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Segregation
series published by The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
The Milwaukee series began with six stories published January 11
through January 14, 2003:
An editorial appeared on January 13, 2003, in which the editorial
board acknowledged that there remain some issues of race and segregation
in Milwaukee, but expressed satisfaction that the record had been
set straight by the new study. Four columnists expressed more skepticism
about whether any manipulation of numbers could change the reality
of a highly divided metropolis. A St. Louis reporter questioned
whether his city could take pride in its improved ranking on this
study:
Public reaction was immediate. The following letters to the editor
were published on January 19 and January 24, 2003. These include
a letter from John Logan, Director of the Mumford Center. There
were also news reports of critical public reactions by civil rights
organizations, and a related story about segregation in the public
schools:
A strong rebuttal to the series was prepared by Marc V. Levine,
Gregory D. Squires and John F. Zip, social scientists who have studied
Milwaukee extensively. This rebuttal summarizes the principal shortcomings
of the research on which the series was based. The journalist responsible
for the series and the researchers at UWM issued a defense of their
work:
Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel published a related story on the
Mumford Center's segregation research, with the headline "Professor
drops cities instead of altering tactics". Following an exchange
of messages between Dr. Logan and newspaper staff, the Journal-Sentinel
published a partial correction:
The original report on which the Journal Sentinel series was based
is "Racial Integration in Urban America: A Block Level Analysis
of African American and White Housing Patterns." by Lois
M. Quinn and John Pawasarat, Employment and Training Institute,
School of Continuing Education, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
To view the report, click
here.
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