In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
Racism manifests itself in a variety of ways and can occur in a variety of settings. It includes prejudice, discrimination, or hatred directed at someone because of their skin color, ethnicity, or national origin. Racism is often associated with acts of abuse or harassment. It does not, however, have to be violent or intimidating. Consider racial epithets and jokes. Consider situations in which people are excluded from groups or activities because of their origins. Racism can be seen in people's actions as well as their attitudes. It can also be seen in systems and institutions. However, it is not always revealed. Not all racism is obvious. For example, someone may go through a list of job applicants and decide not to interview people with certain surnames. Racism is more than just words, beliefs, and actions. It encompasses all of the barriers that prevent people from enjoying dignity and equality because of their race. For decades, serious scholarship has focused on racism in America. Harvard University Press have had the privilege of publishing some of the most influential books on the subject. The excerpts in this volume, drawn from works of history, law, sociology, medicine, economics, critical theory, philosophy, art, and literature, are an invitation to understand anti-Black racism through the eyes of our most astute commentators. Systematic Inequality is for all curious readers, teachers, and students who wish to discover How Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap in America. This is an easy to read, captivating, informative and educating book. To get started, scroll up and click on the BUY NOW and order a copy instantly!
"Positive measures to prevent and remedy discrimination have been adopted in many parts of the world. By comparing the scope and form of such measures in different legal systems, we can gain a better perspective on our own system, and appreciate possible new approaches. This book compares positive anti-discrimination measures in the United States, India, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union"--
The United States holds the dubious distinction of having the most unequal income distribution of any advanced industrialized nation. While other developed countries face similar challenges from globalization and technological change, none rivals America's singularly poor record for equitably distributing the benefits and burdens of recent economic shifts. In Categorically Unequal, Douglas Massey weaves together history, political economy, and even neuropsychology to provide a comprehensive explanation of how America's culture and political system perpetuates inequalities between different segments of the population. Categorically Unequal is striking both for its theoretical originality and for the breadth of topics it covers. Massey argues that social inequalities arise from the universal human tendency to place others into social categories. In America, ethnic minorities, women, and the poor have consistently been the targets of stereotyping, and as a result, they have been exploited and discriminated against throughout the nation's history. African-Americans continue to face discrimination in markets for jobs, housing, and credit. Meanwhile, the militarization of the U.S.-Mexican border has discouraged Mexican migrants from leaving the United States, creating a pool of exploitable workers who lack the legal rights of citizens. Massey also shows that women's advances in the labor market have been concentrated among the affluent and well-educated, while low-skilled female workers have been relegated to occupations that offer few chances for earnings mobility. At the same time, as the wages of low-income men have fallen, more working-class women are remaining unmarried and raising children on their own. Even as minorities and women continue to face these obstacles, the progressive legacy of the New Deal has come under frontal assault. The government has passed anti-union legislation, made taxes more regressive, allowed the real value of the federal minimum wage to decline, and drastically cut social welfare spending. As a result, the income gap between the richest and poorest has dramatically widened since 1980. Massey attributes these anti-poor policies in part to the increasing segregation of neighborhoods by income, which has insulated the affluent from the social consequences of poverty, and to the disenfranchisement of the poor, as the population of immigrants, prisoners, and ex-felons swells. America's unrivaled disparities are not simply the inevitable result of globalization and technological change. As Massey shows, privileged groups have systematically exploited and excluded many of their fellow Americans. By delving into the root causes of inequality in America, Categorically Unequal provides a compelling argument for the creation of a more equitable society. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation's Centennial Series
