White Flight Essay

The term White flight was used in the United States in representing the large-scale migration of the whites with European ancestry. The white settlers were seen to be moving to moving from the urban regions that were developed and moved to the exurban regions. There are different implications associated with the migration through the postcolonial emigration of the whites moving from the Africa and other parts of world (Frey, 2007). The reason for the migration was due to the increased level of crimes and anti-white policies that were governing the land.
The migration of the middle-class white population was practiced during the 1950s and 1960s when the middle class moved to the rural eras such as Oakland, Detroit, and Cleveland. In this period, more than twenty million Indians had been scattered throughout the region; their population had been dwarfed and majority of the remaining were sent to the Spaniard homes. The Spanish had dominated the region and introduced cultural diversity to the region. The region had been transformed into a powerful empire than the ancient Roman, which was the standard imperial power at the time (Boustan, 2007). The Spaniards were few in numbers but had the opportunity of conquering a vast territory with many people.
The aspect that contributed to their successful conquering of nations included their education, naval technology, and military skills. They also had the advantage over their territories, as they were able to merge and form alliances easily. They could sway their hosts into believing them by giving them gifts and machineries that they were not used to. They also conquered these regions with the introduction of the European diseases to the regions such as smallpox. The diseases killed hundreds of indigenous people, and when they were cured, they saw the Spanish as saviors.
The ideology of engaging the vast regions of Americas was due to the first visit to the West Indies by Columbus. He had returned with 1200 men, seventeen ships, livestock and sugarcane plants. The Spanish saw that this was the best thing to do to as it would enable their people feed themselves. Therefore, they had to entice the natives so that they could be given gold, hides, sugar and slaves to work in their Spanish farms.
During the time Columbus was engaged with the Hispaniola, he had the opportunity of starting the conquest. He had realized that there were numerous disputes, which had been started by the local Taino people who had killed 39 men from his troop (Frey, 2007). He had military advantage over them as he had horses, gunpowder, trained dogs, and steel. He killed hundreds of Indians of the Hispaniola and captured a majority of them from the adjoining islands. He did not have money for his expedition, so he decided to send native slaves to Spain for sale to pay for his expenses. However, majority of these slaves ended up being free or working in the plantations as they could pay for their freedom in a yearly quota using the gold they had.
The act of slaves being mistreated Columbus troubled the Spanish king and queen. This made them come up with laws for the Spanish colonizers not to enslave the natives. They termed this as a "just-wars" which was a type of violence declared on natives who resisted. This led to the majority of the slaves in Spain being freed, and they only worked on their peril in order to survive (Frey, 2007). The same manner in which Hispaniola was attacked happened to the Americas. The Spanish had speed, weaponry and numerous in numbers that the natives could not match them. They established colonists and cargoes that connected the European shores and the American shores at the Atlantic.
Sixteen years after Columbus had set sails in the Americas; the Atlantic Ocean had allowed the crossing of 45 vessels, which had supplies of weapons and settlers from Europe to the Caribbean Islands. The ships also had seeds of ecological destruction, which brought about changes in the region. They were introduced to new crops such as sugarcane, animals such as mules, cattle, horses, sheep and pigs and changed the vegetation of the land (Boustan, 2007). The conquest was also manned with settlement and taming of the land, which was one of the essential parts of the moving into the region.
In addition, the conquest was used as a pre-requisite of changing the natives. The ships continued coming into the region that turned out to be an invasion. The Spanish gentry led the expeditions through private enterprises. The King of Spain gave them the licenses so that they could conquer the lands. During the expeditions, the captains and the leaders of the expeditions took all the profits and everything they attained in the expeditions since they had paid for them. The leaders of the expeditions were given privileges over slaves and the people of the land about the numerous numbers of Indian villages they had conquered.
These conquests were not justified by the French or the English due to the economic motives that they had for the region. Their papal and the king who had the motive of making the people in these regions to start going to church did their legitimate certification. The king was very delighted whenever he had news that a new land was discovered. These expeditions were motivated by the urge of the Spanish people gaining Gold and glory from these regions.
The travelers were also obligated to have missionaries during the expeditions who would help them in conquering the regions (Frey, 2007). This ideology is nowadays not acceptable, as it would be seen as imposition of the moral and cultural codes of other people. However, the conquest has been seen to be the main contributor to the development of the Americas. The natives had been made to learn new activities, which made the region grow economically and socially. The region was introduced to new plants and new trade. On the other hand, the cultures of the natives were forgotten, and there are no natives of the region at this time. This is due to the concentration of the Spanish people who dominated the region.

The implication of White Flight Migration to Other Lands

As the middle class migrated to other regions, it was noticed that the regions benefitted from urbanization and other forms of governance. The changes resulted in different for of developments, job creation and cultural integration. The urban areas that the individuals migrated from lost some of the resources and economic development. Sending countries benefit a lot economically from remittances send by its citizens who have migrated abroad.
Official reports seem to suggest that developing countries received over USD 325 billion in remittances 2010 from its migrants. This figure alone is thrice the figure that these countries receive assistance for development (Boustan, 2007). In fact, the global financial crisis witnessed recently saw a sustained flow of remittances to developing countries in comparison to the flow of private capital into these countries, which substantially nosedived. Contrary to popular belief, the South witnessed almost one-half of its international migrants settles in other countries that are developing their preferred destinations and not countries in the North that are wealthier.
Remittances flowing to developing nations amounted to an estimated figure of USD 406 billion, a 6.5 percent increase compared to the past year. In the same year, global remittances—including those that made way to high-income nations--amounted to an estimated figure of USD 534 billion, with twice as much being informally transferred (Dippel, 2005). As these transfers continue to increase significantly, they end up improving the welfare of migrant families back home. The remittances that migrants bring to the sending countries contribute to economic development because of more revenues, declining poverty levels, better health services and improved education systems, enhanced food security and nutrition, ease of consumption, and improved household and country access to funding. The sending countries also end up drawing from the migrants’ knowledge and monetary resources. These positive implications on the welfare of the origin nations are immense to both the nations and its nationals.
It has been witnessed beyond proof that remittance flows to Latin America, South Asia, Africa and other areas have not only substantially reduced the levels of poverty, but have also indirectly aroused economic trends and smoothened rising consumption during natural disasters, economic meltdowns and financial crises.
Social development and infrastructure projects can be funded through bonds in the Diaspora as well as those that are backed by remittances. It is thought that Sub-Saharan countries in Africa have the potential to raise a whopping USD 5 to 10 billion annually through the issue of Diaspora bonds (Garoogian, 2010). In addition, future remittance flows can act as collateral for private sectors and governments whenever they need to raise funds in global capital markets to finance Social development and infrastructure projects.
The migrant population residing abroad contributes to a decline in migration costs attributed to new migrants. They also develop the communities they formerly resided in back home by philanthropically sending remittances to their home countries (Boustan, 2007). In addition, information access through the repatriation of migrants not only boosts trade links and the transfer of technology, but it also decreases the costs and knowledge prerequisites associated with establishing international businesses.
Not to mention the distance between migrants and their families back home, which can often prove too stressful for both parties? Separation from family members through relocating to other countries comes at a huge emotional cost. Emigration waters down the structures and relationships of families, disintegrates social networks and propounds psychological stress (Dippel, 2005). For instance, in Jamaica, the high prevalence of law-breaking amongst children has been associated with their mothers being absent.
In addition, widespread reports seem to suggest that rogue employers are increasingly exploiting migrants. More often than not, emigrants end up being frustrated when they fail to realize their aspirations because of falling prey to manipulation by unscrupulous recruiting agents. The land flowing with milk and honey that they once envisioned turns out to be dogged with deplorable working conditions and minimal wages (Kruse, 2005). Widespread reports in Southern Asia and the Middle East suggest that women promised greener pastures abroad end up being victims of prostitution, slavery and domestic abuse. This illicit trade has knocked sense into countries to enforce legislations and regulations that will weed out these rogue agencies and middlemen.
The brain drain that results from migration has gained immense concern. The so-called "brain drain"—which is the cross-border migration of high-skilled human labour leads to losses in the investments of natural resources channeled to education. Health sectors of developing economies such as those mostly found in the South is where the debate of brain drain effects is most rife. On the other hand, cross-border migration can boost returns to and interests in higher education (Avila, 2004). Most recent studies have found that there is no relationship whatsoever between emigration and the decline in health experts in Africa. Today, countless measures world over are being taken to inspire migrants to contribute to their home countries’ development process by investing their skills, knowledge and expertise back home.
While the inflow of remittances to the sending country may improve its credit rating as well as its debt substantiality externally, it can also lead to the Dutch Disease – a term that refers to a decline in the competitiveness of the trade sector because of appreciation in the exchange rates (Boustan, 2007). However, compared to windfalls in natural resources, remittance flows—especially those that are stable are less probable to arouse the persistence in misalignment of exchange rates. This is because exchange rate inferences of stable remittances are easier to handle.
 

References

Avila, E. (2004). Popular culture in the age of white flight: Fear and Fantasy in suburban Los Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Boustan, L. P. (2007). Was postwar suburbanization "white flight"?: Evidence from the black migration. Cambridge, Mass: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Dippel, J. V. H. (2005). Race to the frontier: "White flight" and westward expansion. New York: Algora Pub.
Frey, W. H. (2007). Central city white flight: Racial and nonracial causes. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin, Institute for Research on Poverty.
Garoogian, A. (2010). School desegregation and "white flight": A select bibliography. Monticello, Ill: Vance Bibliographies.
Kruse, K. M. (2005). White Flight: Atlanta and the making of modern conservatism. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.