Race, Space, and Exclusion
Instructor Support Materials
Compiled by Erin Siodmak
Section 1: Racial Exclusion in Policy and Practice
Chapter 2: Homeownership Expansion, Suburbanization, and Residential Segregation
Chapter 3: Fair Housing and Residential Segregation
Chapter 4: The Lifecourse Perspective in Explaining Racial Residential Segregation
Finding Your Passion
Students should choose an issue area to conduct some preliminary research into the challenges
facing vulnerable or marginalized populations in specific neighborhoods of their town or city.
Starting with the websites below, all of which reference current statistics about social problems,
students should identify two or three pressing concerns facing the population, brainstorm two or
three core strengths that could be activated in addressing these concerns, and find two or three
other websites that provide additional relevant data or perspectives, particularly those that include
geographical data. Instructors can then direct students to either form small groups based on shared
passions for social justice issues to discuss social policy approaches that could provide important
assistance and opportunities, or those that could negatively impact the chosen population. Ask: In
what ways do urban and metropolitan locations impact these issues and populations? Be sure to
have students focus on race and how these issue areas affect and are affected by racial identities.
Poverty: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11/ib.shtml
High school dropout: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16
Child welfare: http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/statistics/can.cfm
Homelessness: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/
Mental health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/statistics/index.shtml
Substance abuse: http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics
Hate crimes: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010
Immigration: http://www.immigrationforum.org/
The Center for Urban Pedagogy (http://welcometocup.org) provides resources for the instructor or
students to research policy and planning issues.
a. Jim Crow and the Legacy of Slavery
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/index.html
This excellent series by the Public Broadcasting Service features content on Reconstruction
through the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Among the features are interactive
maps of the spread of segregationist legislation after Reconstruction, testimonials, and a timeline
that begins with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Possible Film Supplements
Slavery and the Making of America, http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/slavery-making-of-america/
Remembering Jim Crow, http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/remembering/
(documentary series in several parts, with narratives from white and black citizens’ personal
memories)
Senate Apologizes for Slavery
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105620620
This very short (~3-minute) National Public Radio story about a U.S. Senate resolution in 2008
apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow laws could be used to start a dialogue with students about
the legacies of our past in today’s social policies, how to equitably and adequately atone for these
injustices, and how institutionalized racism persists in social policy today. Have students also read
the comments to the apology and assess the general tone of response. Students should consider the
ways that slavery’s effects persist and continue to affect African-Americans and access to or
exclusion (direct or indirect) from housing, employment, education, etc.
“The Case for Reparations” from The Atlantic (May 21, 2014)
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/05/the-case-for-reparations/361631/
“20/20: Americans Debate Reparations for Slavery” from ABC News (March 23, 2014)
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=124115
b. The Progressive Era
FDR’s “Second Bill of Rights” Speech, January 11, 1944
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwUL9tJmypI
This 5-minute clip (radio with still photos) outlines FDR’s ideas about economic rights to
complement the political freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Students could talk about
the values heard in the speech and how they were reflected in social policy, as well as similarities
and differences in the political and economic environment then and now.
The New Deal Network
http://newdeal.feri.org/
This site has a wealth of resources related to the New Deal, including documents, photographs,
archived speeches, and lesson plans. Instructors could use this site to develop greater emphasis on
the New Deal and its legacy for the U.S. social welfare system, or students will find the
information here helpful for historical research or policy analysis of programs such as Social
Security, which have their origin within New Deal policies. Have students research who was
included and excluded from the New Deal. Who benefited most? What effects did New Deal
policies have on institutional and social inequality in terms of race and class?
The Constitutional Legacy of the New Deal
http://fora.tv/2009/06/01/The_Constitutional_Legacy_of_the_New_Deal
These video debates (90 minutes in total) address the ways in which the policy approaches of the
New Deal impacted the delegation of powers, the relationships between the branches of
government, and the federal involvement in social policy. The video overall takes a more
conservative approach and could provide a helpful counterpoint.
c. Immigration
A Nation of Immigrants
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/settlement.html and http://www.ellisisland.org/ and
http://www.history.com/topics/united-states-immigration-to-1965
These sites, which include timelines, photos, videos, and a free tool to research when/how one’s
own ancestors arrived in the United States, trace our nation’s immigration history prior to the
passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Students could be assigned to research
the history of immigration in their own state/community, to investigate their family’s immigration
story, or to analyze how our understanding of immigration today differs from the historical reality.
Students should focus their research on the immigration histories of specific neighborhoods in
order to create a map of their town or city.
