Reddit mentions of More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City (Issues of Our Time)

No, explicitly they didn't but the repercussions of policy making and the white flight post-WWII definitely did influence the problems inner-city blacks face today. This book by WJW details these problems and the intersectionality effects these individuals are facing daily, you should read it.

But, I realize you probably won't, so here's a tl;dr history lesson.

During WWII, factory work in midwestern and northern cities, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, and the like, was in high demand due to wartime production quotas. Many poor blacks from the south and around the united states migrated to these regions in order to gain reliable work in production facilities. Post-war, these factories closed or many workers were laid off, especially minorities, in favor of the returning GI's looking for jobs. At the same time, the white flight was occurring, leaving the only affordable housing in the run down, previously white-owned inner city housing, which became concentrated centers of poverty as these areas in cities became ignored.

An interesting note is that suburbs are mostly built to be a sprawling network of streets designed for an automobile culture. Poor blacks, at the time, and still today, had a hard time affording a decent car, and this poses a significant barrier in finding any sort of reliable employment outside of these neighborhoods, and thus these poor neighborhoods became even more isolated than they were.

Of course, there is a lot I'm leaving out; Incarceration culture, economic illiteracy, the implications and process of welfare and similar programs (which affects everyone across the race and gender spectrum, but women and minorities the most), and disproportionate use of resources by way of the city and state, to name a few.

But whatever, keep believing in your black president = no more racism guize! sentiment, because it is utterly false. Just because policy doesn't explicitly reveal a racist motive, it can easily be argued that lots of policy, intentionally or not, has created a racist outcome.

Regarding some of the other suggestions so far: Reading Payne's book is fine, but keep in mind that her work is quite controversial. Moreover, much her work is self-published. There are many who feel her research lacks the academic rigor typically found in a field where research is peer-reviewed/published. Plus, there's also the profit motive, since she sets up workshops around the country and does quite well for herself. I'm not saying this is inherently wrong, but just to keep this in mind.

"The Invisible Thread" was an enjoyable read, although I found it to be a bit contrived. It's a feel good story, but I don't think you'll learn all that much from it.

Here are some additional suggestions going from more academic to less. Honestly though, to truly understand poverty from a big picture standpoint, it's best to draw from a wide range of topics and scholars.

The Origins of the Urban Crisis, by Thomas Sugrue. Pretty much required reading for those studying the roots of poverty in America. You'll learn about various factors like segregation, redlining, and other urban policies have formed the historical foundation for the cycle of intergenerational poverty that reverberates to this day. It's academic, but not nearly as bad as a lot of journals.

More Than Just Race, by William Julius Wilson. He actually has numerous books in this field that are great. As an African American and Harvard sociology professor, he has quite a bit of credibility in this field. That said, he does face some criticism, as his approach leans heavily toward structural factors and is said to be overly deterministic. Note, however, that just about every scholar has critics.

Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market, by Katherine Newman. This is a bit more accessible and personal, as she uses ethnographic portraits to complement facts and figures, giving the narrative a more personal feel, and offering readers real people they can empathize with.

There Are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz. This is a non-fiction book by an investigative journalist that is meant to be read by the masses, making it far more accessible. Great stuff.

The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore. An accessible autobiographical account of two boys name Wes Moore, both of whom grew up minutes away from each other, but ended up taking very different life paths.

By the way, where in the midwest are you? I just moved to Iowa City a week ago. The weather here is...weird. Everyone is warning me of the winters here.

Yes.


William Julius Wilson would agree.

Great book and thinker on this topic:

http://www.amazon.com/More-than-Just-Race-Issues/dp/0393337634