I think that as a rule integration is very beneficial for society, because if each ethnic group goes to the same schools, lives in the same communities, and are in the same work places, people can understand each other and hopefully racial tensions can subside. When a city or nation is segregated there are more fears and racial tensions, because it is mostly the fear of the unknown. People who grow up in these areas can easily gain prejudices against other races that they learn from other members of their community, because they may never actually come in contact with people of other races. This is why in many ways, I still believe there is a lot of racism in Chicago, not just from whites against blacks, but from all ethnic groups. There are many homogenous neighborhoods throughout the city and I think it is harmful to the social fabric of society. Dr. King called Chicago the most segregated city in America and it might be true. I know I have experienced this, because besides my mailman I had never met a black person before I reached high school.
Although integration is usually good, assimilation can be bad. In a country like ours where there is a dominant white anglo saxon society, it can be difficult for other ethnic groups to feel accepted. Many times I have seen people of different races reject many aspects of their culture to try to identify with the dominant culture. I know that they think they are acting for their well-being, but in reality it can be very harmful. When whites discover that other races envy them and want to be more like them it can encourage racism and feelings of white superiority. One example of this is during the time of Malcolm X, blacks would use harmful chemicals just to straighten their hair to look like “white” hair. If they went to so much effort to put burning chemicals on their scalp just to change their appearance, it shows that they have no respect for themselves. If nonwhite ethnic groups reject their cultural identity, racists will feed off of this, because it wouldn’t be whites affirming white dominance, it would be everyone else. This is not to say that people should not adopt some aspects of our culture. It is downright necessary in my opinion to learn the language of a nation if one is to survive. However, they should hold on to some cultural practices of their own so they can preserve it for their future generations.
