The United States continues to evolve as a divided collection of states, divided by class and race. Despite public policy, legislation and even social unrest, the cycle continues to roll over those disenfranchised populations. This essay is a reflection of the Los Angeles poverty trap, yet applicable to the perpetual poverty faces by blacks and…

The 1980 United States Census showed a marked acceleration in the suburbanization of blacks during the 1970s. This study analyzes statistical data from the 1985 American Housing Survey (AHS) National and Metropolitan Files to determine if that pattern of acceleration continued in the 1980s. These sets of data also permitted racial and…

The movement of middle-class residents, especially blacks, out of inner-city neighborhoods has been hypothesized to contribute to the decay of the inner city and the growth of an underclass by increasing social isolation and depriving youth of role models. This study examines changes in patterns of racial and class segregation in the residential…

In eight urbanized areas Hispanic groups were highly segregated from Blacks, less from non-Hispanic Whites (an exception being northeastern Puerto Ricans, less segregated from Blacks than from Whites); less concentrated within central cities than Blacks; and with much segregation among themselves (significantly related to socioeconomic and…

This study examined low birth weight and infant mortality in the 50 states and the 54 largest American cities between 1979 and 1984. Its findings confirm that progress in reducing low birth weight and infant mortality has slowed, and in some cases the progress has actually reversed. Some states and many cities had higher rates of low birth weight…