Search

Historian Manning Marable posited that "[t]he most striking fact about American economic history and politics is the brutal and systemic underdevelopment of Black people."[1] According to this theory, Black people "have never been equal partners in the American Social Contract, because [our] system exists not to develop, but to underdevelop Black people."[2] To affect this underdevelopment, racism is embedded into the core of power, the economy, culture, and society. The result is that Black people have been intentionally sacrificed to feed America's growth and expansion. Our transportation system has always been a driver of racial inequality. Using Marable's theory of underdevelopment, this Essay explores the ways transportation policy and infrastructure development have fed inequality and helped make many Black communities inhospitable for health, success, and economic opportunity. The nation's transportation infrastructure was built at the expense of Black communities and has contributed to and sustained the underdevelopment of Black America, often making it difficult for Black people to take advantage of society's opportunities. The benefits and burdens of our transportation system—highways, roads, bridges, sidewalks, and public transit—have been planned, developed, and sustained to pull resources from Black communities that are subsequently deployed and invested to the benefit of predominantly white communities and their residents. Drawing on the legal scholarship calling for a Third Reconstruction, this Essay argues that to break the link between transportation policy and the underdevelopment of Black communities, advocates must more robustly deploy civil rights laws to challenge the dispossession of land, lack of opportunity and investment, and the accumulation of harms in Black communities. To do so, advocates must re-envision civil rights laws as tools for community equity and economic justice, rather than solely as shields against individualized harms. We must also grapple with how civil rights laws can more effectively address the intersectional harms that transportation policy causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national economic position of Black Americans has for decades included unemployment rates that are double those of Whites and a racial wealth gap of 13 to 1. Barriers to employment in the construction industry are among the many contributing factors. In 2010, I participated in the creation of an alliance to challenge the exclusion of African American organizations from discussions on the Oakland Army Base redevelopment project. This paper introduces the broad range of urban activist scholarship and then describes this particular activist campaign and its success in raising the percentage of hours worked by African Americans in construction jobs on this project. It uses a critical race theory framework to explore the necessity of a race-conscious approach to campaigns on such issues as local hire. It also describes the methodology of a long-term resident participating in the daily life of a city as a scholar-activist analyzing the urban issues that emerge. The paper concludes with recommendations to activists, policymakers, and scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

June 2020 marks the 130th anniversary of the First Mohonk Conference on "The Negro Question." For 3 days, elite, ruling-class Whites met to discuss efforts to train and assimilate Black Americans into the socioeconomic strata of the U.S. south. Deeper scrutiny of the political rationale of Mohonkers belies a paternalism driven by deep-seated fear and loathing of Black people; collective anxiety over economy, jobs, national infrastructure; perceived threats to White agency; concerns over Whiteness/White identity, globalization, and the looming increase of an educated, skilled, mobile, and free Black population. In this paper, the author will provide a critical overview of the 1890 Mohonk conference and discuss its historical significance and broader political implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal agencies adopt a uniform VSL (value of statistical life)--one that does not vary according to demographic characteristics--in conducting cost-benefit analyses in connection with regulatory policy decisions. In sharp juxtaposition, the use of race- and gender-based statistics on wages and work-life expectancy in calculating tort wrongful death damage awards is an entrenched practice among forensic economists who serve as expert witnesses in tort litigation. The conventional use of race- and gender-specific economic data concerning wages and work-life expectancy in calculating tort damages leads to unjustifiable disparities in awards for blacks and women. Young female and minority tort victims bear the particular brunt of the effects of discriminatory and inaccurate data, given that their expected wages cannot be extrapolated from past earning history but instead must be based on the gender- and race-based tables. Law and economics scholars have noted that wrongful death damages in tort--based primarily on earnings losses to survivors--grossly underdeter. A damage award based on employment statistics (even those for white men) will not produce adequate deterrence against accidents causing death. In order to effectuate the deterrence goal of tort law, scholars have argued that courts should change the existing method of pricing wrongful death in tort and instead incorporate the VSL methodology used by federal agencies. In this Essay, I provide an additional argument for switching to the VSL methodology used by agencies: incorporating a uniform VSL would ameliorate the hitherto unaddressed and unjustified race and gender bias in tort awards. The substitution of a uniform VSL for race- and gender-based statistics addresses the racialized and gendered deterrence gap that has led to skewed incentives for actors to take precautions against harms to blacks and women. Moreover, with regard to the inevitable underdeterrence/overinsurance tradeoff that arises in formulating wrongful death damages, the "cost" of the overinsurance/overcompensation can be viewed as the "price" paid in order to provide equitable treatment across demographic groups, to ensure that defendants respect the same uniform duty of care for all plaintiffs, and to eradicate the perverse incentives for adverse risk allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review of the traveling exhibition "Undesign the Redline" which debuted June 18, 2015.

