Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen (21 page)
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Authors: David Hilfiker,Marian Wright Edelman
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7
Andrew Hacker,
Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal
(New York: Ballantine Books, 1995), p. 41.
Andrew Hacker,
Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal
(New York: Ballantine Books, 1995), p. 41.
8
Massey and Denton,
American Apartheid
, p. 91. Massey and Denton quote studies showing that by “large majorities, blacks support the ideal of integration and express a preference for integrated living, and 95 percent are willing to live in neighborhoods that are anywhere between 15 percent and 70 percent black.”
Massey and Denton,
American Apartheid
, p. 91. Massey and Denton quote studies showing that by “large majorities, blacks support the ideal of integration and express a preference for integrated living, and 95 percent are willing to live in neighborhoods that are anywhere between 15 percent and 70 percent black.”
9
To simplify, assume a small community of 1,000 people—900 whites and 100 blacks. Assume further that 90 of the whites and 20 of the blacks are poor—an average rate of poverty of 11 percent (110 of 1,000). If black and white, rich and poor were evenly distributed (“perfect integration”), therefore, everyone would live in a neighborhood that has a poverty rate of 11 percent. If African Americans become completely segregated, however, their segregated neighborhood in the community now has a poverty rate of 20 out of 100, or 20 percent. Whites, on the other hand, now live in neighborhoods with a poverty rate of 90 out of 900, or 10 percent. Segregation has
concentrated
an average community poverty rate that was 11 percent so that all black people now live in a neighborhood with a 20-percent poverty rate. The following table gives the same data:
To simplify, assume a small community of 1,000 people—900 whites and 100 blacks. Assume further that 90 of the whites and 20 of the blacks are poor—an average rate of poverty of 11 percent (110 of 1,000). If black and white, rich and poor were evenly distributed (“perfect integration”), therefore, everyone would live in a neighborhood that has a poverty rate of 11 percent. If African Americans become completely segregated, however, their segregated neighborhood in the community now has a poverty rate of 20 out of 100, or 20 percent. Whites, on the other hand, now live in neighborhoods with a poverty rate of 90 out of 900, or 10 percent. Segregation has
concentrated
an average community poverty rate that was 11 percent so that all black people now live in a neighborhood with a 20-percent poverty rate. The following table gives the same data:
10
Massey and Denton,
American Apartheid
: “To the extent that property owners perceive a decline as possible or likely, they have little incentive to invest in upkeep and improvements on their own buildings, because money put into neighborhoods that are declining is unlikely to be recouped in the form of high rents or greater home equity.…At some point a threshold is crossed beyond which the pattern becomes self-reinforcing and irreversible.” pp. 131-32.
Massey and Denton,
American Apartheid
: “To the extent that property owners perceive a decline as possible or likely, they have little incentive to invest in upkeep and improvements on their own buildings, because money put into neighborhoods that are declining is unlikely to be recouped in the form of high rents or greater home equity.…At some point a threshold is crossed beyond which the pattern becomes self-reinforcing and irreversible.” pp. 131-32.
11
In
Savage Inequalities
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1991) educator Jonathan Kozol graphically describes his visits to schools in poor areas across the country and his discussions with teachers and students. In an East St. Louis junior high school, Kozol asks about Martin Luther King, Jr., and a young student, Christopher, remarks,
In
Savage Inequalities
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1991) educator Jonathan Kozol graphically describes his visits to schools in poor areas across the country and his discussions with teachers and students. In an East St. Louis junior high school, Kozol asks about Martin Luther King, Jr., and a young student, Christopher, remarks,
“Don’t tell students in this school about ‘the dream.’ Go and look into a toilet here if you would like to know what life is like for students in this city.”Before I leave, I do as Christopher asked and enter a boys’ bathroom. Four of the six toilets do not work. The toilet stalls, which are eaten away by red and brown corrosion, have no doors. The toilets have no seats. One has a rotted wooden stump. There are no paper towels and no soap. Near the door there is a loop of wire with an empty toilet-paper roll.“This,” says Sister Julia, “is the best school that we have in East St. Louis.”…Almost anyone who visits in the schools of East St. Louis, even for a short time, comes away profoundly shaken. These are innocent children, after all. They have done nothing wrong. They have committed no crime. They are too young to have offended us in any way at all. One searches for some way to understand why a society as rich and, frequently, as generous as ours would leave these children in their penury and squalor for so long—and with so little public indignation. Is this just a strange mistake of history? (pp. 36, 40)
It is no mistake. In such schools, when compared to their non-ghetto counterparts, the physical condition of the buildings, the paucity of equipment and supplies, the quality of instruction, the size of classes, and what is expected of the students, like almost everything else about such schools, cry out for justice.
12
Jay Greene,
High School Graduation Rates in the United States
(New York: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 2001), Table 8. This study is also available at
www.schoolchoiceinfo.org/hot_topics/pdf/67.pdf
.
Jay Greene,
High School Graduation Rates in the United States
(New York: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 2001), Table 8. This study is also available at
www.schoolchoiceinfo.org/hot_topics/pdf/67.pdf
.
