What does this all mean? As it stands, segregation is still the rule. And Whites in particular live in mostly White neighborhoods, with little if any movement into significantly or even predominantly Black areas. If this preference is a proxy for class—if Whites don’t oppose Black neighbors, just the conditions of Black neighborhoods—then integration becomes an easier task: Improve mixed-race and predominantly Black neighborhoods—enhancing schools and services—and you attract White buyers, increasing diversity and breaking down our walls of separation.
But to a good degree, this preference is prejudice—a function of anti-Black stigma. In which case greater integration—and greater racial equality—is even further away than it looks.
