May

30

State Rankings: Low Income and Poor Children

Filed Under Class Classism and Economic Inequality, Family Issues, Original Essays and Analysis, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

The National Center for Children in Poverty has released a brief on how state policies affect low income children and children living in poverty. You can link to the entire report here.? Here are the states with the highest and lowest percentages of children who are poor or low income.

10 States With the Highest % Low Income Children (low income is defined as income at or below 200% of the poverty level; this would be under $40,000 for a family of 4 in 2006)

    1. New? Mexico 58%?
    2. Arizona 55%
    3. Mississippi 55%?
    4. Montana 55%?
    5. Louisiana 53%
    6. Texas 53%
    7. West Virginia 50%
    8. Oklahoma 49%
    9. Arkansas 49%
    10. Kentucky 48% (tie)
    11. Washington, DC 48% (tie)

10 States With the Highest % Children in Poverty (poverty would be below $20,000 for a family of 4 in 2006)

    1. Washington, DC 30%
    2. Alabama 29%
    3. Louisiana 29%
    4. New Mexico 28%
    5. Arkansas 26%
    6. Mississippi 26%
    7. Texas 26%
    8. Arizona 25%?
    9. Montana 24%
    10. Kentucky 24%

10 States With the Lowest % of Low Income Children

    1. New Hampshire 21%?
    2. Minnesota 26%?
    3. Massachusetts 27%
    4. Connecticut 28%
    5. New Jersey 29%
    6. Hawaii 32%
    7. Maryland 32%
    8. Colorado 35%
    9. Delaware 35%
    10. Virginia 35%

10 States With the Lowest % of Children in Poverty

    1. New Hampshire 8%
    2. Minnesota 10%
    3. Massachusetts 12%
    4. Hawaii 12%
    5. Alaska 13%
    6. Colorado 13%
    7. Maryland 13%
    8. Nevada 14%
    9. Vermont 14%
    10. Connecticut 14%

There are is a correlation between the level of poverty among children and the percentage of the population in each state that is Non-Hispanic White.? I calculated the correlation between the number of low income children and the % of the population that is Non-Hispanic White.? The correlation is r=-.242.? Which basically means that there is a negative association between the percent white and the number of low income families, or plainly put–the number of low income families increases as the percentage of the Non-Hispanic white population decreases.

May

29

The Problem With Classical Music or What is Wrong With Our Middle Aged White Male Population?

Filed Under Media Praises and Critiques, Pop Culture, Uncategorized | 18 Comments

Admin’s Note: This is for all of those people who? like to blame hip hop for everything.?

We have a problem in this country–classical music is corrupting our? middle aged white male population.? It has really gotten out of hand when you have? middle aged white men? fighting each? other to hear this music.? ? Egged on by the violent melodies of the Boston pops,? two? angry white men disrupted the performance with a violent altercation.? The fight was so bad that one man had his shirt ripped off, and women? were screaming with fear.

Any music that could drive people to such violence, must be regulated.? These conductors and muscians are bad role models for the middle aged white men in this country.?

You can check out this shocking video, which shows how our middle aged white men are reacting to classical music.

You decided.? Classical music–has it become to violent?

May

24

No They Didn’t…American Idol Racism

Filed Under American Idol, Black/African American Issues, International Racism, Race and Racism, Uncategorized | 53 Comments

Update: I posted this yesterday, but now I’ve got pictures.? So I’m watching the American Idol finale, and I generally like the show (blogged about it last year each week), but they just had the worst performance most stereotypical costumes.? They had an group called the African Children’s Choir, and they dressed the kids in costumes that looked like animal skins with leopard print head bands.? (I think they were barefoot, too, but I’ll have to double check.)?

They should have let the kids wear what they would normally wear, but instead they decided to sell? the colonial fantasy of Africans being “animal like natives.”? ? I have never met an African from any country who dressed like that.

The kids were really good singers; I am not one to put them down at all.? ? However, the fool? who decided that the African kids should be dressed like “natives” needs to have their butt fired.

If anyone can help me find a picture, I need to post it, so you can see the stupidity.? Hopefully, there will be pictures I can find tomorrow.

s-choir.jpg

First, we have how the kids normally dress.? Found it on line.

s-choir-american-idol.jpg

Then we have how they were dresses on American Idol.

