More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City (Issues of Our Time) William Julius Wilson creates a thrilling new systematic framework to three politically tense social problems: “the plight of low-skilled black males, the persistence of the inner-city ghetto, and the fragmentation of the African American family” (Wilson, 36). Though the conversation of racial inequality is classically divided. Wilson challenges the relationship between institutional and cultural factors as reasons of the racial forces, which are inseparably linked, but public policy can only change the racial status quo by reforming the institutions that support it. Wilson commences his book with a personal encounter with “racism”. Harvard professors are usually accompanied by a respectful status and some prestige. This was not the case for Wilson. He resided in a luxurious condominium where his neighbors could not believe he lived there. When dressed in casual attires people could only interpret him as a menace. There were times where he clarified to his neighbors that he resided in this building as well. This could be seen as an act of “racism”. He then creates this problematic scenario. When walking around the inner-city ghetto part of town also he also because nervous when he sees a group of black males (Wilson, 1-4). The dilemma could be seen as followed; is it racism if you are racist to against own race? Wilson created the atmosphere of not only binding black race with economical and social issues when there are other contributing factors as well. The plight of low-skilled inner city black males explains the other variables. He argues “Americans may not fully understand the dreadful social and economic circumstances that have moved these bla... ... middle of paper ... ...ll. The inner city has many complications the fact that most are African American is a mere coincidence. If we as a nation are capable of fixing all institutions and structural issues we could bring the slums out of poverty. The cycle of unemployment and poverty is a terrible cycle that cannot only be judged by race and cultural values. When reading this book keep in mind the difficulties, any family or person could go through these tribulations. There are many arguments and sides to each problem; this is another one of those. The battle for inner city poverty, and the factors that go along with it, has not been finished. Wilson brings out a different aspect which could help people expand horizons and come up with better solutions. Works Cited Wilson, William J. More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City. New York: Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
One of the most critical observations about the state of our sociological health is observed by MacGillis of the Atlantic’s article entitled “The Original Underclass”. That is that the social breakdown of low-income whites began to reflect trends that African American’s were primary subjects of decades ago such as unemployment, and drug addiction.
In his essay, “On Being Black and Middle Class” (1988), writer and middle-class black American, Shelby Steele adopts a concerned tone in order to argue that because of the social conflicts that arise pertaining to black heritage and middle class wealth, individuals that fit under both of these statuses are ostracized. Steele proposes that the solution to this ostracization is for people to individualize themselves, and to ‘“move beyond the victim-focused black identity” (611). Steele supports his assertion by using evidence from his own life and incorporating social patterns to his text. To reach his intended audience of middle-class, black people, Steele’s utilizes casual yet, imperative diction.
While whites lived comfortable lives in their extravagant mansions and driving their fancy cars blacks had to live in a disease infested neighborhood with no electricity or in door plumbing. Approximately one thousand people lived in shacks that were squeezed together in a one-mile zone. The alleys were filled with dirt, rats, human wasted and diseases. Blacks lived in houses made of “old whitewash, a leaking ceiling of rusted Inx propped up by a thin wall of crumbling adobe bricks, two tiny windows made of cardboard and pieces of glass, a creaky, termite-eaten door low for a person of average height to pass through...and a floor made of patches of cement earth”(31). Living in such a degrading environment kills self-esteem, lowers work ethic and leaves no hope for the future.
Social and financial status have been the safety net or “go to” protection for African American people for many years back, leading one to assume education and an affluent life style could become a shield of protection over the black body. However, society has proven that your safety net ends where your skin begins. No matter how rich or established a person is, the fact will remain that they are black. Ta- Nehisi Coates describes his life growing up the ghettos of Baltimore. Throughout his book, Ta-Nehisi Coates repeatedly emphasizes that growing up his, “highest priority was the simple security of my body,” (p.130) Then he goes on to describe how his wife grew up in a more affluent and privileged lifestyle, a lifestyle that
Wilson, William Julius. (1998) "Ghetto-Related Behavior and the Structure of Opportunity" in Reading Between the Lines: Toward an Understanding of Current Social Problems. Ed Amanda Konradi and Martha Schmidt. London: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Since the first Africans arrived in what is now present day America in the 1500s, there has been reaffirming data supporting the importance of community to people of African descent. Despite large efforts to destroy this aspect of the African experience, many African Americans have maintained their kinships especially when the foundation is birthed from ethnic parallels. As a result of this affirmation, Dr. Mary Pattillo’s assertion on the present day black middle class and their commitment to restoring their community of North Kenwood- Oakland in her book, Black on the Block is no surprise. However, what is shocking is that the same declaration cannot be said for the African American middle class during what Dr. Pattillo deemed the ‘Black
Steele, Shelby. "On Being Black and Middle Class." Revelations. 4th ed. Ed. Teresa M. Redd. Boston: Pearson, 2002. 265 - 66.
