Hillbilly Elegy, by J. D. Vance: on Civil Rights

JD Vance: Segregated neighborhoods invisible to white residents

Next, the really poor kids lived near Armco, where even the nice homes had been converted into multi-family apartment units. I didn't know until recently that this neighborhood was actually two neighborhoods--one inhabited by Middletown's working class black population, the other by its poorest white population. Middletown's few housing projects stood there.

Then there was the area where we lived--mostly single-family homes, with abandoned warehouses & factories within walking distance. Looking back, I don't know if the "really poor" areas and my block were any different, or whether these divisions were the constructs of a mind that didn't want to believe it was really poor.