Editing Underclass (section)

===Massey and Denton's diagnosis and prescription===
In their 1993 book, ''American Apartheid'', sociologists [[Douglas Massey]] and Nancy Denton concur with much of Wilson's suggested causes and proposed solutions, but introduce [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial residential segregation]] (as an outcome of both institutionalized and individual-level [[discrimination]]) as an explanatory factor.<ref name="MD">{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton }}</ref> Massey and Denton argue that racial residential segregation is primarily an outcome of [[institutionalized racism]] in real estate and banking, coupled with, and significantly motivated by, individual-level [[prejudice]] and discrimination.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n194 186]}}</ref> They provide the following summary,

{{quote|Thus, although we share William Julius Wilson's view that the structural transformation of the economy played a crucial role in creating the urban underclass during the 1970's, we argue that what made it disproportionately a black underclass was racial segregation. The decline of manufacturing and the rise of a two-tiered [[service economy]] harmed many racial and ethnic groups, but only black Americans were highly segregated, so only among them was the resulting income loss confined to a small set of spatially contiguous and racially homogenous neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n145 137]}}</ref>}}
 
Given the prominent role of segregation in the construction and maintenance of the urban underclass, Massey and Denton call for policies that promote [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]]. They provide a detailed list of policy suggestions in the closing of their book. They argue that policies aimed at desegregation need to target the private housing market, where an overwhelming majority of housing is allocated.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n237 229]}}</ref> In doing this, the authors call upon the federal government to dedicate more resources to the upholding of the [[Fair Housing Act]], including speedy judicial action against violators (to strengthen deterrent effects of the legislation).<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n237 229]–231}}</ref>