Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

Diversity And Its Discontents: Ambivalence In Neighborhood Policy And Racial Attitudes In The Obama Era, Meghan Burke

Meghan A. Burke

This article examines the ways that members of three adjoining stably racially diverse urban communities conceptualize and engage diversity, and the ways in which their discourse and actions are cohesive with federal policies. Making use of interviews with 41 active residents in these communities, I argue that even in liberal, pro-Obama, racially diverse communities, a considerable amount of ambivalence exists in both thought and action connected to diversity, an ambivalence which is cohesive with Obama’s own federal policies that impact neighborhoods like these. The community members define diversity broadly beyond race, are ambivalent about its presence in their community, and …