(b.) In the assigned article, Being Poor. Black, and American o W. J. Wilson discusses the “emergence and persistence of concentrated urban poverty” that disproportionately affects African
Americans in the inner city. Similar to cultural explanations for poverty that blame the victim, e.g. poor work ethic, paucity of values, lack of motivation, discussions of the conditions in urban
ghettos tend also to blame its residents for the problems these neighborhoods face.
Wilson offers a structural explanation for the conditions of the inner city poor. Specifically he considers political, economic, and cultural forces that have contributed to the formation and
continued existence of concentrated inner city poverty.
For this discussion, give one example of each of the contributing areas in Wilson’s article (political, economic, and cultural) that the author claims as relevant to understanding inner city
poverty. Make sure to discuss structural causes, not cultural ones (e.g. ones that essentially blame the victim).