May

24

Social Class, Food Service, and Schools

Filed Under Class Classism and Economic Inequality, Education and Academia, Family Issues, Original Essays and Analysis, Sociology, Uncategorized | 12 Comments

For some reason this post at Women of Color Blog and this post at the way here reminded me of my childhood, and the social class dynamics of growing up poor.? In her post on Women of Color blog BFP mentions working at McDonalds, which reminded me of my own food service experiences.? I worked in fast food, but my first actual food service experience was in elementary school.? This is where Monica’s post fits in.? Somehow in a very long comment thread the subject turned to government cheese (or in Rosyln’s words “gubmint cheese”), which they served in the cafeteria at my elementary school.*? How do I know what was served in the cafeteria at my school?? Well, like all of the other kids in the 5th and 6th grade, I worked in the cafeteria.? I can imagine the middle class mostly white suburban? readers gasping now because no “respectable” middle class school would ever make their students work in the cafeteria, but my school did.?

Here’s how it worked.? There were a total of? two 5th grade and? two 6th grade classes.? Each week one of those classes had cafeteria duty, and most of the students in the class would go down to the cafeteria around 10:30 and start helping the janitors and cafeteria workers serve lunch to the students.? There were different jobs, which were gendered and assigned base on skills.? The most prestigious job was selling ice cream since it involved actually having to count money, and the teacher picked the smartest kids.? It was also cooler out in that part of the cafeteria, and only people who had an extra 30 cents to spend on lunch could buy ice cream, so there wasn’t any deluge? of kids running to the counter.? The rest of the student workers were in three groups, which were assigned by the cooks and janitors.? You had the lunch servers, who put food on trays.? This was mostly girls with a? few boys mixed in, and it? was the moderate prestige position.? Then, there were the lowest prestige positions: dish washers, (mostly girls), and tray dumpers, (mostly boys).? The tray dumpers had to empty the trays after the students were done eating, and take out garbage.? Oh and I almost forget, that there was a person who had to wash tables, which I believe was one of those mid-level prestige jobs.? Lunch generally ended around noon, and we had recess around that time period.?

The students were paid for their work in free meals, and of course this work was also considered valuable job training because it taught us about hard work and responsibility.? Moreover, in a low income school, this was one more way to save money.? I don’t know that they could afford to hire that many people to work at the school? because the local tax base was very low.? The school also saved money by getting government subsidized food, such as government cheese. (Which in my opinion was pretty good, but that’s for another debate.)

I suspect lunch was very different than it would be in a middle class school for other reasons as well.?

The majority of the kids in? my school were eligible for free lunches, and very few kids packed? their lunches.? How do I know this?? Because? we had to line up for lunch based on how we were paying–free lunch kids went first, then reduced lunch ($.45), and full price lunch was last ($.75).? ? Most of the kids lined up for free lunch.? I also remember when my mother finally got a full time job teaching special education at the school because I got to move to the back of the lunch line with Jason and Aaron, who were the “wealthier” kids in my class.? My Dad said we were probably still eligible for the reduced price lunch, but my mother’s pride was not going to allow her to have her kids on reduced lunch while she was teaching in the school. I also knew many of our kids were eligible for free lunch because I looked? at? data when I was in high school and we were campaigning for a? school levy.? All of the people campaigning were given a sheet of paper that had data? comparing? our school to other schools in the state of Ohio based on? test scores, per pupil spending,? teacher pay, and other relevant socio-economic indicators.? As I looked through the sheet all of the numbers were very low, mostly in the bottom 20% or bottom 5%.? Finally, I got to the end of the chart, and I? leaned over to my mother and said,

“Hey mom we’re really? high in this one.? What does AFDC mean?”? My mom replied,

“That’s welfare.”

We both started laughing because it was the only figure where? the school was actually in the top 5%. (I don’t think they had teen pregnancy or drop out rates because we would have been in the top on those, too.)? ?

In junior and high school things were a little different.? The kids still served lunches, but it was only the kids in special education who worked in the cafeteria, and they did so almost every day.? Those of us who were not in special education were weeded out of food service, and we spent our time in the classroom.

I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on social class over the last 5 or 6 years, especially as it relates to education.? I know my own children are not going to grow up like me, and I have mixed feelings about that.? As much as I know that many middle income people would find it offensive to have their kids work in the school cafeteria for free food, I have more mixed feelings.? Poor kids and working class kids seem to grow up quicker, and they are not coddled in the ways that middle and upper income kids are.? I suppose many people are going to say having kids serve in the cafeteria is child labor.? I guess it is, but I’m more ambivalent about it.? I’ve been doing this type of labor since the 5th grade. I stuffed envelopes for my dad in high school, and I worked as a Whopper flopper at Burger King.? I think work is valuable, and I think we shouldn’t shame people because their jobs are low paying or low prestige, but the other side of me knows that we are really funneling kids into the occupations that we expect for their social class.? Middle class kids don’t have to grow-up? as fast, in part because they will be starting their labor force participation later and because their parents know their incomes are going to be directly linked to having a higher level and better quality education.