Anti-Immigrant Political Cartoons
http://historyproject.ucdavis.edu/ic/
Students will need to select “immigrants” or “immigration” from the topic/theme on the right, or,
alternatively, instructors could select a few political cartoons for students to view prior to class.
There are additional cartoons available on pp. 7 and 9–12 of this handout:
http://www.ettc.net/tah/LessonPlan_Documents/What%20do%20Immigrants%20Look%20Like%
20Revised.pdf
Students could view these political cartoons from the turn of the last century and then look to
today’s media for coverage (graphic or textual) of immigrants and immigration policy. What are
the common themes? How do these attitudes about immigrants continue to shape urban social,
residential, and economic policy?
Possible Film Supplement
Immigration Through Ellis Island, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4wzVuXPznk,
(documentary, 28 minutes)
d. Housing and Development
Legal and De Facto Segregation
Students could research the various means of spatial and housing segregation in the United States.
Have students define and research the following terms and their histories in the students’
hometowns or cities: white flight, black flight, revanchism, protective or restrictive covenants,
redlining, reverse redlining, and subprime lending.
Have students create maps that show movement, the use of restrictive covenants, redlining, and
subprime lending across space and time. Ask them where their homes fall. What would this have
meant for their families in the 1950s or 1960s? The following websites can be used to start their
research.
http://www.escapesomewhere.com/austinblog/2008/08/map_showing_how_subprime_loans.html
(interaction between foreclosure, subprime loans, and unemployment mapped)
http://www.realtytrac.com/mapsearch/us.html (foreclosure maps)
http://www.citylab.com/work/2013/11/mapping-60-years-white-flight-brain-drain-and-americanmigration/7449/ (white flight and migration maps; tools available at the bottom of the page)
http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1920s1948-Restrictive-Covenants.html (on restrictive
covenants, Massachusetts focus)
http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1934-1968-FHA-Redlining.html (redlining,
Massachusetts focus)
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2014/05/30/where_to_find_historical_redlining_maps_of_y
our_city.html (large resource for maps of redlined areas)
Eminent Domain
Students can view the websites and videos below and use them to begin a discussion or debate
around eminent domain. The class can be split into groups with some arguing for and some against
the use of eminent domain. Who has been affected in these cases? Is it selfish to refuse to leave?
How often is eminent domain invoked in urban redevelopment?
http://www.justice.gov/enrd/History_of_the_Federal_Use_of_Eminent_Domain.html (general
information on the federal use of eminent domain)
http://reason.com/blog/2014/03/24/eminent-domain-fails-again-pathetic-comm (Brooklyn)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/nyregion/25yards.html (Brooklyn)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/books/review/Lithwick-t.html?_r=0 (New London, CT)
http://inhabitat.com/edith-macefield-the-84-year-old-who-refused-a-million-dollars-and-forced-ashopping-mall-to-build-around-her-house/ (Seattle; not an eminent domain case, but a buyout
refusal)
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2014/08/15/4074382/eminent-domain-can-strike-fear.html
(Chapel Hill, NC; eminent domain use to deny demolition)
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/business/in-richmond-california-a-long-shot-againstblight.html (Richmond, CA; eminent domain as a means to stop foreclosures)
Public Housing
Jane Jacobs was famously opposed to big block public housing developments, believing that
neighborhoods with “eyes on the street,” a mix of residential and commercial uses, and small-scale
structures were safer and more humane ways to live in cities. Students can view the following film
as a starting point into research on the rise and fall of public housing. Additional avenues of
research may begin with post-Katrina New Orleans, Detroit, and New York. They can track the
various paths of public housing in each city to do a comparative analysis.
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, http://www.pruitt-igoe.com (83 minutes)
Possible Film Supplement
Radiant City, http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70072747?trkid=439131 (about suburban
development, 85 minutes)
e. Poverty
NPR Stories on the Outdated Poverty Threshold
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5344537 (2006) and
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112641330 (2009)
These stories (less than 10 minutes each) discuss how the current poverty threshold is calculated,
the implications of using this outdated measure, and alternatives and their potential impact on the
poverty rates. Instructors can use these audio files to complement lecture and discussion about
how we understand poverty.
The Culture of Poverty
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102246990
This 30-minute NPR podcast explores the concept of the culture of poverty and could be used as
part of class discussion about the causes of poverty and the connection between these causes and
the social policy approaches that try to eradicate poverty. Combined with the above resources that
address how poverty is calculated, students can discuss the intersections of poverty and race, the
conflation of race and poverty or class status, and white poverty and the racialization of “white
trash.” This may also be tied to the media and stereotype exercises for Section 4.
