Voices of Color

Neighborhoods.

“…As their economic and social systems break down, the poorest of neighborhoods seem increasingly unable to restrain criminal or deviant behaviors (Wilson, 1987, Anderson, 1991aReiss and Roth, 1993). These disorganized areas are vulnerable to the processes that "hollow out" urban neighborhoods: fires in abandoned buildings, housing deterioration, fires in occupied buildings, housing abandonment, reduction of fire services, and accelerating outmigration by stable members of the community, leaving behind an isolated subgroup of residents who are unable or unwilling to move into accepted adult roles (Wilson, 1987;Rainwater, 1970Rainwater, , 1987. Not surprisingly, the result is that economically poor neighborhoods differ from more affluent neighborhoods in terms of diminished private economic activity, the types of public and social services available, limited recreational and youth development programs, and higher levels of crime (Littell and Wynn, 1989;Schneider and Logan, 1982;Reiss and Roth, 1993).…”

Social skill and social support among young mothers

“…Black families are often characterized as being committed to extended kinship networks and as possessing strong continuity bonds reinforced by poverty (Presser, 1980;Rainwater, 1970;Stack, 1974). White families rely less on informal networks (Mitchell, Barbarin, & Hurley, 1981).…”