Urban Moms

As a minority gets older they realize the hard truths of society. These truths involve many different types of stereotypes that contribute to racism and overall surround the idea of inequality and framing in social economics. In Diana Kendall’s piece “Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption” social inequality is viewed as a heavy topic, that the media abuses. In fact, Kendall uses the Census Bureau to point out that “the net worth of the average white household in 2000 was more than ten times that of the average African American household and more than eight times the average Latino/Latina household” (338). Based on the facts from this source minorities are financially at a disadvantage and are presumed to be unhappy due to lack of wealth. However, money does not control or even affect happiness rather Kendall makes a point that framing does, which can be seen through James McBride life story “The Boy in the Mirror”, where the world McBride’s mother framed for him, one without inequality, begins to crumble . McBride paints a picture of the dramatic change that happened when arriving at adulthood when he writes, “We did not consider ourselves poor or deprived, or depressed, for the rules of the outside world seemed meaningless to us as children. But as we grew up and fanned out into the world as teenagers and college students we brought the outside home with us, and the world that Mommy had so painstakingly created began to fall apart” (415). The simple

According to the result of a research with 72 families, mostly African American, the family and the type of parenting used by caregivers have a significant impact in the self-concept in children in the age 8 to 12 (Vanager, 2013). The better the parenting styles, the better the conception and the image that the child develops of itself. Children raised by parents that use a positive parenting style, develop a solid self-esteem and have a positive perception of their physical appearance. By the study, the family income is closely related to school performance, and that African American girls are more successful in school than

“The mother removes her purse from her shoulder and rummages through its contents: lipstick, a lace handkerchief, an address book. She finds what she’s looking for and passes a folded dollar over her child’s head to the man who stands and stares even though the light has changed and traffic navigates around his hips… He does not know his part. He does not know that acceptance of the gift and gratitude are what makes this transaction complete… The mother grows impatient and pushes the stroller before her, bearing the dollar like a cross. Finally, a black hand rises and closes around green” (paragraphs 3-5).

POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES Poverty in the United States today has many faces. There’s the pleading face of a middle-aged man on a city street holding up a sign that says “Hungry, Need Help.” There’s the anxious face of a young child in a schoolroom somewhere, whose only real meal today will be a free school lunch. There’s the sad face of a single mother who doesn’t have enough money to buy clothes for her children. And there’s the frustrated face of a young man working at a minimum-wage job who can't afford to pay his rent.

Poverty is present in today’s U.S. social system. For example, as Lesser states in the Clearinghouse Review, “Forty-six million Americans live in poverty” (1). Lesser then goes on to say how forty-six million Americans living in poverty correlates to almost one in every three single-parent families is poor (1). This is a daunting fact as it applies to today’s economic context with “rising unemployment rates and mortgage crises driving more individuals and families to seek the support of a cash-strapped social welfare structure” (Grijalva 1). With this in mind, many legislators are discussing the topic of poverty in the political realm. In order to tally the score of representatives the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law conducted its sixth annual Poverty Scorecard. “The 2012 Poverty Scorecard grades the voting record of every U.S. senator and representative on the most important poverty-related votes in 2012” (Lesser 1). The 2012 votes covered a range of topics such as budget and tax, food and nutrition, health care, housing, and many more (1). The results of the 2012 Poverty

In the U.S., there’s a cycle of poverty and hardship that many Black and Hispanic citizens face. This cycle began when the War on Drugs started. The implementation of mandatory minimums, the predetermined punishments that come with drug crimes, greatly impacted ethnic minorities. The amount of minority single-parent households became more prominent in 1960s, where the War on Drugs was emphasized. Families with a single head are increasingly more likely to be in poverty than those with both parents. In the 60’s, Black families held the highest single-parent household population. Gregory Acs, who has a PhD in social work and specializes in social welfare, found that over 40 percent of single-mother families with children were in poverty. Those who are in poverty are defined as having an annual income lower than $22,000 (Acs, et al). The cycle of poverty ensures that those who are in poverty stay in

In The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America (2007), Katherine Newman and Victor Tan Chen explore the lives of several urban, working families who live above the official poverty line, but who are one catastrophe away from it. Entrenched within the stories of these families’ lives, the authors explore themes and key issues which permeate many discussions of poverty, including gentrification of neighborhoods, credit card debt, lack of health care, childcare and education challenges, and the complex web of family relationships which serve as a support system for those who need it most. Yet, this book also tells the story of how we, as a society, ignore the near poor, preferring to focus on those living below the poverty line

The final chapter of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, “Evaluation”, states about low income families being almost invisible to the mid to high income families. This observation is valid because walking around places, Walmart, Kmart, etc., a person cannot distinguish what class the person is in. Poorer families are also rarely portrayed on television or other forms of entertainment, unless the show is about people getting arrested, since most people only find higher class, comfortable people interesting.