13
Robert Mills,
Health Insurance Coverage: 2000
, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001). This report can also be found at
www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins.html
.
Robert Mills,
Health Insurance Coverage: 2000
, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001). This report can also be found at
www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins.html
.
14
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Poverty and Infant Mortality—United States, 1988,” published in
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
44 (1995):922-27. Cited in Dennis Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty: New Dimensions and Directions in Inner-City Health Care
(American College of Physicians: American Society of Internal Medicine, Division of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, 2011 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 10006). This review of the literature, with its citations, can be found at
www.acponline.org/hpp/pospaper/andrulis.htm
.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Poverty and Infant Mortality—United States, 1988,” published in
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
44 (1995):922-27. Cited in Dennis Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty: New Dimensions and Directions in Inner-City Health Care
(American College of Physicians: American Society of Internal Medicine, Division of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, 2011 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 10006). This review of the literature, with its citations, can be found at
www.acponline.org/hpp/pospaper/andrulis.htm
.
15
S. Oakie, “Study Links Cancer, Poverty: Blacks’ Higher Rates are Tied to Income,”
Washington Post
, April 17, 1991. This study, based on a National Cancer Institute study in three major cities, indicated that poverty had a much greater influence on cancer rates than did race or culture. Cited in Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty
.
S. Oakie, “Study Links Cancer, Poverty: Blacks’ Higher Rates are Tied to Income,”
Washington Post
, April 17, 1991. This study, based on a National Cancer Institute study in three major cities, indicated that poverty had a much greater influence on cancer rates than did race or culture. Cited in Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty
.
16
O. Fein, “The Influence of Social Class on Health Status: American and British Research on Health Inequalities,”
Journal of General Internal Medicine
10(1995): 577-86. Cited in Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty
.
O. Fein, “The Influence of Social Class on Health Status: American and British Research on Health Inequalities,”
Journal of General Internal Medicine
10(1995): 577-86. Cited in Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty
.
17
R. G. Wilkinson, “Income Distribution and Life Expectancy,”
British Medical Journal
304(1992): 165-68.
R. G. Wilkinson, “Income Distribution and Life Expectancy,”
British Medical Journal
304(1992): 165-68.
18
George Kaplan et al., “Inequality in Income and Mortality in the United States,”
British Medical Journal
312(1996): 999-1000.
George Kaplan et al., “Inequality in Income and Mortality in the United States,”
British Medical Journal
312(1996): 999-1000.
19
World Health Organization (WHO),
World Health Report 2000
, Annex Table 2. This report can be found at
www.who.int/whr/2000
.
World Health Organization (WHO),
World Health Report 2000
, Annex Table 2. This report can be found at
www.who.int/whr/2000
.
20
The Nature and Extent of Lead Poisoning in Children in the United States: A Report to Congress
(Washington, D.C.: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1988). Cited in Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty
.
The Nature and Extent of Lead Poisoning in Children in the United States: A Report to Congress
(Washington, D.C.: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1988). Cited in Andrulis,
The Urban Health Penalty
.
21
“The State of America’s Children,”
Children’s Defense Fund Yearbook 2001
(Washington, D.C., 2001), p. 39.
“The State of America’s Children,”
Children’s Defense Fund Yearbook 2001
(Washington, D.C., 2001), p. 39.
22
D. M. Mannino; D. M. Homa; C. A. Pertowski et al., “Surveillance for asthma—United States, 1960-1995,”
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)/CDC Surveillance Summaries
47(1998):1-27.
D. M. Mannino; D. M. Homa; C. A. Pertowski et al., “Surveillance for asthma—United States, 1960-1995,”
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)/CDC Surveillance Summaries
47(1998):1-27.
23
Mark Nord et al.,
Household Food Security in the United States, 2000
, p. 4. This report can be found at
www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr21
.
Mark Nord et al.,
Household Food Security in the United States, 2000
, p. 4. This report can be found at
www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr21
.
24
Ibid., p. 11.
Ibid., p. 11.
25
Elliott Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998), p. 49.
Elliott Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998), p. 49.
26
“Facts about Prisons and Prisoners,” The Sentencing Project, 2002. The Sentencing Project is located at 514 Tenth Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20004. A copy of this document can be found at
www.sentencingproject.org/brief/pub1035.pdf
.
“Facts about Prisons and Prisoners,” The Sentencing Project, 2002. The Sentencing Project is located at 514 Tenth Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20004. A copy of this document can be found at
www.sentencingproject.org/brief/pub1035.pdf
.
27
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2000
, 28th edition (Bureau of Justice Statistics), Table 6.1. The Sourcebook can be found at
www.albany.edu/sourcebook
.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2000
, 28th edition (Bureau of Justice Statistics), Table 6.1. The Sourcebook can be found at
www.albany.edu/sourcebook
.
28
International comparisons taken from The Sentencing Project tables found at
www.sentencingproject.org/news/usno1.pdf
.
International comparisons taken from The Sentencing Project tables found at
www.sentencingproject.org/news/usno1.pdf
.
29
Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
, p. 13.
Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
, p. 13.
30
Lotke,
Hobbling a Generation
.
Lotke,
Hobbling a Generation
.