Poverty Tour—Tavis Smiley for PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/features/poverty-tour/
There are five episodes in this series, each featuring content from host Tavis Smiley’s 18-city tour
around the United States. This can be used to expose students to the realities and the effects of
poverty, but also to spark discussion about how poverty is perceived and understood. What would
a poverty tour in your community or state look like? What stories are important to tell?
The Decline: The Geography of a Recession
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P__6W7bJVRQ&feature=relmfu
This slide presentation illustrates unemployment by county from January 2007 to October 2010. It
could serve as an addendum to a class discussion of unemployment, economic cycles, or poverty
throughout the United States. Instructors may also want to introduce, especially with advanced
students, the concept of official definitions of “recession,” and how economic hardship can persist
long after the recession has officially ended. This activity can be connected to or combined with
the activity on reverse redlining and foreclosures (above, this section).
Research and Statistics on Poverty
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html
This link takes students directly to the page with the U.S. Census Bureau’s data on poverty, an
essential resource for students’ study of poverty in their own communities, in specific populations,
and/or over time. This page also includes links to the information on the Supplemental Poverty
Measure (see above). Instructors could direct students to this site to complete research assignments
related to the prevalence and incidence of poverty.
http://www.irp.wisc.edu/
The Institute for Research on Poverty creates alternative measures of poverty and publishes data
about the impact of these measures on poverty rates. The site also contains a wealth of research on
poverty data, the impact of poverty on populations, and specific populations’ experience of
poverty. See, for example, the discussion on poverty thresholds:
http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq1.htm#whatis
Section 2: Racial Exclusion in the Production of Urban Space
Chapter 5: Contemporary Urban Development and Compounded Exclusion
Chapter 6: City Redevelopment, Black Exclusion, and America’s New Fear Governance
a. Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights Timeline
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html
This timeline from 1948 to 2008 has embedded links for more information about key moments in
the struggle for civil rights, including major U.S. Supreme Court decisions and biographies of
major leaders.
Eyes on the Prize
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHonvu-HxqE
This introduction (~2 minutes) to the Eyes on the Prize documentary series describes the civil
rights movement as America’s “second revolution.” Other sections of the series are available on
YouTube as well, by searching “Eyes on the Prize” (related to public facilities, lynchings, school
integration, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and other topics). The entire series is an excellent
introduction to the civil rights movement for students not familiar with that aspect of U.S. history
and its impact on our policy landscape. Many segments are available on YouTube, or instructors
may want to secure a copy through their institutions.
Eyes on the Prize Podcast: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rss/media/eyesontheprize_01.mp3
This ~16-minute podcast is an overview of the Eyes on the Prize series, an effort to tell the story
of the civil rights movement through the eyes of the “ordinary” men and women who propelled it.
This may load slowly on a browser, so downloading it from PBS to a MP3 player may be easier
for students. The full Eyes on the Prize site is: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/.
American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.aclu.org/
The ACLU’s website is a wonderful first stop for students to explore current issues related to civil
rights and civil liberties, including to spark a discussion about “freedom” and “security” and how
to protect individual liberties, consistent with the U.S. Constitution, in an age of fear. The ACLU
tracks legislation and civil rights abuses in a variety of topic areas, including the criminal justice
system, immigration, reproductive rights, religious liberty, voting rights, free speech, and drug law
reform. In addition to fact sheets and action alerts, the site includes weblogs from several
commentators, videos (including one on civil rights in Guantanamo), and interactive games (one,
for example, on the school-to-prison pipeline). Instructors can find multimedia resources to use in
class, as well.
b. Social Policy
Project America
http://www.project.org/
Project America provides historical data on a variety of national policy issues, including poverty,
the economy, crime, health care, housing, education, and senior concerns. Data are compiled from
both governmental and nongovernmental sources. Instructors can use this information to augment
lecture and class discussions, by including a historical perspective, and students would find the
site particularly helpful for research papers and other assignments asking for some historical
context. Students could also be encouraged to think about “objectivity”—what makes information
credible or not, and how can we include our values in our policy analysis while ensuring that we
truthfully represent the problems we face?
Institute on Assets and Social Policy
http://iasp.brandeis.edu/
Another good academic resource for understanding assets and their impact on low-income and
vulnerable populations, this site has links to academic research about how assets affect behavior
and well-being. IASP also publishes an Assets and Opportunity Index, which instructors could use
as an alternative measure of poverty and/or a complement to the official poverty data from the
U.S. Census Bureau. http://iasp.brandeis.edu/pdfs/Brief.pdf
c. Demographics and Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
The U.S. Census Bureau not only provides data based on the decennial census and the Current
Population Surveys, but also creates population estimates and projections for overall population
growth as well as subdimensions of the population.
