WILL GET TO THAT.
BUT THEN THAT MOVEMENT STARTED PERSONALIZING THE LGBT
COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE STARTED ENGAGING WITH PEOPLE THAT THEY KNEW WERE
PART OF THAT COMMUNITY.
>>WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GROW UP IN THE COMMUNITY EVENT?
YOU GROW UP IN A COMMUNITY WHERE YOU ARE RAISED TO ENGAGE WITH
PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST LIKE YOU.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT IS THE ONLY FACTOR, BUT THAT IS THE POINT
I WANTED TO MAKE.
I DIDN'T COME TO AMERICA AND NEW ñ
I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND OTHER PEOPLE'S DIFFERENT CULTURES.
I WASN'T RAISED IN AN AREA THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO A CERTAIN RACE.
YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU ARE NOT DOING IT CONSCIOUSLY, BUT THAT
IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN RAISED IN A WAY THAT YOU ARE IN YOUR
COMFORT ZONE.
IT IS A SOCIOLOGICAL TERM.
WHEN YOU SUBCONSCIOUSLY DO SOMETHING, YOU DON'T THINK IT
IS OFFENSIVE, AND IT'S NOT MOST OF THE TIME, BUT IT IS JUST
WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TAUGHT TO DO.
WHEN YOU START TO ENGAGE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES INTO A
CERTAIN AREA,
ñ I STRONGLY BELIEVE THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU GROW UP AND
WILL SCULPT YOUR BELIEFS AND HOW YOU ENGAGE WITH DIFFERENT RACES.
IF YOU CAN DO THAT AT AN EARLIER AGE, THEN IT WILL START TO
HAPPEN NATURALLY.
I MIGHT JUST BE A MAD SCIENTIST.
>>YOU ARE RIGHT.
I GREW UP IN TURKEY, THERE WERE NO BLACK PEOPLE THERE.
MAYBE LIKE THREE OR FOUR.
I CAME OUT HERE AND I LEARNED RACISM THROUGH THE THINGS I
SAW, THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE AND THEIR FEEDBACK.
I ALSO LEARNED IT THROUGH TELEVISION.
WE AS A SOCIETY NEED TO BE MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THAT.
WE ARE KIND OF NOW.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT TAKING BLACK CULTURE AND USING IT FOR OUR
OWN ADVANTAGES.
IT'S NOT ABOUT JUST TAKING THEIR MUSIC, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT,
OR CERTAIN ASPECTS OF BLACK CULTURE AND PROMOTING IT
THROUGH WHITE FACES.
THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE LIKE BEYONC…
ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
THAT IS WHY I PROMOTE AND LOVE ONE THE IMPORTANT BLACK FIGURES
COME OUT AND THEY EMBRACE THEIR IDENTITY, THEIR CULTURE.
IT IS NOT SEPARATIST, IT IS NOT POLARIZING.
THIS IS WHO WE ARE, WE NEED YOU TO LOVE US FOR WHAT WE ARE.
>> I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE BEST SOLUTION, BUT THIS IS
WHAT I SEE HAPPENING PERSONALLY.
THE BEST WAY TO COMBAT THIS TYPE OF SOCIAL TREND IS EDUCATION.
DOING STUDIES LIKE THIS, UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL TRENDS,
AND FINDING SOLUTIONS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT WHAT IS
GOING ON AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO SOLVE IT.
THAT IS STEP NUMBER ONE.
BUT WE ALSO SEE HAPPENING IS THE FACT THAT NEWER GENERATIONS
ARE NOT AS CLOSE MINDED.
YOU SEE A LOT MORE PEOPLE GETTING INVOLVED IN BIRACIAL
RELATIONSHIPS.
THAT IS HAPPENING AT A RAPID PACE.
THAT ALONE IS GOING TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR RACE RELATIONS IN
THE COUNTRY.
>> YOU MENTIONED THE POINT THAT IS THE MOST ODD ONE.
WE ARE BECOMING MORE PROGRESSIVE AND OPEN TO THOSE IN THE LGBT
COMMUNITY.
WHY?
BECAUSE WE ARE STARTING TO RELATE?
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE BORN INTO THAT?
OH, I HAVE A BLACK OR HISPANIC PERSON THAT LIVES ON MY STREET.
WHAT HAPPENS?
YOU START TO MOLD YOUNGER MINDS INTO BELIEVING THAT IT IS OKAY
TO MIX.
IT IS SO CLEAR TO ME.
>> I THINK A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE ALREADY FEEL THAT IT IS OKAY
TO MIX.
I CERTAINLY DO.