“More than Just Race”

“More than Just Race” • Corporate employment has relocated to America’s suburban communities, over two thirds of employment growth in Metropolitan areas has occurred in suburbs, many residents inner-city ghettos have become physically isolated from places employment and socially isolated from informal job networks, essential for job placement; growing suburban nation of jobs means labor markets today are mainly regional, and long commutes and automobiles are common among blue-collar as well as white-collar workers. “Those who cannot afford to own, operate, and ensure private automobile new between inner-city neighborhoods and suburban job locations because a Herculean effort. “

. Accessing Jobs • For example research conducted in Chicago inner-city ghetto areas revealed that only 19% of residents have access to an automobile (26) public opinion polls in the United States routinely reflect the notion that people are poor and jobless because of their own shortcomings or inadequacies

Katrina “Cruel” Natural Experiment • Few people would have reflected on how larger forces in society – segregation, discrimination, lack of economic opportunity, then public schools – adversely affect inner-city poor. Katrina was clearly natural disaster beyond control of inner-city poor, Americans were much more sympathetic. In this Katrina turned out to be something a bit cruel natural experiment, wherein better off Americans could readily see effects of racial isolation and chronic economic subordination

More than Just Race • For example Boston welfare recipients found that only 14% of entry-level jobs in fast growth areas of Boston Metropolitan region could be accessed via public transit in less than an hour. In Atlanta metropolitan area, fewer than half entry-level jobs are located within a quarter-mile of the public transit system. To make matters worse many inner-city residents lack information about suburban job opportunities. In segregated inner-city ghettos breakdown of informal job information network magnifies the problems of job spatial mismatch notion that working people are located in two different places (10)

‘Redlining’ • Not until the 1960s that the FHA discontinued mortgage restrictions based on racial composition of neighborhood. Subsequent policy decisions were to try blocks in these increasingly unattractive inner cities. Beginning in 1950s suburbanization of middle-class, already underway with government subsidized loans to veterans, was aided further by federal transportation and highway policies, which included building a freeway networks through hearts of many cities. Although these policies were seemingly nonracial, online here between ostensibly nonracial and explicitly racial is grey.

Govt Imposed Segregation • For example we might ask whether such freeways would also be constructed through wealthier white neighborhoods (29) the freeways had a devastating impact on neighborhoods of black Americans. These developments not only spur relocation from cities to suburbs among better off residence, the freeways themselves “creating barriers between sections of the cities, walling off poor and minority neighborhoods from central business districts.”

Govt Imposed Segregation • Government policies like mortgages for veterans and mortgage interest tax exemptions for developers enable the quick, cheap production of massive amounts of tract housing. Although these policies appear to be nonracial, they facilitated exodus of white working and middle-class families from urban neighborhoods and indirectly contributed to growth of segregated neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty (30)

Mass Produced Homes • Effect of housing market incentives is mass-produced suburban Levittown neighborhoods that were first erected in New York and later in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Puerto Ricans, by Levitt and Sons. The homes of these neighborhoods were manufactured on a large scale with an assembly line model production and carefully engineered suburban neighborhoods that included many public amenities such as shopping centers and space for public schools.

More than Just Race: William J. Wilson • New York City’s state aid dropped from 52% of its budget in 1980 to 32% in 1989 – resulting in a loss of 4 billion. Policy that is nonracial on the surface – although it coincided with changes in proportion of white and nonwhite urban residents – but nonetheless have indirectly contributed to crystallization of inner-city ghetto. Declining federal support for cities since 1981 coincided with increase in immigration people from poorer countries – mainly low skilled workers from Mexico;

Intergenerational Poverty • One study found that more than 70% of black children were raised in poorest quarter of American neighborhoods will continue to live in poorest quarter neighborhood as adults. Also found that since 1970s majority of black families have resided in poorest quarter neighborhoods in consecutive generations, compared to only 7% of white families. Conclusions are that disadvantage in living in poor black neighborhoods, like advantages of living in an affluent, white neighborhoods, are in large measure inherited (52).

Structural Factors • Steady migration of whites to suburbs. With minorities displacing whites as a growing share of Central city population, implications for urban taxbase; In 2000 median annual household income for Latinos is about $14,000 less than that of white households. (36) Financial crisis left cities ill equipped to handle three devastating health problems:

Structural Factors • 1) Prevalence of drug trafficking and associated violent crimes • 2) AIDS epidemic and its escalating public health costs; • 3) rise in homeless population not only of individuals, but of whole families. • 4) Declining Real Wages- after adjusting for inflation current federal minimum wage of $6.55 is 24% lower than average level of minimum wage in the 1960s, 23% lower than the 1970s, 6% lower than 1980s, and only 1% higher than in 1990s(38).

Concentrated Poverty • Research suggests that concentrated poverty increases likelihood of social isolation (for mainstream institutions), joblessness, dropping out of school, lower educational achievement, involvement in crime, unsuccessful behavioral development and delinquency among adolescents, non-marital childbirth, and unsuccessful family management. In general research reveals that concentrated poverty adversely affects one’s chances in life, beginning in early childhood and adolescence.

African-Americans Lose Ground… • From a 1970s through early 1990s, African-Americans were just as likely as workers from other racial and ethnic groups to have manufacturing jobs. Since early 1990s, black workers have lost considerable ground in manufacturing. By 2007, blacks are about 15% less likely than other workers to have a job in manufacturing (70). From 1983 to 2007 proportion of all African-American workers either in unions or represented by union at employment site dropped considerably, from 31.7 to 15.7%.