The article discusses issues concerning neoliberalism, educational reform, and African American capitalism in the U.S. Topics explored include the components of this capitalism concept, the significant economic participation of the African American community, and the acknowledgment of the racialized agenda associated with neoliberalism.

Based on our community engagement project involving 47 older, low-income African-American adults from a senior community center, this study analyzes how an underserved population acquires knowledge and skills related to digital technologies. We discuss the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of a weekly, four-month long computer class for members of the senior community center. Our mixed-method research shows the importance of taking into account both the multidimensional nature of adult learning and the social and cultural contexts in which learning occurs when working with underserved adult populations. Findings from our formative and evaluative research offer insights into changes in the computer class participants' attitudes toward and perspectives on key digital literacy issues including security and privacy online and online information verification. Scholarly and policy implications are discussed in the context of digital competency and adult learning for marginalized populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The substantial increase in the number of Black-owned commercial banks over the past 15 years has stimulated a great deal of interest regarding the viability of these institutions. In 1976, 50 Black-owned banks were operating in the U.S.; 40 of these banks had been formed during the 14-year period ending December 31, 1976. The viability of Black banks appears to be firmly established by Boorman and Kwast's findings that those banks chartered in the 1963–1965 period were operating (in the early 1970's) as efficiently as comparable non-minority banks. Less adequately understood is the degree to which Black banks can serve as vehicles for financing their communities. Indeed, Brimmer has stated that "Black banks as a group appear to possess very little potential as instruments of urban economic development." Much of Brimmer's conclusion is based upon his observation that Black banks hold relatively large proportions of their assets in liquid forms, particularly U.S. government securities and federal funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of mate selection reflect a tendency toward homogamy. Child-bearing patterns vary by race, socioeconomic status, and religion, with conception control a possible reason for the variation. Divorce and separation occur more frequently among black and poor couples, and there is some evidence that nonhomogamous marriages are broken more often than homogamous ones. Despite the increased divorce rate and tendency of young people to delay marriage, there is little empirical support for a radical change in American marriage and family patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a discussion of a paper that examined the economic status of blacks in the U.S. The authors addresses how both past and current discrimination negatively impacts the economic status of blacks and the distribution of wealth in the black community. The author shows how discrimination impacts level of education, which in turn impacts occupation, which inevitably impacts level of income. The author notes that greater analysis is needed in order to understand the interdependence of discrimination and the distribution of the explanatory variables associated with discrimination.

An urgent social problem of special interest to marketing people is discussed in this article. Until recently blacks have primarily operated marginal businesses not particularly attractive to outsiders. Now, one of the thrusts of the black community is business development. Blacks are interested in owning and operating more substantial retailing and light manufacturing businesses. Plans are being made by blacks to develop a wide variety of businesses. The extent to which black will succeed in their undertaking depends heavily upon the response of the white business community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article relates racial integration history and separatist attitudes in the United States, with a focus on Negroes in American industries. Herbert R. Northrup and Richard L. Rowan of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce published their research results, "The Racial Policies of American Industry," which analyzed the economic status of black workers. Factors contributing to cultural separatism are discussed. Black workers have been successful in finding employment in the expanding industries of banking, aerospace, and automobile manufacturing. Earlier research by E. Franklin Frazier and by Daniel Moynihan found that, although there has been socioeconomic progress for the Negro working and middle classes, there has been a decline for the more disadvantages groups.

The article presents two views of rational behavior in choosing income strategies. The traditional approach, assumes a person chooses to maximize his expected income. However, economists investigating such choices often use data which do not take into consideration alternatives open to the person making the choice. These moves may be deliberate pathways to success or unfortunate indications of failure. But expected income from any strategy will not be the same as the mean income of people who have ended up with the chosen characteristics. Maximizing expected income is unlikely to be a good statistical proxy function in a risky world where people maximize the expected utility of income. An alternative function to maximize the probability of achieving above a specified income is presented. Probabilities of high income were estimated for Negroes showing the southern Negro generally has great incentive to move North, and all Negroes have great incentive to continue their education. This indicates more black schooling, migration, and, in the absence of reward for those accomplishments, greater frustration.

