United by Income, Divided by Race America has been described as a “melting pot”-- a land full of diversity. With that diversity comes a full range of income levels and statuses of its inhabitants, from the very, very rich to the destitute. Ronald Taylor’s article entitled “African-American Youth: Their Social and Economic Status in the United States” focuses on the issue of polarization. Polarization occurs when an increase of the percentage of people in poverty coincides with an increase of the percentage of people with higher incomes. Fewer people are considered ‘middle class’, but are either rich or poor. This paper will focus on the poverty-stricken youth of America. How are today’s poor white and poor non-white youth alike? How do they differ? Sociologists and researchers have found evidence to justify both, and I hope to focus on major points for both issues.Whether you’re white, African-American, or Hispanic, poverty for today’s youth has many recurring themes. A recent article by Duncan and Brooks for The Education Digest points out some very discerning facts that face today’s poor youth. “Low Income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence.” (Duncan& Brooks, pg. 1). They also claim that low-income preschoolers show poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are exposed to fewer toys, books, and other brain-stimulating items at home than their higher-income classmates. Low-income adolescents, in later years, will experience conflict between their economically stressed parents, as well as lower self-esteem than other teenaged children.An article from the Ojibwe News, a Native American Magazine, gives a startling statistic discovered by research analysts for the Minnesota P...