31
Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
, p. 13.
Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
, p. 13.
32
Glenda Cooper, “Drug Cases, Sentences Up Sharply Since 1984,”
Washington Post
, August 20, 2001.
Glenda Cooper, “Drug Cases, Sentences Up Sharply Since 1984,”
Washington Post
, August 20, 2001.
33
Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
, p. 77.
Currie,
Crime and Punishment in America
, p. 77.
34
William Finnegan,
Cold New World
(New York: Random House, 1999), p. xx.
William Finnegan,
Cold New World
(New York: Random House, 1999), p. xx.
35
Jonathan P. Caulkins et al.,
Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Throwing Away the Key or the Taxpayers’ Money?
(Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 1997), pp. xvii-xviii.
Jonathan P. Caulkins et al.,
Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Throwing Away the Key or the Taxpayers’ Money?
(Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 1997), pp. xvii-xviii.
36
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2000
, Table 1-1.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2000
, Table 1-1.
37
U.S. Census: Historical CPS Income Tables: Median Income by Educational Attainment, Tables P-16 and P-17. These tables can be found at
www.census.gov/income/ftp/histinc/people/p16.lst
and
www.census.gov/income/ftp/histinc/people/p17.lst
.
U.S. Census: Historical CPS Income Tables: Median Income by Educational Attainment, Tables P-16 and P-17. These tables can be found at
www.census.gov/income/ftp/histinc/people/p16.lst
and
www.census.gov/income/ftp/histinc/people/p17.lst
.
38
Ibid.
Ibid.
1
William Julius Wilson,
When Work Disappears
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), p. 55. On the choice to engage in ghetto-related behaviors, Wilson writes, “This is not to argue that individuals and groups lack the freedom to make their own choices, engage in certain conduct, and develop certain styles and orientations, but it is to say that these decisions and actions occur within a context of constraints and opportunities that are drastically different from those present in middle-class society.”
William Julius Wilson,
When Work Disappears
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), p. 55. On the choice to engage in ghetto-related behaviors, Wilson writes, “This is not to argue that individuals and groups lack the freedom to make their own choices, engage in certain conduct, and develop certain styles and orientations, but it is to say that these decisions and actions occur within a context of constraints and opportunities that are drastically different from those present in middle-class society.”
2
Ibid., p. 92.
Ibid., p. 92.
3
Ibid.
Ibid.
4
Ibid., p. 89.
Ibid., p. 89.
5
Rebecca Blank,
It Takes a Nation
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997), p. 33.
Rebecca Blank,
It Takes a Nation
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997), p. 33.
6
Wilson,
When Work Disappears
, pp. 87-88.
Wilson,
When Work Disappears
, pp. 87-88.
7
“The State of America’s Children,” p. 50.
“The State of America’s Children,” p. 50.
8
Gina Adams and Monica Rohacek, “Child Care and Welfare Reform,” in
Welfare Reform: The Next Act
, edited by Alan Weil and Kenneth Finegold (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press, 2002), p. 122.
Gina Adams and Monica Rohacek, “Child Care and Welfare Reform,” in
Welfare Reform: The Next Act
, edited by Alan Weil and Kenneth Finegold (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press, 2002), p. 122.
9
Ibid., p 46.
Ibid., p 46.
10
Blank,
It Takes a Nation
, p. 44.
Blank,
It Takes a Nation
, p. 44.
11
Ibid.
Ibid.
12
Some states and the District of Columbia are experimenting with “earned income disregards,” allowing single mothers to keep more of such extra income.
Some states and the District of Columbia are experimenting with “earned income disregards,” allowing single mothers to keep more of such extra income.
13
Blank,
It Takes a Nation
, p. 45.
Blank,
It Takes a Nation
, p. 45.
14
William Julius Wilson explores this phenomenon, which he calls the “male marriageable-pool index,” in
The Truly Disadvantaged
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987). See especially pp. 83-106.
William Julius Wilson explores this phenomenon, which he calls the “male marriageable-pool index,” in
The Truly Disadvantaged
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987). See especially pp. 83-106.
15
Blank,
It Takes a Nation
, p. 40.
Blank,
It Takes a Nation
, p. 40.
16
Since no baby should be labeled
illegitimate
, the term’s virtual disappearance from our language should be considered progress.
Since no baby should be labeled
illegitimate
, the term’s virtual disappearance from our language should be considered progress.
17
Health, United States, 2001
(Hyattsville, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics, 2001), Table 9, p. 139. This table can be found at
www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hus/tables/2001/01hus009.pdf
.
Health, United States, 2001
(Hyattsville, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics, 2001), Table 9, p. 139. This table can be found at
www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hus/tables/2001/01hus009.pdf
.
18
Rate calculated by author from data in Census Bureau report
Educational Attainment in the United States, March 2000
, Table 5a, available at
www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/p20-536/tab05a.txt
.
Rate calculated by author from data in Census Bureau report
Educational Attainment in the United States, March 2000
, Table 5a, available at
www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/p20-536/tab05a.txt
.
19
Ibid.
Ibid.
20
Geoffrey Canada,
Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1995).
Geoffrey Canada,
Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1995).
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