Demographics Used as Political Tool
Instructors may want to talk about how, just as increasing populations do not guarantee political
power for currently marginalized populations, organizations and individuals within our society are
actively working to use changing demographics as a tool to bolster their advocacy goals. Some
examples include NumbersUSA (anti-immigrant), http://www.numbersusa.com/content/, and
Negative Population Growth (not overtly as anti-immigrant, but their staff are also on the Board of
the anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies), http://www.npg.org/
d. Redevelopment, Gentrification, and “Urban Renewal”
The Language of Scarcity and Progress
Scarcity of resources is often used to justify disinvestment in some areas in order to reallocate
funds and services to others. The following resources can be used to show examples of rhetoric
linked to fears of economic instability that often go hand in hand with redevelopment (“slum
clearance”) and gentrification.
http://www.citylimits.org/multimedia/1248/ladies-and-gentlemen-meet-the-real-rogerstarr#.U_VSPkv1i7o (City Limits housing newsletter, 1976, with article about Roger Starr)
http://thecodesofthestreet.blogspot.com/2010/06/planned-shrinkage.html (blog post on planned
shrinkage)
http://www.citylab.com/politics/2012/04/what-cities-looking-shrink-can-learn-new-orleans/1685/
(shrinkage in New Orleans)
http://understandingkatrina.ssrc.org/Smith/ (short assessment of post-Katrina New Orleans)
http://www.newgeography.com/content/003423-detroit-future-city (shrinkage in Detroit)
Possible Film Supplements
Burn, http://www.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70239482&trkid=13752289 (86 minutes)
The Garden, http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70100724?trkid=439131 (79 minutes)
Changing Neighborhoods and Services
Students can look up Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. Ask them to write up reports of their very
different perspectives on and approaches to urban development and neighborhoods. Neither dealt
directly with race, but their visions for New York City had almost opposing impacts on minority
populations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Robert_Moses_projects (a Wikipedia list of Robert Moses’
projects)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/environment/the-legacy-of-robert-moses/16018/ (PBS
story on Moses)
http://www.pps.org/reference/jjacobs-2/ (Jane Jacobs bio)
Food Deserts
Have students research food deserts. What are they? Where and why do they occur? Students can
relate the existence and geography of food deserts to urban redevelopment plans, flight from
neighborhoods, disinvestment, and gentrification. Have students discuss the different ways
gentrification occurs: through pricing residents out and redevelopment, but also after
redevelopment through the loss of traditional services and amenities (often replaced by higherpriced stores and businesses that target the new demographics).
https://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/foodDeserts.aspx (basic information about food deserts)
Interactive Map of Food Stamp Participation
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-%28snap%29data-system/go-to-the-map.aspx
This map displays Food Stamp program participation rates around the country in November 2009.
Making America Stronger: Video on Food Stamp Program
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1274
This Center on Budget and Policy Priorities video (14 minutes) graphically demonstrates the
impact of malnutrition on low-income Americans and discusses the role of the Food Stamp
program in combating this scourge.
e. Prisons, Incarceration, and Citizens’ Rights
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
http://www.cjcj.org/
CJCJ has research reports on the impact of sentencing laws and policing practices on the
populations involved in juvenile corrections. Instructors can use this to talk about racial
disparities, the impact of incarceration on youth and their life trajectories, the concept of status
offenses, and juvenile justice policy from a strengths perspective.
http://www.cjcj.org/files/Juvenile_Justice_Flowchart.pdf
The Sentencing Project
http://www.sentencingproject.org
“The Sentencing Project is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice
system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration.”
This organization focuses on issues of racial disparity. There is also information about criminal
justice reforms at The Innocence Project, http://www.innocenceproject.org/, NAACP,
http://www.naacp.org/programs/entry/justice, and ACLU, http://www.aclu.org/safe-communitiesfair-sentences-0.
Growing Up Locked Down
http://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/growing-locked-down-youth-solitary-confinement-jailsand-prisons-across-united
This report from ACLU draws attention to solitary confinement practices at juvenile detention
facilities. Students could be assigned to conduct research about the prevalence and effects of these
practices, and what their implications are for young people once they are released. Students could
also map incarceration rates, locations of facilities, and demographic information for specific cities
to gain a sense of where youth are moving to and from in the system.
Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
Instructors can use the issue of racial disparities in the criminal justice system to illustrate the
ongoing challenges to civil rights in the United States. Some additional reading on this issue can
be found at http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_reducingracialdisparity.pdf. In
addition, the instructor could assign students to browse some of the case studies from The
Innocence Project, http://www.innocenceproject.org/, to look for ways in which racial
discrimination and institutionalized racism manifest themselves in the disparate outcomes within
the criminal justice system.
