… While Baltimore is often thought of as an African-American city (and it is 63% African American), the story is more nuanced – as you can see on the table at the bottom of this article. ZIP Code 21210 on the northern edge of the city is about 78% white and has a median household income of nearly $83,000. About 81% of the people who live there have at least a bachelor’s degree. Compare those numbers to those of 21205, where the population is 70% African American, the median household income is less than $26,000 and about 6% of the people have a bachelor’s degree. …
This is the story in many big cities in the U.S., where the rich and the poor live near one another and where the nation’s income inequality is on display with the sharpest contrasts. Baltimore is hardly alone in this regard. But in the case of the Baltimore riots, the impact was remarkably homogenous. The places that were damaged most reflected only one slice of Baltimore, and they were the places most in need of the most help before any of the trouble began. CONT.
Dante Chinni (American U.), Wall Street Journal