Security Culture: The Infrastructure of Black Mobility in Chicago and Compounding Racial Trauma

Abstract

The City of Chicago is one of the most racially segregated cities in America. This thesis looks at the series of decisions made to create a culture that allowed the policy of hate to be ensconced in the lives of Black Chicagoans for the better part of a century. This culture, deemed in this paper as “Security Culture,” was designed to stagnate Black life and relegate it to the outskirts of not only the city but of upper society. In the midst of the 21st century, the rise of “Cancel Culture”—or attempts to hold controversial statements and action to account—took hold. This study aims to interrogate what effect the trauma of living in Security Culture has caused Black Chicagoans if any and what identity shifts Black people have made to rationalize their upward mobility if earned. To test this theory, a new grading scale was developed, the Compounding Racial Trauma Index Score, that looked at six neighborhoods across the Chicagoland area. Each neighborhood was scored based on metrics of health and wealth. Lastly a series of semi- structured interviews were conducted with people who were born before and after the highway was developed to determine how Security Culture altered their lives and or decisions in Chicago. The results showed that neighborhoods in Chicago are as segregated as ever and neighborhoods with wealthier Black families do not necessarily create environments that foster Black wealth for other Black residents. This as wealthy White families create environments that allow other Whites to create generational wealth. These results suggest and reinforce the theory that Black people form new middle-class identities while also navigating a Security Culture that despite attempts at nullification is still as prolific as ever.