I know I’m the exception.? I’m the person who grew up in the very poor environment and “made it out”? thanks to my mother’s college degree, my smarts, my determination, help from others, and lucky breaks (I’ve written a little about this before.).? There is a huge part of me that feels happy that I had the experience of being poor, of? having an outhouse, and of having to working in the school cafeteria, but that is largely because that was temporary for me.? ? For a long time I didn’t regret these things because I didn’t really know exactly how middle class people really lived.? Of course, I knew that they had wealthier schools (and indoor plumbing) and more opportunities, but I couldn’t clarify what exactly those were.? I guess the one advantage I have at this point is that I am fairly able to go back and forth across class divides–I know about government cheese and I know what feta cheese is too. ? I wouldn’t be able to do this had I not grown up poor, and I wouldn’t have know how hard working and determined poor people are.? I also wouldn’t recognize that advantages and privileges of my current class position, and I would treat them more as a given.

*I also remember my dad going down to the fire station and getting some government cheese to eat at home.? I would suspect that many people who have been poor and are over the age of 30 are familiar with government cheese, but if you are not, go check out the link.

May

24

Bunch-O-Links 5/25/07 (Also Open Thread)

Filed Under Bunch-O-Links, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

1. Chris Clarke has a Koufax worthy post about capitalism, gender, environmentalism,? and? quality of life movements over at Pandagon.?

2. Blue has an update on the Ashley X case.? Looks like someone may have violated the law. (Did I already put this up?)

3. Personal stories about abortion decisions.? Must reads for people who want to understand the abortion debate:

4. A critique of America’s Next Top Model (that is surprisingly not from Carmen Van Kerkhove ).

5. Monica has a post up about the divide between “women of color and women of no color.”? She’s relating it to her experiences in the romance writing field, but I also could resist linking to a post that ends up in a discussion of “gubmint cheese.”

May

23

Choosing Your Battles (and Trolls)

Filed Under Original Essays and Analysis, Race and Racism, Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Update: T-Rex of? firedoglake says the troll isn’t him.

Since I have a wicked case of writer’s block, I’ve been slow to post lately.? Yolanda tagged me with a meme, and I’ve been trying to think of how to answer it; hopefully, I’ll come up with something soon.? I need to work on breaking my writers block, but I was able to come up with this gem.

In the meantime, I figured I would put up a couple comments from a lovely troll who goes by the name T-Rex.? (I have no idea if this is the T-Rex of FireDogLake infamy.? If you don’t know the story I’m referencing, check here and here.)? He first came by with this comment:

Just a question. This is way off topic but How does a person of one race, in your case white, develop this love affair or obsession with the culture of another race? It seems very odd to me. Now I can see becoming interested in another culture for reasons such as it is interesting, rich in tradition, you can learn something. But you seem to more interested in feeling sorry for them or try to be some kind of Joan of Arc for them. Do black people really appreciate that? To me it seems a little insulting. I work with people and am friends with people of several different races and nationalities but I would not dare start a website assuming they were abused and down-trodden and I was going to help them overcome something. They say mind your own business I am no more downtrodden than you asshole. At least I think they would. You can do what you want to but its odd.

I keep getting variations of these comments over and over again.? They think I’m on a mission to save poor black people, and I think black people can’t help themselves, blah, blah, blah.? Then, I get the “black people don’t need you or appreciate you” statement.?

I think there is an important underlying meaning to these kinds of comments (and I get a? few each month)–stay in your place.? Don’t challenge racism because black people aren’t discriminated against and they won’t appreciate all of the “great things that well meaning white people do.”?

See when a white person challenges racism, they frequently get comments like this, mostly from whites, and occasionally people of color.? The whole point of this is to isolate white people who challenge racism, making them feel like nobody is going to support them.? However, this message is not just for “race traitors” like me; it is a message to all other whites who are even thinking about challenging racism.? It’s peer pressure, and I plays a really big role in keeping “well meaning white people” from doing anything about racism.?

