The Hero's Fight

African Americans in West Baltimore and the Shadow of the State

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Social Policy, Social Science, Sociology, Urban
Cover of the book The Hero's Fight by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly ISBN: 9781400883561
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: August 23, 2016
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
ISBN: 9781400883561
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: August 23, 2016
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Baltimore was once a vibrant manufacturing town, but today, with factory closings and steady job loss since the 1970s, it is home to some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. The Hero's Fight provides an intimate look at the effects of deindustrialization on the lives of Baltimore’s urban poor, and sheds critical light on the unintended consequences of welfare policy on our most vulnerable communities.

Drawing on her own uniquely immersive brand of fieldwork, conducted over the course of a decade in the neighborhoods of West Baltimore, Patricia Fernández-Kelly tells the stories of people like D. B. Wilson, Big Floyd, Towanda, and others whom the American welfare state treats with a mixture of contempt and pity—what Fernández-Kelly calls "ambivalent benevolence." She shows how growing up poor in the richest nation in the world involves daily interactions with agents of the state, an experience that differs significantly from that of more affluent populations. While ordinary Americans are treated as citizens and consumers, deprived and racially segregated populations are seen as objects of surveillance, containment, and punishment. Fernández-Kelly provides new insights into such topics as globalization and its effects on industrial decline and employment, the changing meanings of masculinity and femininity among the poor, social and cultural capital in poor neighborhoods, and the unique roles played by religion and entrepreneurship in destitute communities.

Blending compelling portraits with in-depth scholarly analysis, The Hero’s Fight explores how the welfare state contributes to the perpetuation of urban poverty in America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Baltimore was once a vibrant manufacturing town, but today, with factory closings and steady job loss since the 1970s, it is home to some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. The Hero's Fight provides an intimate look at the effects of deindustrialization on the lives of Baltimore’s urban poor, and sheds critical light on the unintended consequences of welfare policy on our most vulnerable communities.

Drawing on her own uniquely immersive brand of fieldwork, conducted over the course of a decade in the neighborhoods of West Baltimore, Patricia Fernández-Kelly tells the stories of people like D. B. Wilson, Big Floyd, Towanda, and others whom the American welfare state treats with a mixture of contempt and pity—what Fernández-Kelly calls "ambivalent benevolence." She shows how growing up poor in the richest nation in the world involves daily interactions with agents of the state, an experience that differs significantly from that of more affluent populations. While ordinary Americans are treated as citizens and consumers, deprived and racially segregated populations are seen as objects of surveillance, containment, and punishment. Fernández-Kelly provides new insights into such topics as globalization and its effects on industrial decline and employment, the changing meanings of masculinity and femininity among the poor, social and cultural capital in poor neighborhoods, and the unique roles played by religion and entrepreneurship in destitute communities.

Blending compelling portraits with in-depth scholarly analysis, The Hero’s Fight explores how the welfare state contributes to the perpetuation of urban poverty in America.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Welfare and the Constitution by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Bovids of the World by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Creating Symmetry by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Genetics in the Madhouse by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book How Ancient Europeans Saw the World by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Philosophical Logic by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Economics in Two Lessons by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book The Ethics of Identity by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Free Time by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Blind Spots by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Strong Borders, Secure Nation by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Change They Can't Believe In by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Winnebagos on Wednesdays by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011 by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
Cover of the book Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Patricia Fernández-Kelly
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy