>a far more interesting question is why segregation patterns persists
>long after the "peculiar institution" and its legal
>vestiges have been gone.
>I have a strong feeling that it has something to do with the
>operations of the market, which seems to permeate the U
>society to a much greater degree than elsewhere. There are a lot of
>ways in which the market can contribute to solidification of
>prejudices, chief of them being catering to those prejudices to
>market stuff for sale, and people being able to act on those prejudices to
>design their entire way of life
Operations of the market are dependent on public policy so the "legal vestiges" you mention are not long gone.