Grasping for the American Dream: Racial Segregation, Social Mobility, and Homeownership
This project examines how lower middle class African American homebuyers understand their own agency in pursuing homeownership within the structure of racial segregation. It is based on in-depth interviews with sixty-eight African American aspiring homebuyers in the Chicago metropolitan area and follow up data collected over the course of a year and a half. Ultimately, homeownership continues to be pursued by African Americans despite higher risks and lower returns than other Americans because it represents the attainment of the American dream of freedom and equality.