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Effects of social inequality on children
How social economic status affects child development
Effects of poverty on health
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America’s foundation was heavily influenced by race and the melding of various cultures. We began as a melting pot of many differing groups congregating into a single union, and yet certain beliefs and ideologies over time have hindered the progression of our modern society. Racial social structures have existed in American society and have undoubtedly influenced the enculturation and familial relationships among minority communities. In the memoir Fatheralong, John Edgar Wideman eloquently exemplifies the link between racist social structures and the development and growth of African American children through his personal experiences and relationships growing up. Memories of racial profiling and discrimination lathered in Wideman’s sentiment …show more content…
The financial stability within a family contributes to the ease of living, however the lack of a physical relationship leaves a lasting affect on the growth of a child. Wideman relates the economic struggles within the African American community with the faulty relationship that often occurs between African American fathers and their children. He highlights the issues relating to a lack of economic opportunity and the dependability of a parent 's presence when he reminisces the physical relationship he experienced with his own father. He recalls, “I did not expect him to do much more than come and go like a ghost, at odd hours, to sleep, to eat...He was my father and worked long and hard for us. We slept in the same house, but at different hours” (Wideman 42). Although he and his father were not physically separated through divorce or other issues, he never considered them very close. The family struggled due to the economic restraints placed on African Americans in the U.S. job market. Wideman’s relationship to his father was immensely distant as a result of the parent’s inability to obtain a consistent wage, forcing him to work multiple jobs to sustain his family. Wideman argues this issue …show more content…
He highlights the instability of the environment writing, “The poisonous anger at stunted possibilities, the frustration of dying on the vine seep like corrosive acid into living rooms, neighborhoods”(Wideman 23). The emotional damage resulting from social imparities the African American community is forced to endure is most visible within their own environment, translating to unhealthy lives for the children and families who attempt to flourish and develop their own identities. Wideman argues these environments are “corrosive”, so unhealthy that they leave lasting scars on those who are cast in its shadow. The US National Library of Medicine and Institute of Health report on a survey finding: “poor and low-income adolescents are more likely than their more affluent counterparts to be in fair or poor (versus good or excellent) health, have limitations in their activities, and have had behavioral or emotional problems” (par 1). This provides evidence that the environment in which children are raised contributes heavily on their emotional and mental growth as well as their economic and educational success. Wideman
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.
The socioeconomic gradient that exists in civilizations with low levels of societal equity has increasingly been implicated as a major contributor to the health status of individual citizens. Thus, it is unsurprising that the neighborhood or place in which a person lives, works, and plays is also a significant social determinant of health. The consequences of one’s environment can range from diminished mental health and increased stress all the way to the development of chronic disease and early mortality. The documentary Rich Hill successfully encapsulates the problems associated with living in poverty by examining the lives of three families from an impoverished area of Missouri. The filmmakers delve into the intricate interpersonal, family,
Wilson, William J. More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City. New York: Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
America have a long history of black’s relationship with their fellow white citizens, there’s two authors that dedicated their whole life, fighting for equality for blacks in America. – Audre Lorde and Brent Staples. They both devoted their professional careers outlying their opinions, on how to reduce the hatred towards blacks and other colored. From their contributions they left a huge impression on many academic studies and Americans about the lack of awareness, on race issues that are towards African-American. There’s been countless, of critical evidence that these two prolific writers will always be synonymous to writing great academic papers, after reading and learning about their life experience, from their memoirs.
