For women, leaving home, marriage, childbearing, and remarriage can create drastic changes in income. Divorce or giving birth out of wedlock frequently accompanies entry into poverty, while marriage or remarriage often results in exit from poverty. In the United States since 1970, the increase in the number of poor women greatly exceeded that of…

A sample of 500 Black American males was studied to determine if there was a causal relationship between underemployment and/or underpayment and psychosocial stress. No significant relationships were found. (JS)

Considers the role of social welfare and public assistance policies in the promotion of African American family life. Examines race, sex, and age demographics as predictors of poverty in the United States. Reviews the history of social programming and public family assistance, including intervention assumptions and demographic characteristics that…

Gunnar Myrdal's "An American Dilemma," revered as a monumental work on race relations, benefited from uncanny historical timing. As it repudiated racism and second-class citizenship, it also stayed within safe political limits for the time. The author never committed to policies that would secure real citizenship for African Americans.…

Toni Cade Bambara's novel "The Salt Eaters" is art colored by social responsibility as the author attempts to give her African-American audience a sense of their history and their identity so they can value and accept collective work and responsibility. The novel's strengths and thematic weaknesses are discussed. (SLD)

Estimates effects of neighbor and family characteristics on likelihood students will complete their schooling using national-level data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Data indicate racial composition of a neighborhood affects black but not white children. Family-level characteristics such as maternal education and family income were…

Documents rise in U.S. Hispanic poverty and Hispanic female-headed households. Assesses applicability to Hispanics of traditional models of poverty, family structure, and emerging underclass. Suggests that traditional models are influenced by Black poverty but Hispanic poverty patterns are different. Suggests national policy target growing…

The number of poor people has increased. The migration of whites and working class blacks from the inner city has led to a growing concentration of black urban poverty. The class transformation of the inner city has led to its social isolation. (BJV)

This paper summarizes what can be surmised about the nature and causes of persistent poverty and how it affects Hispanics, especially Chicanos. Section 1, "Persistent Poverty among Urban Minorities: A Review of the Literature," reviews the overall literature on the subject. Both documentary literature describing persistent poverty and…

This question-and-answer format paper looks at some of the basic issues surrounding the chronically poor and initiatives and services designed to break the poverty cycle. A first section explores some of the myths and realities surrounding the characteristics of the chronically poor population and notes that this population is comprised of…

This paper examines the position of the African American male in three categories identified as critical indicators in assessing important sociological trends. For each of the following indicators, the report gives a general, comparative, and projective analysis: (1) economics and labor; (2) education; and (3) incarceration. The section on…

This paper is a product of the "Changing Domestic Priorities" project which has examined the shifts taking place in the nation's economic and social policies under the Reagan Administration and is now focusing on the major economic and social problems facing the nation over the coming decade. The following topics are discussed in this paper: (1)…

This bibliography of the literature and research on the black male lists published and unpublished items and video and print formats. The information is organized alphabetically by subject and author. The sources were derived from computer and library bibliographical searches at Medgar Evers College, the larger City University of New York file,…

This paper assesses the new immigration law and its impact on the growing minority segment of the U.S. labor force. It frames the issues raised by the law that concern non-Asian American minority citizens, presents evidence that supports these concerns, and suggests both short-term and long-term policy implications. The analysis begins with an…

Addresses the following questions: (1) what is the effect of the stereotyped characterization of old black women on their well-being; (2) what are the major issues surrounding the social, economic, and health conditions of subgroups of aging black women; and (3) what should be the substantive content of advocatory efforts on their behalf? (BJV)