Poverty in America, Essay Example

Poverty in America is beyond and epidemic. Many people in the United States are battling hunger every day. Sadly, many of those people are children. Nearly 24 percent of African Americans are living in poverty Around the United States. That number equates to about 12 percentile of the United States population. Consequently, more than two million African Americans and other people of color are at or below the federal poverty level. Most of these victims are under the age of 18. (Bolland, 2004) The impact that poverty has on its victims is devastating. The communities in which these persons live are characterized by social disorder, drug and alcohol use, unemployment, and victimization. The exposure to violence increases t he individual chances of internalizing symptoms. Hence, individuals who are experiencing these conditions are more likely to self medicate using drugs and alcohol. Sociologists have been trying to help remedy this problem for decades; however stamping out poverty is a problem that can only be eliminated through the efforts of an entire nation. Living in poverty produces a sense of hopelessness for all that are victims.

Many perspectives help to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of how living in poverty produces a feeling of hopelessness which leads to other manifestations.

According to Wilson (2005), when living in poverty African American families share some common features. For example, most of them are victims of low economic development, infant mortality rates, shorter life spans, high risk for imprisonment, low values in obtaining education, and more likely to be the victim or culprit of an act of violence. Likewise, Williams (2005) points out that children who are poor and African American are more likely to be isolated socially from mainstream America, exposed to “ghetto cultures” by watching television shows that depict people who values materialistic wealth, exposed to poor living conditions, unsafe environments, and drop out of school before attaining a high school diploma. However, (Bolland, 2003) goes on to state that despite all of these odds, African American children seem to maintain hope. Many studies have examined the resilience and positive outlook of the youth. Too often, impoverished African American youth are labeled as high risk or at risk. According to Logan (2001), African American youths are faced with many challenges associated with their psychosocial development growing up in environments that are poverty stricken. He believes that these youths are more likely to be pressured into joining a gang. He also discusses what he terms “street skills”. “Street skills” is when these youths adapt to survive by whatever means is necessary. In other words, they learn to lie, steal, cheat, and fight if they must to make it from day to day. Consequently, these adaptations affect the family structure and social skills of African Americans for generations. Reports from national statistics show that gang affiliation has grown to over 772,500 members in late 2005. African American youths who feel that their families do not love them or have families that are non-nurturing are more likely to be gang affiliated (Blackmore, Mayo, & Blakemore, 2007).

All of the studies were community based that focused on African American adolescents between the age of 13-17 who resided in impoverished neighborhoods. The researchers wanted to explore how impoverished African American youths react to experiencing hopelessness due to poverty. Two of the main questions researchers were seeking to answer was how do low-income African American youths perceive and experience hope or the lost of hope and how do they view goals and future orientation.  Of the families that participated, the median income was about $11, 310(Blackmore, Mayo, & Blakemore, 2007). Of the families that participated about 48 percent were living in poverty. For those that were living in government assisted housing subdivision, 78 percent of them paid $288 dollars or less for monthly rent. The graduation rate was about 60.5 percent. Eighty-eight percent of them received free or reduced price lunch in their public schools. Astonishingly, 67 percent of the youth documented received their high school diploma. (Williams, 2004) This finding supports earlier claims that even in dire situations; many African American youths remained positive and hopeful about their futures. All interviews were audio recorded. Youths were asked questions as follows:

1. Describe a typical day
2. What are your dreams for the future?
3. What might get in the way of you achieving your dreams?
4. What makes a person successful
5. In your own words, what does hope mean?
6. When faced with a challenge, how do you respond? (Blackmore, Mayo, & Blakemore, 2007).

Surprisingly, many youths had great aspirations. Many said that they wanted to become teachers, doctors, lawyers, artists, nurses, and other professional careers.  The participants were given cameras and asked to take pictures of images that represented hope and hopelessness to them.  The study took place from October 4, 2009 through May 15, 2011.

The Hope Theory conveys that all human actions are goal directed. A person’s cognitive component is comprised of goals. The Hope Theory is comprised of two types of goals: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 reflects positive outcomes. For example, one may reach a goal or accomplishment for the first time or may be able to sustain a goal over a period of time. Type 2 is associated with negative outcomes. For example, one may give up on something and never reach a goal or be deterred so that the goal outcomes are delayed.  According to the theory, individuals with high hope are more decisive about which routes they must take in order to reach their goals. They also have the ability to take alternative routes when necessary to reach goals. The alternative to high hope individuals are those with low hopes. These individuals are unable to set goals and reach them. They are also unable to use alternative routes to reach these goals. The individuals in these studies mostly possessed high hopes. Of the youths that participated, eighty-six percent displayed characteristics of high hopes. (Logan, 2001).

Poverty in the United States remains a world problem. It affects many people and does not discriminate based on religion or ethnicity. Any person can become a victim of poverty due to any number of circumstances. However, in the United States members of the African American community seem to represent a large number of people who are living in poverty. Much research has been done to understand why and what can be done to remedy this issue. According to the researchers, in order to break the chain of poverty victims must have a mindset of hopefulness (Logan, 2001). The majority of the victims who participated in the studies possessed this quality. They conveyed that hopeful thinking develops from birth into early adulthood. However, this idea is taught by care givers. In order to develop into high hope thinkers, children must have high hope role models.

Works Cited

Bolland, J.M. (2004). Hopelessness and violence among inner-city youths. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5 (4), 237-242.

Blakemore, J.L., Mayo, Y. & Blakemore, G.M. (2007). African-American and other street gangs: A quest for identity (revisited). In L.A. (Lee) See (Ed.) Human

Behavior in the Social Environment from an African American Perspective (2nd). Binghamton, NY: The Hawthorne Press, Inc.

Logan, S. (2001). The Black family: Strengths, self-help, and positive change. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Williams, A. (2005). Class, Race, and Power: Interest Group Politics and Education. The Urban Review, 37, 2, 127-147.

Wilson, J. (2005). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.