Anderson’s theory examined African Americans living in America’s inner cities that are driven to follow the “street code” and work to maintain respect, loyalty, and their own self-image. The “street code” Anderson is referring to is “a cultural adaptation” which is the cause of violent crime in America’s inner cities (Anderson Article PDF, 3). Since these people are living in mainly impoverished neighborhoods with easy access to drugs and guns, as well as high rates of crime and violence, “everyone feels isolated and alienated from the rest of America” (Vold, 187). Anderson continues to distinguish between “decent” people and “street people.” Those who are “decent” families live in accordance with a “civil code” that upholds values in comparison with the rest of society such as maintaining a job, obtaining an education, protecting their children and following the law. Additionally, “street” families tend to fend for themselves, and when young, grow up without adult supervision and are often abused. This alone causes a dangerous environment because children then, “learn that to solve any kind of interpersonal problem one must quickly resort to hitting or other violent behavior” (Anderson Article PDF, 5). When brought up in an inner city “street” family, racism is a leading factor that causes the youth to construct a negative outlook on the rest of society. When these inner city, lo...
Common stereotypes portray black fathers as being largely absent from their families. Proceeding the emancipation, African Americans were forced to adapt to a white ruled society. Now that they were free, many sought education and jobs in order to provide for their families and achieve their full potential. This caused many African American males to leave their families in pursuit of better opportunities. Obama’s father had left his home to pursue education and study at Harvard University, but Obama only saw his father one more time, in 1971, when he came to Hawaii for a month's visit. Throughout the rest of his life, Obama faced the conflict of belonging, most in part because he didn’t have a father to help him. “There's nobody to guide through
Black Power, the seemingly omnipresent term that is ever-so-often referenced when one deals with the topic of Black equality in the U.S. While progress, or at least the illusion of progress, has occurred over the past century, many of the issues that continue to plague the Black (as well as other minority) communities have yet to be truly addressed. The dark cloud of rampant individual racism may have passed from a general perspective, but many sociologists, including Stokely Carmichael; the author of “Black Power: the Politics of Liberation in America”, have and continue to argue that the oppressive hand of “institutional racism” still holds down the Black community from making any true progress.
Tatum’s book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination.
Moynihan perceives the inclusive problem amongst the black family to be its structure. This is a product of disintegration of nativism in the black community. The “racist virus” still flowing through the veins of American society hinders, in virtually all aspects, the progression of the Negro family. Moynihan discusses the normativity of the American family as a reason that people overlook the problems that occur in Negro and nonwhite families. He emphasizes the significance of family structure by stating “The family is the basic social unit of American life; it is the basic socializing unit.” (Moynihan, II 4). This assertion implies that due to the instability within the black family, socially, the Negro family would be unable to prosper. Because Moynihan feels the largest overall issue in the black family is structure it’s structure, he believes that it will only continue to disintegrate. To further his idea, Moynihan highlights the subdivisions of this structure: matriarchy, failure of youth, economic differences, alienation etc. Each of these subdivisions of family structure contributes to the overall issue Moynihan within the Negro family.
Lareau’s main argument in the text is that when children grow up in certain environments, parents are more likely to use specific methods of child rearing that may be different from other families in different social classes. In the text, Lareau describes how she went into the home of the McAllisters and the Williams, two black families leading completely different lives. Ms. McAllister lives in a low income apartment complex where she takes care of her two children as well as other nieces and nephews. Ms. McAllister never married the father of her two children and she relies on public assistance for income. She considers herself to be a woman highly capable of caring for all the children yet she still struggles to deal with the stress of everyday financial issues. The Williams on the other hand live in a wealthier neighborhood and only have one child. Mr. W...
Lareau, Annette. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2011. Print.
Mortality rates among inner city African Americans have a detrimental increase depending on the quality of life from the adolescent stages of growth. African Americans historically have had the highest mortality rates among American racial and ethnic groups.1 The living conditions associated with inner-cities may be a contributing factor along with limited medical facilities and care options along with the lack of education and childhood socioeconomic family disadvantages. Studies have shown these early risk factors may be a major contributor to mortality rates in African American adults later on. Further studies show there are cultural barriers built in the inner city, which hinders the request for help or asking for help within their community.
African-American parents and grandparents play a pivotal role in the socialization of children as they help
Samaan, R. A. (2000). The Influences of Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty on the Mental Health of Children. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 100-110.
...came almost obsolete, denying the Black father his sociological and economic functions in the family (Staples, 158).