Have you ever heard anyone refer to “race as a social construct?”

What You Need To Know


  • Dr. Heather Burton at Case Western Reserve University explains 'race as a construct' as the idea that race is used to create racial differences and inequality

  • The Cleveland Metropolitan area is one of the most segregated cities in the country

  • In Cleveland, 39 percent of the people living in predominantly black neighborhoods live in poverty

“I believe that. I believe it is. Cleveland is a segregated city," said George Roberts, a lifelong Cleveland resident who would like to see the quality of life improve for people living in the inner city. 

“I have seen a little bit of improvement, but it’s got to get better," Roberts said.

“Race is the child of racism and not the father," explained Dr. Heather Burton from Case Western Reserve University. “Race is used to justify racism. And basically, race came from this concept of, 'How do we create the separation within American society?'"

She said racism has been a cause for much of the inequalities seen in cities like Cleveland. 

"When we look throughout the Cleveland community, we can see that in our schools, we can see that in our neighborhoods, we can see that in our hospital systems," said Burton. "Race has created this disparity, and that disparity is seen in social aspects of Cleveland." 

According to 24/7 Wall Street, Cleveland was the ninth-most segregated city in America in 2019. More than 40 percent of Cleveland's Black residents live in predominantly Black neighborhoods—far more than the 16.8 percent national figure. Then there's this statistic: 39 percent of the people living in predominantly black neighborhoods live in poverty. 

"The challenge, certainly among white Americans, white Ohioans, is to come to grips with that white supremacy is a white problem. It's a failure of white imagination," said Dr. Charles Peterson, an associate professor of Africana Studies at Oberlin College. "Those presumptions about what it means to be Black in many ways are coming from a white supremacist perspective. So it leads to certain types of oppressive policy making."

According to the study by 24/7 Wall Street, the poverty rate in Cleveland’s Black neighborhoods is nearly six-times the poverty rate in white neighborhoods.