Summary Of Savage Inequalities By Jonathan Kozol

The United States has a long history of intolerance. From the moment we arrived in this country and killed thousands of Native Americans, to today, a large population of American people remain stubbornly opposed to accepting individuals who are different from the “norm.” A classic example of this intolerance was the creation of the suburban Levitt town in the 1950s, where residents William Myers and his family were subjected to hateful crimes because “[they were] Negros in an all-white community” (Racism in the United States). More recently in 2010, plans to build an Islamic community center near Ground Zero in New York were met with “anger, passion, and more than a little information...calling the project a ‘grotesque mega-mosque tied to terrorism.” (60 Minutes)
Millions of individuals are discriminated against based on features beyond their control, including race, gender, religion, and socioeconomic status. In Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities, the writer illustrates the extreme poverty in St. Louis, describing:
...Sewage, which is :flowing from collapsed pipes and dysfunctional pumping stations, has also flooded basements all over the city...a blackened lot where garbage has been burning. Next to the burning garbage is a row of 12 white cabins, charred by fire. Next: a lot that holds a heap of auto tires and a mountain ohin cans. More burnt houses. More trash fires” (Kozel