Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen (20 page)
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Authors: David Hilfiker,Marian Wright Edelman
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SCHORR, LIZBETH.
Within Our Reach.
Anchor Books, New York, 1988. Schorr is the traditional “liberal” (not a bad thing to be, in my opinion) who has had a great deal of governmental experience with poverty programs. In the process, she has learned a great deal about programs that function well and have positive results. She focuses on supposedly intractable aspects of poverty and how each of three programs has responded to it. One gets a surprisingly hopeful picture of what has been done and, more important, could be done if we were willing to invest in the process.
Within Our Reach.
Anchor Books, New York, 1988. Schorr is the traditional “liberal” (not a bad thing to be, in my opinion) who has had a great deal of governmental experience with poverty programs. In the process, she has learned a great deal about programs that function well and have positive results. She focuses on supposedly intractable aspects of poverty and how each of three programs has responded to it. One gets a surprisingly hopeful picture of what has been done and, more important, could be done if we were willing to invest in the process.
SHORRIS, EARL.
New American Blues: A Journey through Poverty to Democracy.
W. W. Norton & Co, New York, 1997. A fascinating and provocative book. Shorris interviewed literally thousands of poor people across the country over the span of a decade. Here he vividly records many of those conversations and intersperses them with his interpretations. His idea that poor people exist within a “surround of force” is as good an analysis of modern oppression as you’ll find. Shorris also began a small academy in New York, teaching a traditional classical education at a college level to ghetto residents, and he offers it as a particular approach for solving the problems of poverty for some individuals.
New American Blues: A Journey through Poverty to Democracy.
W. W. Norton & Co, New York, 1997. A fascinating and provocative book. Shorris interviewed literally thousands of poor people across the country over the span of a decade. Here he vividly records many of those conversations and intersperses them with his interpretations. His idea that poor people exist within a “surround of force” is as good an analysis of modern oppression as you’ll find. Shorris also began a small academy in New York, teaching a traditional classical education at a college level to ghetto residents, and he offers it as a particular approach for solving the problems of poverty for some individuals.
SIDEL, RUTH.
Women and Children Last: The Plight of Poor Women in Affluent America.
Penguin USA, New York, 1992, and
Keeping Women and Children Last: America’s War on the Poor.
Penguin USA, New York, 1998. The feminization of poverty in the United States and the ways in which the status of women has affected poverty in the country. The second book is not just an updated reprint but a new book entirely.
Women and Children Last: The Plight of Poor Women in Affluent America.
Penguin USA, New York, 1992, and
Keeping Women and Children Last: America’s War on the Poor.
Penguin USA, New York, 1998. The feminization of poverty in the United States and the ways in which the status of women has affected poverty in the country. The second book is not just an updated reprint but a new book entirely.
SIMON, DAVID AND BURNS, EDWARD.
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood.
Broadway Books, New York, 1998. A chronicle of the life on a few blocks in the inner city of Baltimore over a twelve-month period during 1993. It is essentially a story of how drug addiction dominates lives and how an open-air drug market dominates a particular Baltimore neighborhood. The writers spent a year and one half in the neighborhood, apparently earned the trust of the residents, and tell an amazing story. Although a work of journalism, it reads like a novel. It’s a chilling look at life in the depths of the ghetto.
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood.
Broadway Books, New York, 1998. A chronicle of the life on a few blocks in the inner city of Baltimore over a twelve-month period during 1993. It is essentially a story of how drug addiction dominates lives and how an open-air drug market dominates a particular Baltimore neighborhood. The writers spent a year and one half in the neighborhood, apparently earned the trust of the residents, and tell an amazing story. Although a work of journalism, it reads like a novel. It’s a chilling look at life in the depths of the ghetto.
SKLAR, HOLLY; MYKYTA, LARYSSA; AND WEFALD, SUSAN.
Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us.
Ms. Foundation for Women, New York, 2001. A cogent and well-reasoned argument for raising the minimum wage to $8.00 an hour, (approximately what it was in constant dollars in 1968), supported by a treasure trove of statistics and argument. The authors develop a “minimum needs budget” (as opposed to the usually used but inadequate “poverty level”) that would mandate, among other things, an increased minimum wage indexed to inflation.
Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us.
Ms. Foundation for Women, New York, 2001. A cogent and well-reasoned argument for raising the minimum wage to $8.00 an hour, (approximately what it was in constant dollars in 1968), supported by a treasure trove of statistics and argument. The authors develop a “minimum needs budget” (as opposed to the usually used but inadequate “poverty level”) that would mandate, among other things, an increased minimum wage indexed to inflation.
