The Misconception of Blacks on Welfare

In chapter seven of William Julius Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged, he talks about the ghetto underclass which refers to this heterogeneous group of families and individuals who inhabit the cores of the nation's central cities. This essentially means that families who are of same income level, class status, and race are those who have been grouped together in dense areas that have been known as the ghetto. As Professor Weffer mentioned in class, ghetto didn't always mean that it was a slum of particular minority group or groups in certain parts of cities. It was originally linked to Jewish communities in countries. It wasn’t until after World War Two did the word ghetto no longer refer to Jewish communities. It was during this time that the word ghetto began to become associated with poor minorities. In the case of America, it specifically referred to blacks in poverty. This is where Wilson’s term about the ghetto underclass comes in as blacks have been concentrated in specific areas where there is an overwhelming amount of poor families. People say that blacks are the ones who use welfare the most but in actuality it is whites. The reason I believe that even though whites are on welfare the most it is because poor blacks have been roped into the poorest parts of the city. Just as someone mentioned in class, whites may be on welfare the most but they are more distributed throughout the area. Whites live in more mix communities so it does not appear to seem severe. When you look at these ghetto underclass neighborhoods for blacks, you will see a significant increase in concentration of those on welfare which gives the illusion that blacks are on welfare the most.

If black communities were to become more mix income, I believe that the idea of blacks being the main users of welfare would lessen greatly. The problem with that is that we have learned throughout the semester that there is a reoccurring cycle in cities in which whites move out of neighborhoods when blacks begin to move in. White flight is of course not the only reason to the public’s perceptions of these black communities. Policies that the government has made in the past have in subtle ways set the stage for these communities to essential become a heterogeneous group of minorities that are poor. That is not to say that policies being past today are specifically trying to keep individuals in these communities, but I feel that the lack of funding towards these policies are the main problem as they attempt to help but fail to fully follow through. If blacks were able to break the ghetto underclass and live in mixed income neighborhoods similar to other poor whites, this misconception of blacks being the highest user of welfare.

http://www.cbpp.org/blog/tight-spending-caps-force-cuts-in-low-income-housing-assistance

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/04/27/306829915/segregated-from-its-history-how-ghetto-lost-its-meaning