High
to moderate degrees of black/ white segregation are found in small cities,
such as Benton Harbor, Bridgeport, Pensacola, and Lawrence, just as they
are in large cities. Segregation levels usually do not reach negligible
levels except in cities where the % black population is very small,
as in Boise City.
Massey and Denton
argue that low levels of segregation in towns with very small black populations
is the product of open (nondiscriminatory) housing markets, which are
tolerated in such towns because the probability of a white person having
contact with a black person is extremely low in any event (American
Apartheid, 111-112). Segregation, of course, is not the only indicator
of the presence of racial discrimination. Idaho has little racial segregation,
but it is the only state outside of the South that is subject to preclearance
requirements under the Voting Rights Act. That is, because of its history
of racial discrimination in voting, it must submit all proposed changes
in its election practices to the Federal Government for prior approval
before adopting them.