This article aims to develop a framework for the analysis of interurban African American-White economic differentials. It was said that economists paid little attention to relative differentials in the economic status of African Americans and Whites until the publication of "The Economics of Discrimination," by Gary Becker, whose mode of analysis falls within the traditional boundaries of price theory. His assumption is that association with African Americans has a disadvantage to Whites, and therefore, African Americans must be decompensated if White employers are to employ them, or White employees must be overcompensated if they are to be induced to work with African Americans. It was found that the degree of prejudice depends on the degree of convergence among the sources of discrimination such as employers, employees, and consumers.

The article offers an explanation for the employment status of Negroes in the aerospace industry in the United States. Statistics show employment by race, sex, occupational group, and region. Regional differences in New England, Middle Atlantic, Midwest, South, and West Coast are discussed, as well as specific regions for 1966. Reasons for the low employment status of minorities include: a job structure that requires skilled workers; locational factors such as test facilities in remote areas; seniority systems where blacks are reluctant to bid for jobs; and training that is basic for job entry--not advancement. Two labor unions, the Congress of Racial Equality, and affirmative action are mentioned.

The article comments on urban unrest in the United States, the social responsibility of business, and self-efficacy. The economic conditions and poverty level of black families and inner city populations are mentioned. The causes of this social problem include discrimination, deficiencies in education, lack of motivation and job opportunities, reliance on public relief, and the regulations of a welfare state. The role of business--especially at the middle management level--in helping government solve urban economic problems is discussed. A book based on the achievements of black Americans is mentioned, as well as empowerment, the matriarchal system, and the U.S. Gypsum program that is associated with urban renewal.

The article discusses the 19th century novel "Hearts and Homes" by Landseer is presented, particularly focusing on its relationship to the coverage of Reconstruction by the 19th century weekly newspaper the "Anglo-African," and the significance of African American newspapers during Reconstruction and the social and economic conditions of African Americans during the era.

Inequality in family wealth is high, yet we know little about how much and how wealth inequality is maintained across generations. We argue that a long-term perspective reflective of wealth's cumulative nature is crucial to understand the extent and channels of wealth reproduction across generations. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics that span nearly half a century, we show that a one-decile increase in parents' wealth position is associated with an increase of about four percentiles in their offspring's wealth position in adulthood. We show that grandparental wealth is a unique predictor of grandchildren's wealth, above and beyond the role of parental wealth, suggesting that a focus on only parent-child dyads understates the importance of family wealth lineages. Second, considering five channels of wealth transmission--gifts and bequests, education, marriage, homeownership, and business ownership--we find that most of the advantages arising from family wealth begin much earlier in the life course than the common focus on bequests implies, even when we consider the wealth of grandparents. We also document the stark disadvantage of African American households in terms of not only their wealth attainment but also their intergenerational wealth mobility compared to whites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the author's experience of the unjust treatment of Black people during his student life in the University of Mississippi highlighting the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant movement and mulatto culture. Topics include racial politics, economic and cultural identity of African-Americans and the civil rights movement.