In the twentieth century, the United States ended some of its most flagrant inequalities. The "rights revolution" ended statutory prohibitions against women's suffrage and opened the doors of voting booths to African Americans. Yet a more insidious form of inequality has emerged since the 1970s—economic inequality—which appears to have stalled and, in some arenas, reversed progress toward realizing American ideals of democracy. In Inequality and American Democracy, editors Lawrence Jacobs and Theda Skocpol headline a distinguished group of political scientists in assessing whether rising economic inequality now threatens hard-won victories in the long struggle to achieve political equality in the United States. Inequality and American Democracy addresses disparities at all levels of the political and policy-making process. Kay Lehman Scholzman, Benjamin Page, Sidney Verba, and Morris Fiorina demonstrate that political participation is highly unequal and strongly related to social class. They show that while economic inequality and the decreasing reliance on volunteers in political campaigns serve to diminish their voice, middle class and working Americans lag behind the rich even in protest activity, long considered the political weapon of the disadvantaged. Larry Bartels, Hugh Heclo, Rodney Hero, and Lawrence Jacobs marshal evidence that the U.S. political system may be disproportionately responsive to the opinions of wealthy constituents and business. They argue that the rapid growth of interest groups and the increasingly strict party-line voting in Congress imperils efforts at enacting policies that are responsive to the preferences of broad publics and to their interests in legislation that extends economic and social opportunity. Jacob Hacker, Suzanne Mettler, and Dianne Pinderhughes demonstrate the feedbacks of government policy on political participation and inequality. In short supply today are inclusive public policies like the G.I. Bill, Social Security legislation, the War on Poverty, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that changed the American political climate, mobilized interest groups, and altered the prospect for initiatives to stem inequality in the last fifty years. Inequality and American Democracy tackles the complex relationships between economic, social, and political inequality with authoritative insight, showcases a new generation of critical studies of American democracy, and highlights an issue of growing concern for the future of our democratic society.
The authors analyse wealth - total assets and debts rather than income alone - to uncover deep and persistent racial inequality in America, and show how public policies fail to redress this problem.
A groundbreaking work that exposes the twisted origins of affirmative action. In this "penetrating new analysis" (New York Times Book Review) Ira Katznelson fundamentally recasts our understanding of twentieth-century American history and demonstrates that all the key programs passed during the New Deal and Fair Deal era of the 1930s and 1940s were created in a deeply discriminatory manner. Through mechanisms designed by Southern Democrats that specifically excluded maids and farm workers, the gap between blacks and whites actually widened despite postwar prosperity. In the words of noted historian Eric Foner, "Katznelson's incisive book should change the terms of debate about affirmative action, and about the last seventy years of American history."
Racist policies are identified as "opportunity killers," and the disparities created by them often have racism sustained through race-neutral policies. Systemic Racism in America: Sociological Theory, Education Inequality, and Social Change situates our contemporary moment within a historical framework and works to identify forms, occurrences, and consequences of racism as well as argue for concrete solutions to address it. This volume assembles renowned and thought-provoking social scientists to address the destructive impacts of structural racism and the recent, incendiary incidents that have driven racial injustice and racial inequality to the fore of public discussion and debate. The book is organized into three parts to explore and explain the ways in which racism persists, permeates, and operates within our society. The first part presents theoretical perspectives to analyze the roots and manifestation of contemporary racism; the second concentrates on educational inequality and structural issues within our institutions of learning that have led to stark racial disparities; and the third and final section focuses on solutions to our current state and how people, regardless of their race, can advocate for racial equity. Urgent and needed, Systemic Racism in America is valuable reading for students and scholars in the social sciences, as well as informed readers with an interest in racism and racial inequality and a passion to end it.
Local governments play a central role in American democracy, providing essential services such as policing, water, and sanitation. Moreover, Americans express great confidence in their municipal governments. But is this confidence warranted? Using big data and a representative sample of American communities, this book provides the first systematic examination of racial and class inequalities in local politics. We find that non-whites and less-affluent residents are consistent losers in local democracy. Residents of color and those with lower incomes receive less representation from local elected officials than do whites and the affluent. Additionally, they are much less likely than privileged community members to have their preferences reflected in local government policy. Contrary to the popular assumption that governments that are “closest” govern best, we find that inequalities in representation are most severe in suburbs and small towns. Typical reforms do not seem to improve the situation, and we recommend new approaches.