Marian Wright Edelman: The Cradle to Prison Pipeline
http://fora.tv/2009/07/01/Marian_Wright_Edelman_The_Cradle_to_Prison_Pipeline
The Aspen Institute produced this video with the Executive Director of The Children’s Defense
Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, discussing the systems in the lives of children of color and how
they collectively fail these children and contribute to the disproportionate incarceration rates of
African-Americans, in particular. The entire discussion runs ~80 minutes.
Do We Still Need the Voting Rights Act?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103819113
As the U.S. Supreme Court considered a challenge to the Voting Rights Act, NPR’s Talk of the
Nation featured a program examining the components of the Act, the controversy presented to the
Court, and the state of voting rights in the United States today. The program runs ~30 minutes; the
U.S. Supreme Court voted 8 to 1 to uphold the Act. As a complement to the discussion about the
Voting Rights Act and the civil rights battle over voting rights, instructors could use materials
about the increase in voter identification legislation—and the concerns of many advocates about
its impact on voter turnout, particularly among those facing barriers to voting. Students could
debate the merits and risks of such proposals, discuss why responses are so disproportionate to the
actual problems, and consider the connection between historic restrictions on voting rights and
those witnessed today. See, for example,
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/09/voter_id_laws_a_stat
e_by_state_map_reveals_how_much_voter_fraud_there_is_in_the_united_states_almost_none_.ht
ml, or http://www.naacp.org/blog/entry/kemba-smith-pradia-fights-for-voting-rights-of-theformerly-incarcerated-be (testimony before the U.N. about the voting rights of the formerly
incarcerated), or http://www.aclu.org/voter-suppression-america.
Section 4: Race, Exclusion, and Narrative Position
Chapter 7: Race and Place: The Narratives of Octogenarian Jews in the Bronx
Chapter 8: Engaging Contradictions: Resisting Racial Exclusion
a. Media Analysis and Technology
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
http://www.fair.org/index.php
FAIR highlights misleading, incorrect, and/or biased coverage of news issues in mainstream
media and provides counterpoints through their own coverage. Their articles are a good resource
for a discussion with students about the social construction of knowledge.
Media Analysis
Instructors could assign students to examine the coverage of the political system, social policy
issues, and/or key governmental actors in popular media (The Daily Show,
http://www.thedailyshow.com/, or The Colbert Report, http://www.colbertnation.com/, or other
satire; Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/, vs MSNBC, http://www.nbcnews.com/; or print
journalism). Students could use a media analysis tool to examine the voices included in this
coverage, the perspectives that are highlighted, how an observer would likely respond, and how
this coverage shapes what Americans understand about important policy issues.
Impact of Technology on Social Connectedness
There is considerable debate today about whether the continual evolution of technology, and its
reach into Americans’ lives, is increasing our social connectedness or exacerbating feelings of
isolation. Students could review some of the commentary and evidence about these competing
views and discuss, in their own lives, the influence of technology on their “real-life” relationships.
Students could be asked to monitor a social media site (one on which they are active, or an
unfamiliar one) to gauge the level of authentic, versus surface, connection there. Some background
about these phenomena is at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1074874 (from
2000, prior to the social media explosion),
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/01/19/133052178/so-much-for-bowling-aloneresearch-says-internet-users-are-socially-engaged (more recent research),
http://socialcapital.wordpress.com/category/robert-putnam/bowling-alone/ (efforts to build social
capital, or connections among people).
b. Storytelling
Story Banks
Several nonprofit organizations make their “story banks” available online, and there are also
bloggers providing nonprofits with advice on how to develop and utilize their story banks.
Instructors can use these resources to orient students to the idea of putting their clients’ stories at
the center of their policy change work, and can also raise issues of self-determination and
confidentiality as they explore these resources together. Some links:
http://www.mnaonline.org/storybank.aspx, http://gettingattention.org/2012/07/build-nonprofitstory-bank/, http://www.fundraising123.org/article/storybanking-bank-always-buildsinterest#.UHXW4WesHF8, http://www.communitycatalyst.org/resources/storybank.
Students could be encouraged to think about how stories could play a role in advocacy on their
area(s) of interest, how they might collect and utilize stories on behalf of their social work
organization, and what telling their own story might mean as part of their social policy advocacy.
Story Corps Griot
http://storycorps.org/griot/
These recordings capture the experiences of African-Americans in the United States in modern
times, with references to historical experiences and the lives of African-American ancestors.
Students can browse the recordings, all of which are very short, as part of an examination of the
ongoing legacy of slavery in the United States.