In his essay, “On Being Black and Middle Class” (1988), writer and middle-class black American, Shelby Steele adopts a concerned tone in order to argue that because of the social conflicts that arise pertaining to black heritage and middle class wealth, individuals that fit under both of these statuses are ostracized. Steele proposes that the solution to this ostracization is for people to individualize themselves, and to ‘“move beyond the victim-focused black identity” (611). Steele supports his assertion by using evidence from his own life and incorporating social patterns to his text. To reach his intended audience of middle-class, black people, Steele’s utilizes casual yet, imperative diction.
From slavery to Jim Crow, the impact of racial discrimination has had a long lasting influence on the lives of African Americans. While inequality is by no means a new concept within the United States, the after effects have continued to have an unmatched impact on the racial disparities in society. Specifically, in the housing market, as residential segregation persists along racial and ethnic lines. Moreover, limiting the resources available to black communities such as homeownership, quality education, and wealth accumulation. Essentially leaving African Americans with an unequal access of resources and greatly affecting their ability to move upward in society due to being segregated in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus, residential segregation plays a significant role in
In the ethnography “Understanding Inner-City Poverty: Resistance and Self Destruction under U.S Apartheid,” Philippe Bourgois, in East Harlem New York, researches the misunderstanding of inner-city poverty with an intersectional approach because of the way he incorporates the culture of resistance, race, class, and gender.
In the report A New Form of Social Dislocation in the Inner-City Ghetto, William Julius Wilson analyzes three research studies conducted in Chicago between 1986 and 1993. In these studies, Wilson identifies a new type of poverty, which he coins jobless poverty. Jobless poverty represents the growing number communities that are compromised of a high percentage of unemployed individuals. These communities have the same recurrent themes of isolation in inner-city ghettos where the surrounding area is abandon, desolate or deserted of economic opportunities and community benefits. In contrast to living in employed poverty or unemployed poverty in neighborhoods of high employment, jobless poverty causes negative effects that lead to individuals and their families becoming stuck in a continuous cycle of jobless poverty. As a result of these negative effects, it is important to consider policy solutions that would address this growing problem and provide opportunities for individuals to escape the cycle of jobless poverty. The most affective solutions to jobless poverty are more mixed-use developments and a larger public transportation networks.
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One
Social Stratification in the African American community has changed over the years. Social stratification is defined as a rigid subdivision of a society into a hierarchy of layers, differentiated on the basis of power, prestige, and wealth according to Webster’s dictionary. David Newman in Sociology Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life describes stratification as a ranking system for groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society. From slavery to the present, the African American community has been seen to have lower status compared to white people. Today, the stratification or hierarchy difference between whites and black are not really noticeable, but it is still present. However, during slavery, the difference in social stratification was noticeable. Whites dominated over the blacks and mulattoes (offspring of a white and black parent). The mulattoes were seen to have a higher stratification than an offspring of black ancestry. Because the mulattoes were related to the whites, they were able to obtain higher education and better occupations than blacks. For example, most slaves of a lighter skin tone worked in the houses and darker slaves worked in the fields. As the people of light skin tone had children, they were able to have advantages too. The advantages have led into the society of today. In this paper I will discuss how stratification has been affected in the African American community over time by skin tone to make mulattoes more privileged than dark skin blacks.
Sociology theories aim to give observers a deeper understanding about how and why societies function as they do. During the current presidential debates and campaigns, many topics directly concern the black and colored communities. In Zeba Blay’s Huffington Post article “Why Does Trump Think ‘Inner City’ Is Synonymous With ‘Black People’?”, the author reveals the conflicting interests embedded in politics. While many sociological theories could apply to the situation of blacks and minorities in America, conflict theory is the most applicable due to the upcoming election.
As an African American woman, I have lived and worked in underserved communities and have experienced personally, the social and economic injustices grieved by underserved communities and the working poor. All of which, has increased my desires to work with such populations. A reserved person by nature, I have exposed an inner voice that I was oblivious to. I have expressed my inner voice to those living in underserved communities, who are seeking social and economic stability. I have come to classify and value the strength I have developed by the need, to survive in an underserved community. I use these as my continuous struggle against the social and economic injustices that I have experienced, as a product of an underserved community and as an African American woman. I have continued my struggle to overcome the barriers from my upbringing in an underserved community.