WEIL, ALAN AND FINEGOLD, KENNETH, eds.
Welfare Reform: The Next Act.
The Urban Institute Press, Washington, D.C., 2002. In preparation for the debates reauthorizing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reform), the Urban Institute has summarized its data on the effects of Welfare Reform so far. Since 1996 the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research and policy think tank, has sponsored the Assessing the New Federalism project, gathering and analyzing data on state policy choices and its effects on low-income people. In addition to reviewing these studies, they make specific policy recommendations for the reauthorization debate.
Welfare Reform: The Next Act.
The Urban Institute Press, Washington, D.C., 2002. In preparation for the debates reauthorizing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reform), the Urban Institute has summarized its data on the effects of Welfare Reform so far. Since 1996 the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research and policy think tank, has sponsored the Assessing the New Federalism project, gathering and analyzing data on state policy choices and its effects on low-income people. In addition to reviewing these studies, they make specific policy recommendations for the reauthorization debate.
WILSON, WILLIAM JULIUS: Wilson is an eminent sociologist currently teaching and doing research at Harvard. His books were the first by a liberal to take an honest look at the sorts of “ghettorelated behaviors” that result from the oppression of the inner city.
The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy.
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1990. Its primary thesis is that the rising rate of single mothers in the ghettos is due to the declining numbers of males who can find jobs to support families, but this is also a good general look at urban poverty from a sociological point of view. Lots of statistics.
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1990. Its primary thesis is that the rising rate of single mothers in the ghettos is due to the declining numbers of males who can find jobs to support families, but this is also a good general look at urban poverty from a sociological point of view. Lots of statistics.
When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor.
Vintage Books, New York, 1997. This is a clear and compelling, if academic, picture of poverty in the inner city of Chicago. Wilson’s books are a little difficult to read, but his theoretical grasp of the subject is superb and his statistics impressive. He is especially clear about the relationship between declining job prospects and the rise of ghetto-related behaviors.
Vintage Books, New York, 1997. This is a clear and compelling, if academic, picture of poverty in the inner city of Chicago. Wilson’s books are a little difficult to read, but his theoretical grasp of the subject is superb and his statistics impressive. He is especially clear about the relationship between declining job prospects and the rise of ghetto-related behaviors.
In addition to the books mentioned above, there are several Web sites that have an impressive range of up-to-date information about American poverty. All allow unlimited downloading
gratis
. Some of the ones I relied upon most heavily are:
gratis
. Some of the ones I relied upon most heavily are:
THE CENSUS BUREAU.
www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html
. The government census bureau, of course, has the most complete demographic statistics available, but I have been surprised at how available and well formatted the information is. The Web site is easy to navigate, and I have had little trouble finding the information I wanted. By the time this book is printed, the analysis of the 2000 census should be complete.
www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html
. The government census bureau, of course, has the most complete demographic statistics available, but I have been surprised at how available and well formatted the information is. The Web site is easy to navigate, and I have had little trouble finding the information I wanted. By the time this book is printed, the analysis of the 2000 census should be complete.
THE CENTER FOR BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES.
www.cbpp.org
. CBPP is an amazingly prolific organization dedicated to writing policy papers on aspects of federal and state budgetary policy that impinge upon social welfare. They are a nonpartisan organization that provides extensive and up-to-date data and analysis.
www.cbpp.org
. CBPP is an amazingly prolific organization dedicated to writing policy papers on aspects of federal and state budgetary policy that impinge upon social welfare. They are a nonpartisan organization that provides extensive and up-to-date data and analysis.
THE CHILDREN’S DEFENSE FUND.
www.childrensdefensefund.org
. Marian Wright Edelman’s Children’s Defense Fund has had a single-minded focus on the well-being of American children, especially poor children, for more than twenty-five years. It is an activist organization that provides excellent analysis along with many ways to get involved in advocacy for children.
www.childrensdefensefund.org
. Marian Wright Edelman’s Children’s Defense Fund has had a single-minded focus on the well-being of American children, especially poor children, for more than twenty-five years. It is an activist organization that provides excellent analysis along with many ways to get involved in advocacy for children.
THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF JUSTICE.
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/welcome.html
. The Bureau of Justice has data on incarceration and sentencing, both federally and state-by-state.
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/welcome.html
. The Bureau of Justice has data on incarceration and sentencing, both federally and state-by-state.
THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON POVERTY.
www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/
. A site at the University of Wisconsin that has some basic information on poverty statistics and also sponsors its own research.
www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/
. A site at the University of Wisconsin that has some basic information on poverty statistics and also sponsors its own research.
THE JOINT CENTER FOR POVERTY RESEARCH.
www.jcpr.org
. Funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to its own information, it has a page of extensive links,
www.jcpr.org/links.html
, to many other helpful Web sites.
www.jcpr.org
. Funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to its own information, it has a page of extensive links,
www.jcpr.org/links.html
, to many other helpful Web sites.
THE SENTENCING PROJECT.
www.sentencingproject.org
. The Sentencing Project is an advocacy organization working against the huge increase in incarceration rates over the last twenty years. In addition to statistics, they have good analysis.
www.sentencingproject.org
. The Sentencing Project is an advocacy organization working against the huge increase in incarceration rates over the last twenty years. In addition to statistics, they have good analysis.
Notes
1
Statistics in this paragraph and the next calculated by the author from Joseph Dalaker,
Poverty in the United States: 2000
, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P60-214 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001). This table can also be found at
www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-214.pdf
.
Statistics in this paragraph and the next calculated by the author from Joseph Dalaker,
Poverty in the United States: 2000
, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P60-214 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001). This table can also be found at
www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-214.pdf
.
2
In
New American Blues
, an impressionistic study of the many faces of American poverty, writer and philosopher Earl Shorris describes what he calls the “surround of force” confronting poor people.
In
New American Blues
, an impressionistic study of the many faces of American poverty, writer and philosopher Earl Shorris describes what he calls the “surround of force” confronting poor people.
3
Eric Lotke,
Hobbling a Generation: Young African-American Men in D.C.’s
’s
Criminal Justice System Five Years Later
, a report from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, August 1997. This report can be found at
www.igc.org/ncia/hobb.html
. Cited in Cheryl Thompson, “Washington, D.C., Young Blacks Entangled in Legal System,”
Washington Post
, August 26, 1997, p. B1.
Eric Lotke,
Hobbling a Generation: Young African-American Men in D.C.’s
’s
Criminal Justice System Five Years Later
, a report from the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, August 1997. This report can be found at
www.igc.org/ncia/hobb.html
. Cited in Cheryl Thompson, “Washington, D.C., Young Blacks Entangled in Legal System,”
Washington Post
, August 26, 1997, p. B1.
4
Conservative social scientist Charles Murray’s arguments in
The Bell Curve—
that economic success is largely due to IQ, that the IQ of African Americans averages fifteen points less than Caucasians, and that education has little effect on either—are a recent example. But response to Murray’s work from the scientific community was overwhelmingly critical. Science provides no support for the notion of black genetic inferiority.
Conservative social scientist Charles Murray’s arguments in
The Bell Curve—
that economic success is largely due to IQ, that the IQ of African Americans averages fifteen points less than Caucasians, and that education has little effect on either—are a recent example. But response to Murray’s work from the scientific community was overwhelmingly critical. Science provides no support for the notion of black genetic inferiority.
5
The annotated bibliography on page 133 provides brief descriptions of some of the most important sources in this literature.
The annotated bibliography on page 133 provides brief descriptions of some of the most important sources in this literature.
6
Dalaker,
Poverty in the United States: 2000
, Table A-2. This table can also be found at
www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-214.pdf
.
Dalaker,
Poverty in the United States: 2000
, Table A-2. This table can also be found at
www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-214.pdf
.
7
Ibid.
Ibid.
1
In 1910, the average African-American resident in northern cities lived in a ward that was less than 10 percent black. There has been no comparable study of southern cities, but “there is little evidence of a distinctive black ghetto in southern cities in the nineteenth century,” either. See Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton in
American Apartheid
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 24-25.
In 1910, the average African-American resident in northern cities lived in a ward that was less than 10 percent black. There has been no comparable study of southern cities, but “there is little evidence of a distinctive black ghetto in southern cities in the nineteenth century,” either. See Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton in
American Apartheid
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 24-25.