Making Places through Stories
Students can view the following links for stories told by survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
in New Orleans in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in New York City in 2012. These stories serve to
challenge dominant narratives constructed by the media, putting the control into the hands of
residents. The other two links are more general storytelling projects that allow place to be
produced through and by residents rather than developers, political leaders, and officials, or the
media.
http://hurricanearchive.org
http://www.sandystoryline.com/about/
http://www.neighborhoodstoryproject.org
http://www.stevezehentner.com/lower-east-side-biography-project
Race—The Power of an Illusion
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm
This PBS website series of readings and slideshows demonstrates the illusory aspects of race.
Most relevant to the topics in this text is the section, “Where Race Lives”
(http://www.pbs.org/race/006_WhereRaceLives/006_00-home.htm). The stories and timelines in
this section show the legacy of individual and institutional discrimination in housing and
employment. Have students consider their backgrounds and family histories: how would their life
histories and opportunities change if they were part of a different racial group?
Youth Violence Myths and Realities
http://www.aecf.org/~/media/PublicationFiles/Casey%20Youth%20ReportFinES.pdf
This fascinating report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation contains portrayals of youth violence as
told by the media, professionals within the juvenile justice system, and the youth themselves. This
should spark discussion about the social construction of reality, the role of media and framing, the
challenge of exalting clients’ voices in the policy process, and the role of public perception in
pushing social policy. (For some background context, see
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/index.html).
Section 5: Racial and Spatial Inequality in the Twenty-first Century
Chapter 9: The Transformation of Exclusion from an Overt to a Covert Process
Chapter 10: Social Inequality and Spatial Exclusion
a. Poverty and Inequality Today
National Public Radio on the War on Poverty
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1589660
This link has an audio clip of an NPR story about Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and its
legacy today, a link to the State of the Union Address in 1964, and a list of other NPR resources
related to the War on Poverty. Some possible discussion questions include: do you think the War
on Poverty was successful? Why or why not? There is also an American RadioWorks project on
the War on Poverty, although here the content (audio documentaries, data, forums) includes
information about current anti-poverty programs, not just the historical context of Johnson’s
domestic agenda: http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/poverty/.
Economic Policy Institute
http://www.epi.org/
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a progressive think tank that provides research and
commentary on economic policy issues, including tax and spending policies at the federal and
state government levels. An interactive “Economy Track” allows students to compares states’
experiences in the current recession, compare this recession to previous economic cycles, and
highlight the experience of target racial/ethnic and other groups in terms of how they are
experiencing this recession. Students could use this information to map trends.
Impact of the Funding Crisis on Social Services
Instructors can use a variety of articles and discussions about the impact of the current economic
crisis on funding for social services. This content fits into the piece on financing in the text, and
students can examine how inadequacies in financing will affect service delivery, eligibility rules,
and equity and adequacy of benefits within the policy analysis framework. A sampling of such
content from around the country and from the perspective of public and private social service
providers:
http://www.ctbaonline.org/New_Folder/Human%20Services/IPHS_Private_Impact_Public_Cuts_
Full_FINAL_revised.pdf, http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/ivp-state-budget-cuts-may-impactsocial-services-20120514,0,650722.story,
http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/04/17/effects-of-budget-cuts-in-america/,
http://www.phillytrib.com/newsarticles/item/2897-state-budget-cuts-predicted-to-have-rippleeffect.html, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/state-budget-cuts-to-human-servicescould-cost-illinois-nearly-4000-jobs-and-deliver-a-4585-million-hit-to-the-economy143764386.html (some are popular articles, while some are scholarly, so instructors could also,
then, use them to discuss the social construction of reality and how the problems and options are
presented here).
States Target Cuts to Social Services
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103545837
This is a 4½-minute NPR story on the impact of state budget cuts on social services. It includes
the voices and perspectives of individuals who depend on these services for various basic needs.
This would be especially helpful for instructors of online courses who want to bring multimedia
content into this unit. Ask students to think about how inadequacies in financing affect service
delivery, eligibility rules, and equity/adequacy of benefits, as well as to consider the cyclical
nature of service dependency and what happens when services are cut or made more difficult to
access.
Wealth Inequality in the United States
http://mashable.com/2013/03/02/wealth-inequality/
This short (~6-minute) video illustrates the reality of wealth inequality in the United States, as
well as the flawed impressions Americans have of how economic riches are actually distributed.
Instructors could use this as part of an online forum/discussion board or show it in class to spark
conversation about income and wealth, poverty and inequality, and the role of perceptions in
shaping how we engage in policy debates.
