More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City

Loic Wacquant argues that structure and culture interact. Meaning making and decision making evolve over time (133). Residents of the ghetto develop strategies for managing chronic poverty and inequality, and they develop informal codes that regulate behavior. Deirdre Bloome argues that the interplay between cultural and structural forces shapes future cultural and structural forces (134). Going beyond cross-sectional analysis enables a more accurate picture of reality. However, despite the dynamic interrelationships of structure and culture, more weight should be given to structural contributors to black poverty.

Policymakers face two challenges. For one, institutional entrenchment reduces the chances of reform, in public school funding for example, as norms are defended by those who are privileged by them. The second challenge is the problem of garnering political support from Americans who consider cultural factors more significant than structural ones in explaining economic inequality. Proposals to address the problem should take account of the relationship between structural inequities and culture. Liberals often emphasize structural impacts, while conservatives emphasize cultural ones. Integration of the two could construct a more nuanced picture of social and economic outcomes for African Americans as well as provide more compelling arguments to policymakers.