People Like Us

Government sanctioned racial segregation has been illegal for decades, yet Brooks’s essay suggests that self-segregation is increasing. Why might this be?

What methods might encourage diversity in American neighborhoods? What methods have been tried in the past, and did they succeed?

What rhetorical strategies does Brooks use to make his argument? In what ways are they effective?

Research two or more of the communities presented in “People Like Us.” How did the segregation in these communities arise? Do they appear to be increasing or decreasing in segregation?

Brooks wrote “People Like Us” in 2003. Do Brooks’s arguments still apply today? Why or why not?

“People Like Us” presents the rise of the information age as a primary factor driving increased homogeneity of communities. Technology, especially social media, has grown and developed exponentially since the time Brooks wrote the article. How has this expansion affected the way we build communities today? Is our current situation comparable to 2003?

Brooks states that racial integration is usually what Americans are talking about when they talk about diversity, but he argues that other types of diversity are important. How might the conversation surrounding diversity be made more intersectional?

According to Pew research, the prevalence of interracial marriage has increased significantly in recent decades in the United States. Since a marriage could be considered a type of community, does this data refute Brooks’s idea that the country is becoming less diverse? If not, why?