Against the wall : poor, young, Black, and male / edited by Elijah Anderson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Anderson, Elijah.

Series:

City in the twenty-first century book series.

The city in the 21st century

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American men--Psychology.

African American men.

African American men--Social conditions.

Inner cities--United States.

Inner cities.

Urban poor--United States.

Urban poor.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (314 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title Typically residing in areas of concentrated urban poverty, too many young black men are trapped in a horrific cycle that includes active discrimination, unemployment, violence, crime, prison, and early death. This toxic mixture has given rise to wider stereotypes that limit the social capital of all young black males. Edited and with an introductory chapter by sociologist Elijah Anderson, the essays in Against the Wall describe how the young black man has come to be identified publicly with crime and violence. In reaction to his sense of rejection, he may place an exaggerated emphasis on the integrity of his self-expression in clothing and demeanor by adopting the fashions of the "street." To those deeply invested in and associated with the dominant culture, his attitude is perceived as profoundly oppositional. His presence in public gathering places becomes disturbing to others, and the stereotype of the dangerous young black male is perpetuated and strengthened. To understand the origin of the problem and the prospects of the black inner-city male, it is essential to distinguish his experience from that of his pre-Civil Rights Movement forebears. In the 1950's, as militant black people increasingly emerged to challenge the system, the figure of the black male became more ambiguous and fearsome. And while this activism did have the positive effect of creating opportunities for the black middle class who fled from the ghettos, those who remained faced an increasingly desperate climate. Featuring a foreword by Cornel West and sixteen original essays by contributors including William Julius Wilson, Gerald D. Jaynes, Douglas S. Massey, and Peter Edelman, Against the Wall illustrates how social distance increases as alienation and marginalization within the black male underclass persist, thereby deepening the country's racial divide.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Foreword: Strong Men Keep A - Comin On / West, Cornel

Part I. Facing the Situation of Young Black Men in Inner Cities

Chapter 1. Against the Wall: Poor, Young, Black, and Male / Anderson, Elijah

Chapter 2. David's Story: From Promise to Despair / Gunn, Raymond

Chapter 3. Young, Black, and Male: The Life History of an American Drug Dealer Facing Death Row / Duck, Waverly

Part II. Structural Analyses of Joblessness Among Black Youth

Chapter 4. The Economic Plight of Inner - City Black Males / Wilson, William Julius

Chapter 5. Blacklisted: Hiring Discrimination in an Era of Mass Incarceration / Pager, Devah

Chapter 6. The Effects of Immigration on the Economic Position of Young Black Males / Jaynes, Gerald D.

Chapter 7. Immigration and Equal Opportunity / Massey, Douglas S.

Part III. Engaging Urban Youth in Social Institutions

Chapter 8. Youth Entrepreneurship Training in the Inner City: Overcoming Disadvantage, Engaging Youth in School / Anderson, Luke

Chapter 9. Black Male Students and Reflections on Learning and Teaching / Dance, L. Janelle

Chapter 10. Fighting like a Ballplayer: Basketball as a Strategy Against Social Disorganization / Brooks, Scott N.

Chapter 11. "Tell us how it feels to be a problem": Hip Hop Longings and Poor Young Black Men / Perry, Imani

Part IV. Social Policy Matters

Chapter 12. Social Issues Lurking in the Over-Representation of Young African American Men in the Expanding DNA Databases / Duster, Troy

Chapter 13. "You can take me outta the 'hood, but you can't take the 'hood outta me": Youth Incarceration and Reentry / Fader, Jamie J.

Chapter 14. Suicide Patterns Among Black Males / Joe, Sean

Chapter 15. Why Are Handguns So Accessible on Urban Streets? / Kairys, David

Chapter 16. What Do We Do Now? Toward a Brighter Future for African American Men / Edelman, Peter

Notes

Contributors

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [269]-278) and index.

ISBN:

9781283896573

1283896575

9780812206951

0812206959

OCLC:

802049519