A group of scientists are now saying that fewer animals are being found in neighborhoods featuring mostly residents of color, which is affecting their mental health, and that is just the latest sign of “systemic racism” in America.
According to a report by the UK’s Daily Mail, ‘researchers’ examined the genetic diversity of wildlife in neighborhoods across the country and concluded that previous government rules that separated neighborhoods based on ethnicity continue to have lingering effects on where animals choose to live decades later.
“The study suggests that areas where mostly white people live have a greater diversity when it comes to animals living in the area,” the Daily Mail noted, adding:
Areas with less diversity could also be having negative effects on both the mental and physical health of the people who live in such ‘deprived’ neighborhoods. The findings were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The study went on to claim that the past practice of ‘redlining’ was also responsible for driving out wildlife from minority neighborhoods and that, in turn, has negatively affected the mental and physical well-being of minorities living in those neighborhoods.
“Redlining is a discriminatory practice in which financial institutions, insurance companies, and other businesses draw lines on a map to define areas where they will or will not provide services, such as mortgages, insurance, or loans,” the Daily Mail noted. “The practice was most commonly used in the 20th century and was based on racial and ethnic discrimination.”
The practice generally resulted in a dearth of investment in minority neighborhoods and led them to neglect and persistent poverty after limiting access to financial services. The practice was banned via the Fair Housing Act of 1968. But some claim the former practice continues to define neighborhoods today, not the conduct or financial condition of its residents.
The outlet noted:
University of Manitoba biologist Colin Garroway and Chloé Schmidt from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research conducted the wildlife study and found that systemic racism has had lasting effects on the structure of cities.
The authors explain that various factors, such as densely populated areas, the presence of roads and railways, nighttime lights, and increased human land use, may contribute to the lower diversity of wildlife in non-white neighborhoods. The pair analyzed publicly available, archived genetic data from thousands of animals belonging to various species in order to show the connection between the diversity of wildlife and the racial of makeup of neighborhoods.
It found that there was a far greater variety of species in predominantly white neighborhoods.