Recent research shows that as they age, blacks experience less improvement than whites in the socioeconomic status of their residential neighborhoods. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and U.S. decennial censuses, we assess the relative contribution of residential mobility and in situ neighborhood change (i.e., change surrounding nonmobile neighborhood residents) to the black-white difference in changes in neighborhood socioeconomic status and racial composition. Results from decomposition analyses show that the racial difference in in situ neighborhood change explains virtually all the black-white difference in neighborhood socioeconomic status change. In contrast, racial differences in residential mobility explain the bulk of the black-white difference in neighborhood racial compositional change. Among blacks and whites initially residing in low-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods, whites experience a much greater increase than blacks in the socioeconomic status of their neighborhoods and the percentage of their neighbors who are non-Hispanic white. These differences are driven primarily by racial differences in the economic and racial composition of local (intracounty) movers' destination neighborhoods and secondarily by black-white differences in the likelihood of moving long distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use new county-level segregation estimates for the period of 1880 to 1940 to document a general rise in residential segregation in both urban and rural counties occurring alongside rising homeownership rates. However, we find a negative correlation between segregation and homeownership across space for both black and white households. Following Fetter (2013), we show that living in a more segregated county substantially reduced the impact of GI Bill benefits on white homeownership rates, suggesting that segregated locations potentially hindered both white and black homeownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy outcomes influence the economic life chances of urban residents, many of whom are African American. While privileged groups have benefitted from such outcomes, state and national policy have often served as an impediment to the economic well-being of African Americans. In today's digital age economic paradigm, African Americans--a population whose economic life chances are traditionally depended on manufacturing and unionism--would benefit from policy that invests in human capital development. While examining the top 50 cities with the largest African American population, this analysis revealed positive associations between state investment in human capital and growth indicators of economic well-being among urban African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifteen residents (20-48), formerly of the streets and/or criminal justice system, were organized into a street participatory action research team to conduct a street ethnographic community needs assessment of the Eastside and Southbridge neighborhoods of Wilmington, Delaware. This article is primarily a qualitative analysis of the educational and employment experiences of a community sample of street identified Black men and women between the ages of 18-35. This secondary analysis is guided by the question: How do street-identified Black men and women frame their experiences with educational and employment opportunity? Mixed methods were employed to collect data in the form of: (1) 520 surveys; (2) 24 individual interviews; (3) four dual interviews; (4) three group interviews; and (5) extensive ethnographic field observations. All data were collected in the actual streets of Wilmington, Delaware (e.g., street corners, local parks, barbershops, local record/DVD stores, etc.). Two core themes emerged in qualitative coding for schooling opportunity, which include institutional removal and student-teacher interactions. Also, three subcodes emerged out of the student-teacher interactions theme: (1) lack of academic preparation, (2) lack of cultural competency, and (3) home/neighborhood conditions related to schooling experiences. Further, two subcodes emerged for the core theme employment: (1) neighborhood isolation and (2) employment after incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses positions in the game of baseball which were defined by the economic conditions of the Afro-Americans. Variations in playing positions, as argued by the professional baseball players depended upon their socio-economic status. Afro-Americans, were considered lower in their comparison to their White counterparts. This was the reason for them to specialize in the positions where less expensive skill and developmental costs were required. Long-term improvements in their incomes and school integration has made it possible for them to represent the central positions in the game.

Our subject is financial constraint. We pay attention to finance because it permits economic developers to enlarge their present purchasing power beyond their current income. For no one, however, is the possibility of finance unlimited. Nor is it free. The question for today, then, is how those financial constraints might appropriately be altered when the economic developer is black. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented which talks about the topics discussed in the special issue including the history of American capitalism, self-help economic activities of African Americans, and history of African American businesses.

The essay argues that assessors in Mississippi during the Jim Crow period consistently overvalued the properties owned by African Americans while undervaluing properties of some whites, creating an unfair property tax burden. Topics include favoritism, cronyism, and corruption in the application of assessments, the use of reassessments for intimidation, racism, and social classes and taxation.

Fines and fees charged to lower-income people, mostly African Americans, have long been a mainstay of the revenue stream for the city of Ferguson, Missouri, and other local governments. One outcome of this practice is financial dependency that limits the life-choices of the affected population. This current policy issue shares characteristics with the much older technique of sharecropping, suggesting a long-term pattern of financial exploitation based on race. The authors use a critical race theory framework to examine the question of administrative ethics raised by this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We quantify how young adult employment and educational outcomes for lowincome African Americans and Latinos relate to their adolescent neighborhood conditions. Data come from surveys of Denver Housing Authority (DHA) households who lived in public housing scattered throughout Denver County. Because DHA allocations mimic random assignment to neighborhood, this program represents a natural experiment for overcoming geographic selection bias. We use the neighborhood originally offered by DHA to instrument for neighborhood experienced during adolescence. Our control function logistic analyses found that higher percentages of foreign-born neighbors predicted higher odds of no post-secondary education and (less reliably) neither working nor attending school. Neighborhood occupational prestige predicted lower odds of young adults receiving public assistance and (less reliably) neither primarily working nor attending school. Effects differed for African Americans and Latinos. We consider potential causal processes underlying our results and suggest why they differ from those from the Moving To Opportunity demonstration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]