Recession Trends
http://www.stanford.edu/group/recessiontrends/cgi-bin/web/
This site has tremendous resources to help students understand the effects of the recession and its
aftermath on populations. Instructors will find briefs, podcasts, and charts (which can be
customized using a within-site graphing utility), to supplement lectures or online materials, or to
offer to students as research material.
b. Race and Inequality Today
Police Brutality in the Twenty-first Century
Police brutality is not a new phenomenon, but the ability to record and disseminate acts of police
violence against unarmed citizens has grown with the ubiquity of mobile phones and social media.
Below are examples of instances of police brutality, some recorded and some not. Students can
use these cases to spark further research into statistics on police violence, including during protests
and demonstrations. Does the type of force used vary by race, gender, or socioeconomic status?
How so?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW1ZDIXiuS4 (Rodney King video)
http://mashable.com/2014/08/13/ferguson-police-protests-vs-iraq/ (images showing scenes from
Iraq and Ferguson, MO)
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/31-arrested-ferguson-9th-night-protests-michaelbrown-death-article-1.1908400 (article about Michael Brown and Sean Bell)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ka4oKu1jo (video of Eric Garner arrest)
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/14-specific-allegations-of-nypd-brutalityduring-occupy-wall-street/260295/ (list of several reports of brutality during Occupy Wall Street
protests)
http://rt.com/usa/181204-teens-mobile-app-police-abuse/ (smartphone app to track and report
police brutality)
What Would You Do? Racism in America
This hidden camera web series uses actors to highlight racist acts in order to examine bystanders’
actions (or lack thereof). For this chapter, instructors could use these videos to discuss the ways in
which racism and prejudice become ingrained in our society, thus becoming practically invisible,
even when relatively overt. Class discussion could focus on what makes some people react more
strongly and what systems within society inhibit this reaction. Students could also discuss the
kinds of social policy responses that could prevent such discrimination.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWtiPcX-mZ0 (“shopping while Black”) and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=minEI8R8qFw (“racist Realtor”) and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru1F29vuVKI (Latino hate crime)
Diabetes, Race, and Poverty
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2006/01/16/diabetes-race-and-poverty
This excellent podcast from NPR’s On Point program could be used to discuss the intersection of
health, race, and poverty in the United States and how they are part of the explanation for the
persistence of health disparities. Instructors could require students to work through a discussion of
the challenges of dealing with policy in “silos” while people’s experiences of problems are much
more organic and dynamic than that. This activity can be connected to the food deserts and food
stamps activities in Section 2.
c. The Legacy of Moynihan
The Social Welfare Debate: The Moynihan Report (1965) to PRWORA (1996)
The Moynihan Report of 1965 had a profound impact on social policy and continues to affect
policy today. The Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996, signed by
President Clinton, shares much of the same language as the Moynihan Report though without
explicit reference to any racial group. The results have been to focus attention on the “failed
family” caused by absent fathers, resulting in children raised only by women. Ask students to
consider how Moynihan and PRWORA have influenced images of African-Americans, welfare
recipients, and black families. This activity can be connected to the one below, particularly to the
Healthy Marriage Initiative.
http://www.blackpast.org/primary/moynihan-report-1965 (Moynihan Report, complete text)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:H.R.3734.ENR: (PRWORA, complete text; read Title
I section 101–103)
Michigan Welfare Rights Union
http://www.mwro.org/about.htm
This state organization (part of the National Welfare Rights Union, but the national organization
has little web presence) provides a good model for strengths-based policy practice that includes
and honors the perspectives of those impacted directly by poverty. Students could work in small
groups to design or research similar efforts for other target populations, to discuss how the TANF
reforms are viewed differently by MWRO as compared to other institutions, or to develop
strategies to elevate MWRO’s views within the national anti-poverty discourse. How would
members of MWRO respond to the “Healthy Marriage Initiative”?
(http://archive.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage/). Students could be assigned to research whether any
similar organizations exist in their communities, or to work to organize such an effort in their
states. A similar organization with a fuller website is Community Voices Heard,
http://www.cvhaction.org/; this site also amplifies the voices of people in poverty and has a short
video on the faces of poverty as well.
d. Immigration, Exclusion, and Diversity Today
Pew Research Center’s Demography Studies
http://pewresearch.org/topics/demography/
The Pew Research Center has many publications related to demographic trends that can be
enlightening starting points for discussions about future trends—age patterns, marital
arrangements, shifts in diversity, and natural population increase, as well as immigration. Students
may also find some of the publications related to social trends, while perhaps less immediately
transformative, of interest depending upon their particular area of focus:
http://pewresearch.org/topics/socialtrends/
Chicano!
