The Southside is a big place and not a monolith. This is also why Southside pride that the Gallaghers are always going on about isn’t actually a thing. The Southside is a signifier that gives people a general idea of where you’re from, but you have to fill in the gaps with specific details about your neighborhood, and in some cases, your block. The sensationalized gang violence that makes national news, the Obamas' permanent residence, and Chinatown are all different parts of this same locale. But what is certainly true is that the Southside is majority Black. And if you’re not part of the wealthy group of people who can quarantine themselves off on the University of Chicago campus, people of color are all around you. The neighborhood pockets that play home to working class white people, like Canaryville where the Gallaghers are supposed to live, are small. Going to school, the grocery store, and even the local bar would undoubtedly involve interacting with people of color. Shameless would have been more accurate to portray the Gallaghers as the singular white family on a block otherwise inhabited by people of color.