When one young lady stood up as the author of “The Food Stamp Bill,” my head shot to her. What did she think of me? My family and friends? What did she think about our life support? She thought we were undeserving of name brand cereals as well as government assistance after two years. To my horror, other girls recounted stories they had seen on documentaries about Food Stamp Millionaires and drug addicts selling stamps and not feeding their children. I’m sure they didn’t understand that the woman in front of them at the grocery store may buy gluten free bread for their son with celiac disease, or that climbing the economic ladder enough to afford three meals for your family can take over two years. However, they were raised to label me as a leech on society's wallet. I raised my placard,

Compared to the rest of the world the United States is economically prosperous however, many citizens are plagued with poverty and destitution. Poverty has become such a problem that one in six Americans are living below the poverty line (Yen). Despite the significant number of Americans living in poverty, most Americans are unaware of its vast scope and scale. The public’s apathy towards poverty has caused it to become an invisible epidemic. The middle -class’s flight from the cities has created de facto segregation between the impoverished and the financially comfortable. Lawmakers find that running on the platform of “fixing poverty” is not appealing to the majority of their middle-class constituents. The media turns a blind eye to

The Poor Becoming Poorer In the United States of America twenty-two percent of children live in families facing the issues of poverty with an income of less than $24,000 a year. In Washington D.C. the situations are no different. According to Judith Sandalow writer of the article Stripping D.C.’s poor families of their last income source, one in four children living in Washington D.C. live in poverty. Many issues arise, especially for families in poverty during the winter season. Struggles include missing meals for the kids if schools are closed, no heat for warmth if the power goes out, and missing work due to bad weather conditions are some thoughts that these families have during hard times.

According to Desmond, poor Americans can attribute their unfortunate living situations to the remarkable fact that they are now forced to devote more than half of their income to rental properties and living costs, or will otherwise be faced with the possibility of homelessness. Eviction is highly common for those living in poverty. Single parent homes, especially those of African American women, have a much higher chance of being evicted due to lack of financial support for both housing and childcare (Desmond 1). These mothers are often faced with impossible situations of being unable to afford childcare while they work and as a result are left with unpaid rent and past due utility

Living in a first world country, I possess many advantages. My life is bound to be a decent one even if I make a few mistakes and go through some hardships. Except, it’s not. Half of lower-class Americans do not have the stability we need to live comfortably. Consequently, our way of living becomes a hamster wheel we have to keep turning to generate enough money for basic living necessities. Experiencing such first-world misfortunes almost makes my remarks seem cavil, but the reality of low-income Americans living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. is ghastly to say the least. Moreover, I have had firsthand experience of extreme financial hardships in my household living with a single mom. To illustrate, within weeks, my dad was

Women, and single mothers in particular, have difficulty finding and keeping housing because many landlords are reluctant to rent to applicants who have children. Denial of housing to applicants with children is so common that over 20% of all HUD complaints allege discrimination based on family status (An et al. 2013). In Evicted, Ned and Pam feel the effects of landlords’ distaste for children when they hunt for an apartment. Pam calls dozens of landlords, all of whom assert that they don’t accept kids. Ultimately the couple is left with only two options, both in dangerous, low-income neighborhoods with disproportionately high rents (Desmond 2016:235-236). When landlords forbid children, they greatly reduce an urban tenant’s choice of housing and make it significantly harder for families to settle down in safe neighborhoods.

In the modern world, media outlets and pop culture constantly revive the idea of zombies taking over human society. From The Walking Dead to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” zombies are portrayed as slow-moving living-dead creatures shown in mass amounts to create the idea of consumption. While this monster as it is