A four-part video series on the struggle for Mexican-American civil rights, described here:
http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html. Students may be particularly interested
in Part III, about the struggle for justice among Chicano high school students.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL4rQHKza9Y
National Council of La Raza
http://www.nclr.org
NCLR is the nation’s largest advocacy organization for Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. Its
website contains fact sheets about the Latino population, public policy priorities, information
about the Latino electorate, and other resources for learning more about the needs and concerns of
the diverse Latino population in the country.
Asian-American Justice Center
http://www.advancingequality.org/
The nation’s largest advocacy organization for Asian-American civil rights, this site contains links
for policy advocacy priorities on a variety of issues, as well as publications about the AsianAmerican community. Instructors may want to complement this policy information with a more
detailed history of Asian-Americans in the United States:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/asiantimeline1.html. Another organization dedicated to civil
rights for Asian-Americans is the Japanese American Citizens League, http://www.jacl.org/. The
site includes a public policy section; students may be interested to see the organization’s
statements on issues that they may not see as directly related to the Japanese-American
community, such as marriage equality. These statements could be used as launching points for a
larger discussion of building solidarity among marginalized populations.
Special Registration of Muslim and Arab Men
After September 11, 2001, the federal government created a program requiring Arab and Muslim
men to register themselves. The program has had ongoing effects, even after it was discontinued in
2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/nyregion/antiterrorism-registry-ends-but-its-effectsremain.html
http://www.soundvision.com/info/muslims/internment.asp (includes numerical data)
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/04/after_nine_years_of_pressure_dhs_finally_drops_its_sb10
70_for_muslims.html
Office of Public and Indian Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program_offices/public_indian_housing
In addition to information on policies, programs, and eligibility guidelines, this site also has
information for consumers, including how to avoid foreclosure and available help in housing
crises. Students can use these resources to learn more about the public housing system and
compare what they are learning about availability of housing assistance in their state with the
mission and vision espoused by HUD here.
SB1070: Immigration, Race, and Justice in Arizona
The consideration of SB1070 in the U.S. Supreme Court has significant implications for social
justice in the United States (particularly as the policy has been copied by other states), and this
issue also illustrates the connection between federal and state legislation and judicial
consideration. Students could be assigned to write a policy brief on one side of this issue, analyze
the bill through the lens of social work values or the strengths perspective, interview advocates in
their state about the effects of this debate on local policymaking, and/or talk with an immigrant or
person of color about his/her opinions of this law, particularly the provision allowing law
enforcement to stop people they suspect of being in the country without immigration
documentation. Instructors could even set up a simulation of a traffic stop, ask students to analyze
criteria that could be used to justify suspicion, and/or debate this legislation as a civil rights issue.
Some references to aid in this study include http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11182b5e1.pdf (text of the U.S. Supreme Court decision),
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2012/06/26/11738/video-what-thesupreme-courts-ruling-on-arizonas-immigration-law-means/ (video interpreting meaning of
Supreme Court ruling),
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2012/06/25/11785/the-top-5-reasonswhy-s-b-1070-damages-america/ (dangers of SB1070), http://www.ncsl.org/issuesresearch/immig/analysis-of-arizonas-immigration-law.aspx (NCSL analysis),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auXymvLK8GA (video of Chamber of Commerce objection).
Imagine 2050
http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/
Imagine 2050 is a blog and community committed to a future nation that embraces
multiculturalism and tolerance. The name comes from the fact that, by the year 2050, one out of
five Americans will be foreign-born. There will be no clear racial or ethnic majority. We will
become a nation of minorities. In light of these challenges, Imagine 2050 believes igniting candid
conversations around race, immigration, and environment will become increasingly necessary to
American democracy. Instructors could assign students to read and comment on some of the
articles featured here, to explore the implications of these changes for social policy, and/or to
reflect on what these changes mean for the profession of social work.
Visuals
America.gov Photo Gallery on the Civil Rights Movement
http://photos.state.gov/galleries/usinfo-photo/39/civil_rights_07/1.html
This site has 19 high-resolution photos of the struggle for African-American civil rights. Each
photograph has accompanying text that explains the event/person and its significance in the civil
rights movement.
The Atlantic Slave Trade and Life in the Americas: A Visual Record
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php
This gallery of images provides students with sketches, paintings, and other renderings of many
aspects related to the enslavement of Africans in the colonial period through Emancipation.
Students could write a response to the viewing of such images as diagrams of slave ships,
representations of physical punishments, or portraits of individual slaves.
African-American Mosaic
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html
This Library of Congress resource has information, photographs, and original documents related
to such topics as colonization, migration, abolition, and the Works Progress Administration.
Students may particularly appreciate photographs and the narratives of ex-slaves, both of which
make much of African-American history live. There are also recordings of the narratives of exslaves here: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/.
© Taylor & Francis 2015