The sad thing is that it is hard for whites to be consistently anti-racist because there is a great deal of isolation.? I personally have felt this way at times.? There have been times and places when I felt that most of the whites around me were like T-Rex, and there have been other times when I felt most of the people of color around me didn’t trust me.? I think this was especially difficult for me in college.? I struggled with the feeling of being caught.? I couldn’t go along with many whites who I thought would not? accept me because of my black friends and my racial politics, and I was experiencing rejection from some of my black peers because my politics seemed suspicious.? I realized at some point in time that it is really it? was not? a good idea for me? to look for “groups” to accept or embrace me.? Instead, I searched for like minded individuals or at least people who were open minded.?

Once I did this my life became much easier, and my commitment to ending racism started to flourish.? Truthfully, I’ve always been a little bit out of sync with folks around me–I grew up in a hippie family in a redneck town, so I didn’t quite fit in.? My anti-racist beliefs were just one more way that I didn’t fit in with the white people around me.? I haven’t found the same rejection from people of color, but there have been the occasional people who didn’t like me or trust me.? Somewhere along the way I’ve learned to size people up, and cut down on my own stereotyping.? I try to treat people as individuals.? I think I approach people more suspiciously than I did before, and I have learned to choose my battles and conserve my energy for what and who I really want to battle.

Choosing your friends and your battles is a problem that many anti-racists face.? Obviously, my man T-Rex is not my friend in the battle against racism, but one of the lessons I learned a long time ago was I don’t have to engage people like him.? That’s part of the advice I would give other white anti-racists–you do not have to defend your beliefs when you don’t want to.? Save your energy for bigger battles.? Don’t waste your time seeking acceptance from your racial peers, and don’t expect to have an easy time finding allies.? In fact, if people really choose to fight racism, there will be some lonely times.? We can’t let the T-Rex’s of the world get us down.

And, as you can see I never really answered his question.

May

22

The 12th Erase Racism Carnival is Up!!

Filed Under Race and Racism, Racism Round-Up, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

The Erase Racism Carnival is up at The Angry Black Woman. Go check it out!

May

20

Serious Question for everyone…..about blogs

Filed Under Blogs Blogging Blogthropology, Serious Questions, Uncategorized | 37 Comments

There is a good discussion going on over at Feministe about racism and feminism.? In the comments, a? person called mk, asked if there were feminist group blogs that bridged the gap between between white feminists and women of color feminists.? Personally, I don’t know of any sites like that.?

But what I am curious about, is what sites y’all think are truly multicultural/multiracial sites?? By multicultural I mean sites that appeal to a broad range of racial and/or ethnic groups.? I’m just curious what sites if any you think fit the multicultural/multiracial model?? What sites do you think do a good job of bridging racial gaps?? (And of course, why do you think each site does a good job?)

May

19

Comment Problems??

Filed Under Blogs Blogging Blogthropology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I noticed a few regular commenters are having problems getting through.? Some comments were trapped in the spam filter.? I had to sift through 2500 comments to get them out, but hopefully I got all of them.? If you posted a comment (and you are not a racist troll) that didn’t come through, it was probably caught in the spam filter.

I think this problem occurs when people hit submit twice in quick sucession, but that is just a theory.

I also have to figure out what to do for Safari users who apparently see my site as one giant link–I still haven’t figured out the problem, as I am only semi-literate in when it comes to browser compatibility issues.

May

17

Black Kid Suspended for Having Short Haircut

Filed Under Class Classism and Economic Inequality, Education and Academia, Race and Racism, Uncategorized | 32 Comments

fade-haircut.jpg

This is utterly ridiculous.? Pam put this up on Pandagon.? The picture seems to be taken in mid-cut, so I’m thinking the kid either had a closely cropped fade or maybe his mother gave him a baldie, either way under this criteria most of the black men I know would have been suspended from school at one point or another.? And how much do you wanna bet that braids and afros are considered disruptive too?

What’s wrong with these schools?? Rather then trying to educate kids, they are worried about giving 85,000 standardized tests, having see through backpacks, and not letting students publish journalistic articles on racism.? This is exactly why I hated high school, they worried about the most ignorant things.? At my high school, males could not wear sweat pants because they were “too provocative.”?

This problem is even worse in low income white schools and predominantly minority schools, regardless of class.? At times, they try to act more like the police force rather than educators.? In fact, someone needs to do a study.? I’d venture to say that middle and upper income predominantly white schools have the most lenient dress codes.

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