Poverty in the African American Urban Community: Theories, Factors and Contributions
A renewed allegiance to community upliftment, particularly in the interest of promoting adequate living conditions for those residing in poor urban communities, is essential in the development of a thriving lower class community.
Social change within the African American Community is not singularly defined by upward economic mobility, nor can it be characterized by the individual achievements of those who have obtained social or economic status. For a shift in social development to become evident, the capability of the few must be passed on to the African American community at large. This inheritance of power, position and viability must not simply be assumed …show more content…
The composition of a successful African American community does not necessarily require the presence of an elite or financially prosperous group in order to maintain or obtain a status which is associated with stability. Neighborhoods which are successful are those which display civic pride; an interest and commitment to the development and appearance of their homes, parks, and overall environment. But essential to the overall composition of a strong community is an internal commitment to improvement. When a neighborhood begins to decline, “those who value most highly neighborhood qualities such as safety , cleanliness , good schools, and so forth are the first to move out; […]and [are] lost to the citizens groups and community action programs that would attempt to stem and reverse the tide of deterioration” (Wilson, 2006, …show more content…
These cases are exhibited in the contemporary accounts of financially stable African Americans who are reluctant to remain in poor communities.
In his 2005 text which argues for racial solidarity, Tommie Shelby states:
Affluent African Americans have moved into formerly all-white areas of cities and suburbs. Many of these better off Blacks now do not live in Black communities [...] reluctant to sacrifice their standard of living by residing in poor communities. The mass exit of well off Blacks has had an enormous impact on the concentration of poverty and joblessness within those communities, resulting in forms of social dislocation and urban decay (p.112).
African Americans, in mimicking the white flight of the 1950’s, validate the fear that poverty is a contagion that if not properly isolated may extend to those who are in proximity of this social
A renewed allegiance to community upliftment, particularly in the interest of promoting adequate living conditions for those residing in poor urban communities, is essential in the development of a thriving lower class community.
Social change within the African American Community is not singularly defined by upward economic mobility, nor can it be characterized by the individual achievements of those who have obtained social or economic status. For a shift in social development to become evident, the capability of the few must be passed on to the African American community at large. This inheritance of power, position and viability must not simply be assumed …show more content…
The composition of a successful African American community does not necessarily require the presence of an elite or financially prosperous group in order to maintain or obtain a status which is associated with stability. Neighborhoods which are successful are those which display civic pride; an interest and commitment to the development and appearance of their homes, parks, and overall environment. But essential to the overall composition of a strong community is an internal commitment to improvement. When a neighborhood begins to decline, “those who value most highly neighborhood qualities such as safety , cleanliness , good schools, and so forth are the first to move out; […]and [are] lost to the citizens groups and community action programs that would attempt to stem and reverse the tide of deterioration” (Wilson, 2006, …show more content…
These cases are exhibited in the contemporary accounts of financially stable African Americans who are reluctant to remain in poor communities.
In his 2005 text which argues for racial solidarity, Tommie Shelby states:
Affluent African Americans have moved into formerly all-white areas of cities and suburbs. Many of these better off Blacks now do not live in Black communities [...] reluctant to sacrifice their standard of living by residing in poor communities. The mass exit of well off Blacks has had an enormous impact on the concentration of poverty and joblessness within those communities, resulting in forms of social dislocation and urban decay (p.112).
African Americans, in mimicking the white flight of the 1950’s, validate the fear that poverty is a contagion that if not properly isolated may extend to those who are in proximity of this social