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tracts. It should be noted that rank quartile tracts do not form a random geographical pattern. Those tracts of the highest socioeconomic standing run along the western perimeter of the zone, while the lowest socioeconomic areas are principally on the eastern fringes of the curfew zone. The two intermediate socioeconomic areas are found within these boundaries, with the higher (area II) located toward the west. Thus these four areas not only represent statistical constructs, but also distinct geographical entities. Each respondent in our sample was assigned to one of the four areas according to his address at the time of the interview. Table 7 shows the distribution of the sample according to socioeconomic areas. It should be noted that there are no significant differences by sex among the areas.

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Each interviewer was instructed to rate the household of each respondent by degree of order and neatness as well as by the quality and condition of the interior furnishings. This technique was used to provide an additional measure of the socioeconomic level of the respondent, to give some indication of life style as a supplement to data on educational attainment and occupational level. Drake and Cayton, in their study of the Negro ghetto in Chicago, found that neatness, order, and other visible elements of life style which symbolize "respectability" are an important means of differentiating between lower and middle class individuals in the ghetto community.10

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Lewis reports similar findings in his study of a small city in North Carolina: "The most significant status cleavage from the points of view of the people themselves seems to be along the respectable-nonrespectable line. . . with behavior or role correlates that amount to two distinctive styles of adaptation.”' Table 8 reports the distribution of our sample population according to the interviewer's rating of house condition. Again, no sex differences are revealed. (8) HOUSE CONDITION BY SEX

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Several questions in the interview were designed to measure the degree of isolation shown by persons in the community, especially isolation from the dominant white majority. One of these consisted of a series of items asking the respondent to indicate how often, and under what circumstances, he visited a number of "white" communities in metropolitan Los Angeles. He was asked to state his involvement in each community, ranging from "having lived there" to "having driven through there." Responses were scored and summed, creating a geographic isolation score for each respondent. Table 9 shows the distribution of these scores in four categories ranging from low to high isolation. From the data it is apparent that women are more isolated than men, but both sexes show a wide variation in the degree of isolation.

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10 Drake and Cayton, op. cit., vol. II, pt. III, ch. 18, "The Measure of the Man," pp. 495– Hylan Lewis, Blackways of Kent, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1955, p. 86.

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A more direct measure of contact with whites was provided by a series of questions dealing with the amount and types of encounters in a variety of social situations. The results of this series of items are summarized in Table 10. The reader will note that the greatest white contact for males occurs on the job, both with fellow workers and employers. For women, no one category stands out sharply. However, contact with whites seems to be most common in stores, restaurants, on the streets, etc. The least contact for both sexes seems to be with the police and with Government agency personnel. However. our respondents may well have understated the amount of their interaction with police and with Government agents in an attempt to minimize deviant behavior or dependency.

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A number of items in the interview schedule dealt with problems most often cited by Negroes as particularly irksome. These included certain practices of merchants operating in the Community, various types of discrimination, and alleged forms of mistreatment by the police. Very early in the interview, respond

ents were asked an open-ended question: "What are your biggest gripes or complaints about living here?" Table 11 summarizes the major areas of discontent mentioned in the replies. It can be seen that for both males and females the major area of contention is living conditions in their neighborhood. Mistreatment by whites, on the other hand, appears to be of greater concern to males (21.2%) than to females (7.9%). Women are slightly more concerned about the lack of public facilities than are men. Economic conditions are of about equal concern to each sex and rank relatively low in the comments elicited by the question. A surprisingly high percentage (about 27%) had no specific complaints or could not think of any particular source of dissatisfaction. The replies suggest that although the ghetto appears relatively clean and spacious to the outsider, especially in comparison with those in other Northern or Eastern cities, the shabbiness of the neighborhood is a source of major concern to the resident. This may be a consequence of the relative deprivation experienced by the Negro compared to whites in this City of middle or upper class suburban homes. (11) GRIPES AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT LIVING IN LOS ANGELES BY SEX

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One of the most striking characteristics of the Los Angeles riot was the widespread burning and looting of commercial establishments in the ghetto. In the opinion of many, this violence was the direct result of exploitation by white merchants of the "captive" population forced to endure the poor service and higher cost of consumer items typical in the area. The McCone Commission reported considerable testimony of alleged consumer exploitation in South Central Los Angeles, but concluded that the pattern of burning and looting bore little relationship to practices of exploitation. The Commission noted, however, that the residents believed they were being exploited and cited evidence that "there are serious problems for the consumer in this disadvantaged area."" Table 12 presents data on the extent to which respondents in our sample claim to have experienced exploitative practices by merchants. One important finding from this table is that males and females report almost identical experiences. For both sexes, we note that being overcharged and sold inferior goods are the most common forms of exploitation experienced. About one-third of the sample claims to have encountered these practices frequently. Apparently most persons in our sample have rarely experienced (or do not recognize) such frequently-mentioned practices as unfair credit arrangements, difficulty in cashing checks, having goods quickly repossessed or bearing the brunt of insulting remarks. It should be noted, however, that all categories of complaints have been experienced by a portion of the respondents in the sample.

13 Governor's Commission, op. cit., p. 63.

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One common theme emerging from the interviews was that persons frequently became captive “targets" for exploitation because they did not have automobiles or access to efficient public transportation. The following excerpts from the responses illustrate this theme.

"He (a local merchant) sells old meat because there are no more stores near him. And lots of folks don't have cars to go to other stores, so they have to buy from him."

"We as people have to eat to live. So we have to pay the high prices that are put up for us.'

"They know we got to eat and we don't have cars, some of us, and we have to go to them because they are near enough for us to walk there."

Another prominent theme was the attempts by merchants to capitalize on ignorance of the consuming public:

"Food is something people don't really know just what they are buying. Sometimes the meat or vegetables look good but that's all, just look good."

"I think furniture is something that is needed in every home and these stores know this and just sell you any kind of cheap things they can. How are we to know how expensive this really is? It looks new.'

"Jewelry is something only a jeweler knows the value of."

Some persons were acutely aware of the need among ghetto dwellers for credit and of the opportunities for exploitation this afforded some merchants:

"You pay double price and high carrying charges. When you miss a payment they are ready to pick your furniture up."

"The average Negro don't have the money to pay cash for goods. He pays for the (total) worth of goods on the first payment and is exploited thereafter."

It is commonplace today to say that the American Negro has been the victim of a century of discrimination. Even those most unsympathetic to the Los Angeles riot typically recognized the role of discrimination in its genesis. We asked questions about areas of life in which our respondents might have experienced dscriminatory practices. As can be seen in Table 13, the discrimination most experienced by our sample population was in jobs. Both men and women report that this is the most commonly experienced type of discrimination. However, more males (53.9%) than females (32.9%) mention that it has happened to them personally. The same pattern of greater male involvement in discrimination is found for housing, practices by landlords, and schools. Discriminatory practices involving municipal services (garbage collection, welfare programs, parks, and fire protection) are about equally perceived by both sexes. The table also shows that discriminatory practices in such services are relatively infrequent, according to our sample.

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