The Betrayal of the Urban Poor

Author:   Helene Slessarev
Publisher:   Temple University Press,U.S.
ISBN:  

9781566395427


Pages:   264
Publication Date:   15 May 1997
Replaced By:   9781566395434
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

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The Betrayal of the Urban Poor


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Overview

Written by a Chicago political insider, this book is a history from 1960 to the present of how policies allegedly designed to promote the welfare of the urban poor have been half-hearted. Slessarev documents how little the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the War on Poverty finally provided for the urban poor, how grudging were the concessions of even progressive labor unions, and how in recent times black politicians have mainly catered to the middle class. The story is told on both the national level and the Chicago level. Slessarev shows the weakness of job training programs devised at the federal level, as well as the intricate ways in which the building trades locked out minorities from apprenticeship programs and jobs in cities like Chicago. She reveals how assistance to minority businesses has been yet another failed promise. In the end the programs have amounted to trickle-down economics, with devastation visible where neighborhood corner stores used to be. Slessarev demonstrates how structures of so-called economic opportunity have failed time and time again to meet the basic needs of the urban poor. Despite the dismal history, conservative social critics blame the poor themselves. The Betrayal of the Urban Poor challenges the notion that excesses in government generosity destroyed the work ethic in poor minority communities and therefore is responsible for the growth in poverty. Slessarev asserts that this gross distortion is driven more by an underlying anti-government political agenda than historical accuracy. When we set aside all rhetoric about equal opportunity, the United States has made, at best, only a partial commitment to equality.

Full Product Details

Author:   Helene Slessarev
Publisher:   Temple University Press,U.S.
Imprint:   Temple University Press,U.S.
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.458kg
ISBN:  

9781566395427


ISBN 10:   1566395429
Pages:   264
Publication Date:   15 May 1997
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Replaced By:   9781566395434
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments 1. A Partial Commitment to Equality 2. Concessions from the Start 3. The Poor Get Training but No Jobs 4. The Unions Retard Access to Jobs 5. The Struggle over Access to Chicago's Building Trades 6. Trickle-Down Economic Development 7. Chicago's New Black Political Establishment 8. Chicago's Redevelopment Lacks Attention to Jobs Notes Index

Reviews

[T]he book should be required reading for every new student of urban politics. For the many undergraduates who may ask themselves or their instructors why a particular program was needed, Slessarev provides a full and compelling answer. -American Political Science Review


[T]he book should be required reading for every new student of urban politics. For the many undergraduates who may ask themselves or their instructors why a particular program was needed, Slessarev provides a full and compelling answer. -American Political Science Review


Author Information

Helene Slessarev is Director of the Urban Studies Program at Wheaton College and a public policy consultant. In 1988 she was the Midwest volunteer coordinator for Jesse Jackson's 1988 Presidential campaign, and she continues to be active in local political campaigns. Slessarev has worked as the economics specialist at the Chicago Urban League and has researched the history of discrimination against minority businesses for the City of Chicago.

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