2
The word
ghetto
means different things to different people. Sociologists Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton, in their definitive study of American segregation,
American Apartheid
, define the term as “a set of neighborhoods that are exclusively inhabited by members of one group, and within which virtually all members of that group live.” (pp. 18-19) By this definition, none of these nineteenth- and early twentieth-century immigrant communities (including the African-American communities) were remotely close to being ghettos. In fact, “by this definition, no ethnic or racial group in the history of the United States, except one [African Americans] has ever experienced ghettoization, even briefly.” (p. 19)
The word
ghetto
means different things to different people. Sociologists Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton, in their definitive study of American segregation,
American Apartheid
, define the term as “a set of neighborhoods that are exclusively inhabited by members of one group, and within which virtually all members of that group live.” (pp. 18-19) By this definition, none of these nineteenth- and early twentieth-century immigrant communities (including the African-American communities) were remotely close to being ghettos. In fact, “by this definition, no ethnic or racial group in the history of the United States, except one [African Americans] has ever experienced ghettoization, even briefly.” (p. 19)
3
Joe William Trotter,
Blacks in the Urban North: The “Underclass Question” in Historical Perspective
in
The Underclass Debate
, edited by Michael B. Katz (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993), p. 60.
Joe William Trotter,
Blacks in the Urban North: The “Underclass Question” in Historical Perspective
in
The Underclass Debate
, edited by Michael B. Katz (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993), p. 60.
4
Arnold Hirsch,
Making the Second Ghetto
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983), p. 120.
Arnold Hirsch,
Making the Second Ghetto
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983), p. 120.
5
Michael Katz,
The Price of Citizenship
(New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001), p. 40.
Michael Katz,
The Price of Citizenship
(New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001), p. 40.
6
The black exodus rarely led to real residential integration, however, since whites generally chose to leave the newly integrated areas, creating new, affluent black suburban ghettos.
The black exodus rarely led to real residential integration, however, since whites generally chose to leave the newly integrated areas, creating new, affluent black suburban ghettos.
7
Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin,
America Divided
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 199.
Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin,
America Divided
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 199.
8
Ibid., p. 111.
Ibid., p. 111.
1
William Julius Wilson’s
The Urban Poverty and Family Life Study
is summarized in his book
When Work Disappears
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997).
William Julius Wilson’s
The Urban Poverty and Family Life Study
is summarized in his book
When Work Disappears
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997).
2
“Inner-city black job seekers with limited work experience and little familiarity with the white, middle-class world are also likely to have difficulty in the typical job interview. A spotty work record will have to be justified; misunderstanding and suspicion may undermine rapport and hamper communication. However qualified they are for the job, inner-city black applicants are more likely to fail subjective ‘tests’ of [future] productivity during the interview.”
When Work Disappears
, pp. 132-33.
“Inner-city black job seekers with limited work experience and little familiarity with the white, middle-class world are also likely to have difficulty in the typical job interview. A spotty work record will have to be justified; misunderstanding and suspicion may undermine rapport and hamper communication. However qualified they are for the job, inner-city black applicants are more likely to fail subjective ‘tests’ of [future] productivity during the interview.”
When Work Disappears
, pp. 132-33.
3
Reported in Massey and Denton,
American Apartheid
, p. 95.
Reported in Massey and Denton,
American Apartheid
, p. 95.
4
Ibid., p. 9. Massey and Denton also write: “The effect of segregation on black well-being is structural, not individual. Residential segregation lies beyond the ability of any individual to change; it constrains black life chances irrespective of personal traits, individual motivations, or private achievements.” pp. 2-3.
Ibid., p. 9. Massey and Denton also write: “The effect of segregation on black well-being is structural, not individual. Residential segregation lies beyond the ability of any individual to change; it constrains black life chances irrespective of personal traits, individual motivations, or private achievements.” pp. 2-3.
5
Ibid. “The highest isolation index ever recorded for any ethnic group in any American city was 56 percent (for Milwaukee’s Italians in 1910), but by 1970 the
lowest
level of spatial isolation observed for blacks anywhere, north or south, was 56 percent (in San Francisco).” p. 49.
Ibid. “The highest isolation index ever recorded for any ethnic group in any American city was 56 percent (for Milwaukee’s Italians in 1910), but by 1970 the
lowest
level of spatial isolation observed for blacks anywhere, north or south, was 56 percent (in San Francisco).” p. 49.
6
Ibid. “Unlike black ghettos, immigrant enclaves were never homogeneous, and always contained a wide variety of nationalities, even if they were publicly associated with a particular national origin group.… A second crucial distinction is that most European ethnics [of a given city] did not live in immigrant ‘ghettos,’ as ethnically diluted as they were.” p. 32.
Ibid. “Unlike black ghettos, immigrant enclaves were never homogeneous, and always contained a wide variety of nationalities, even if they were publicly associated with a particular national origin group.… A second crucial distinction is that most European ethnics [of a given city] did not live in immigrant ‘ghettos,’ as ethnically diluted as they were.” p. 32.
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