Divided by Race and Income
America has been described as a "melting pot"-- a land full of diversity. With that diversity comes a full range of income levels and statuses of its inhabitants, from the very, very rich to the destitute. Ronald Taylor's article entitled "African-American Youth: Their Social and Economic Status in the United States" focuses on the issue of polarization. Polarization occurs when an increase of the percentage of people in poverty coincides with an increase of the percentage of people with higher incomes. Fewer people are considered 'middle class', but are either rich or poor. This paper will focus on the poverty-stricken youth of America. How are today's poor white and poor non-white youth alike? How do they differ? Sociologists and researchers have found evidence to justify both, and I hope to focus on major points for both issues. Whether you're white, African-American, or Hispanic, poverty for today's youth has many recurring themes. A recent article by Duncan and Brooks for The Education Digest points out some very discerning facts that face today's poor youth. "Low Income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in
Israel, Mark and Seeborg, Michael. "The Impact of Youth Characteristics And Experiences on Transitions Out of Poverty". The Journal of Socio Economics. 1998 pp. 1-6. infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence." (Duncan& Brooks, pg. 1). They also claim that low-income preschoolers show poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are exposed to fewer toys, books, and other brain-stimulating items at home than their higher-income classmates. 2. Relocation of industry to suburbs or abroad reduces "living wage" jobs for non-college educated. Lack of network contacts, plus continuing discrimination, puts minorities last in line. These reasons attribute to the starling fact that Black poverty rates and unemployment rates remain at approximately 3 times the white rate. Israel and Seeborg in their article entitled "The Impact of Youth Characteristics and Experiences on Transitions out of Poverty" state that "...being black increases the probability of exposure to adverse social and economic conditions (i.e. underclass environment)..." which, in turn, reduces the chance that new generations can get out of poverty. This leads us to another point-if African-Americans experience the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, which perpetuates continuing generational poverty, will there ever be a time when African-American adolescents get out of poverty?
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Approximate Word count = 1060
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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