The Viscious Cycle • Among black male high school dropouts risk of imprisonment has increased to 60%, establishing incarceration as a normal stopping point on route to midlife. Research shows that as many as 30% of all civilian young adult black males ages 16 to 34 are ex-offenders; • Joblessness can encourage illegal moneymaking activities in order to make ends meet, increases risks of incarceration. Upon release from incarceration, a prison record carries a stigma and eyes of employers and decreases probability that ex- offender will be hired, resulting in a greater likelihood of even more intractable joblessness (72).

Role of Cultural Factors • Instead of looking at attitudes, norms, values, habits, and worldviews, all indications of cultural orientations, we focus on joblessness, low socioeconomic status, and underperforming public schools – in short, structural factors • Orland Patterson’s students visited the former high school to discover why “all black girls graduated college where is nearly all black boys either failed to graduate did not go on to college.” The distressing findings that all black boys were fully aware of consequences of failing to graduate from high school and college. (They’d indignantly exclaimed, “were not stupid!”

‘Cool Pose Culture’ • Hanging out on street after school, sexual conquests, party drugs, hip-hop music and culture.” Promote models of behavior in lower class neighborhoods, featuring gangster rap, predatory sexuality, and irresponsible fathering. • Attitudes and behaviors valorizing kind of “footloose fatherhood” passed down to younger generations.

Culture of Defeatism • Lawrence Mead asserts that difficulties lacks experience in labor markets are due in large measure of cultures of defeatism and resistance whenever blacks confront difficulties in finding jobs – for example, obtaining reliable transportation to and from work. He contends that blacks give up in face of such difficulties and tend to place blame on the unique circumstances or actions of others in larger society for their employment woes, including discrimination by employers, wait for others to initiate action that would improve their situation.

Culture of Defeatism • He contends is his failure to assume personal responsibility stems from deeply internalized feelings of helplessness rooted in slavery, as a result of a “paradoxical reliance on oppressor to undo oppression,” and passed on from generation to generation

Wilsons Research… • Katherine Newman reveals that young, low-wage workers in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood not only adhere to mainstream values regarding work, and also tend to have low skilled, low-wage, dead-end jobs. • Wilson’s research revealed many young black males that are his repeated failures in a job search, had given up hope, and therefore no longer bother to look for work. This discouragement has some parallels with Mead, but research pointed to negative employer attitudes and actions toward low skilled black males. Repeated failure results in resignation and development of cultural attitudes that discourage pursuit of steady employment in formal labor market.

Wilsons Research… • Wilson’s large random survey black residents in inner-city revealed that despite overwhelming joblessness and poverty around them, black residents spoke in support of basic American values concerning individual initiative. Nearly all black people questioned felt plain hard work is either very important or somewhat important for getting ahead. A substantial majority agree that America is a land of opportunity where anybody can get ahead, and individuals pretty much get what they deserve (84)

Isolation and structural unemployment • Mismatch theory – increasing distance between jobs located on Metropolitan periphery and minorities located at economically decaying center produce structural unemployment and higher levels of poverty; Galster (1997) decline in high wage low skilled manufacturing jobs and a growth in both low – and highway service sector jobs. • Stoll and Raphael( 2000) job searches anchored by residential location; whites lived in closer proximity to growing suburbs that were generating job rich environment

Isolation and structural unemployment • Spatial search barriers important source of observed racial differences in employment outcomes; minorities disadvantaged by mismatch of residential concentration and job location; poverty level 10% associated with departure of retailers and service trades, furniture, realtors, medical offices(299)

Urban households and Women • White women headed a larger absolute number of single families, Black and Latina women proportionally were more likely to head single-parent families, which are also more likely to be in poverty; women are burdened by cultural and legal conventions forcing them to ashim him him himsume primary responsibility for raising children. Only 5% of never married mothers receive any form of financial support from fathers of their children;

Births to unmarried women • In 2007 40% of all births were to unmarried women and teens. 28% of white births were to unmarried mothers, as were 51% of Hispanic and 72% of black births; Edin and Kefala (2005) studies Philadelphia/New Jersey area – children of unmarried mothers do more poorly in school and out lowers high school completion rates, are more likely to become teenage parents, and have lower earnings as adults, but the poor still valued institution of marriage;

Edin and Kefala (2005) • To most middle-class observers… A poor woman with child but no husband, diploma, or job is victim of her own circumstances/undeniable proof that American society is coming apart at the seams (307). Wilhelm (1986) summed up thinking about race: racial factors no longer matters since its specific quality-of-life among blacks, family disintegration, that they themselves bring about that explains economic deterioration;

Urban poverty: Powerlessness, Crime, Victimization • Powerlessness. – as minorities gain control local government, areas governed no longer constrained resources that allow them to be maintained and operated units. Cities of high-profile minority representation and minority mayors, have a harder time to delivering do to it is been called “hollow prize” problem- minority mayors assume power in cities emptied of affluent populations, businesses, and tax bases provide means for paying for services

Crime and Victimization • As city size increases, crime increases. Urban crime concentrated in small number of areas within city, characterized by high levels of poverty, unemployment, substandard housing, teenage pregnancy, drug use (316). • “Broken windows” theory – toleration of minor offenses such as loitering, graffiti, or other destructive acts invites more serious breaches of norms of public order.

Broken windows • Broken windows that go unprepared send message to would-be perpetrators of more serious deviants the local area is tolerant of misbehavior. Philosophy fostered policy of “zero tolerance,” employed in New York City under Mayor Rudy Giuliani; precincts have made a higher number of misdemeanor arrests experienced greatest reduction in rates of violent crime. Aggressive misdemeanor arrests followed by decrease in rate of more serious crimes of motor vehicle theft and robbery

“More than Just Race”