This book examines the work of early-twentieth century charity organizations, in particular those in urban environments.
Mary E. Richmond was the author of “Friendly Visiting Among the Poor,” general secretary of the Philadelphia Society for Organizing Charity
The organization and methods of relief used after the earthquake and fire of April 18, 1906, compiled from studies by Charles J. O’Connor, Francis H. McLean, Helen Swett Artieda, James Marvin Motley, Jessica Peixotto, and Mary Roberts Coolidge, offering a book of ready reference for use on occasions of special emergency.
Proceedings of a conference on the prospective work of Carson College for Girls and Charles E. Ellis College, called by the Department of Child-Helping of the Russell Sage Foundation, held at Philadelphia, October 13–14, 1915, on invitation of the Trustees of Carson College and Ellis College.
Foreword by Hastings H. Hart, president of the conference.
President's address at the Fifty-Second Annual Congress of the American Prison Association, Detroit, Michigan, October 12, 1922.
HASTINGS H. HART was director of the Department of Child-Helping at the Russell Sage Foundation.
Winner of the 2020 Robert E. Park Award for Best Book from the Community and Urban Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association
Winner of the 2020 Distinguished Contribution to Research Award from the Latino/a Section of the American Sociological Association
Honorable Mention for the 2020 Thomas and Znaniecki Award from the International Migration Section of the American Sociological Association
“María Rendón’s longitudinal study of second-generation Mexicans in two poor Los Angeles neighborhoods is a tour de force. Featuring data from repeated intensive interviews with young Latino men and their immigrant parents, Stagnant Dreamers reveals how strong kin-based support and ties to community programs or organizations can mitigate the powerful effects of inner-city violence and social isolation. Rendón’s illuminating analysis is a must-read.”
—WILLIAM JULIUS WILSON, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
“In this powerful book María Rendón explores the transition to adulthood of young men whose parents immigrated from Mexico. Years of careful ethnographic work following them from their late teens until their early thirties demonstrates that they are fully American, and that the young men and their parents believe in the American dream, work hard, and strive for upward mobility. Combining perspectives from immigration and urban studies, Stagnant Dreamers shows how these hopes and dreams are sometimes realized and sometimes dashed, but most often show slow and limited progress. These young adults overcome violent neighborhoods and inadequate schools to build a life for themselves and their children. The reader comes away with a deep understanding of the realities of growing up in a poor immigrant community, understanding better the choices the young men make and the consequences they face. This beautifully written, deeply empathetic book should be required reading for experts and students alike.”
—MARY C. WATERS, John Loeb Professor of Sociology, Harvard University
A quarter of young adults in the U.S. today are the children of immigrants, and Latinos are the largest minority group. In Stagnant Dreamers, sociologist and social policy expert María Rendón follows 42 young men from two high-poverty Los Angeles neighborhoods as they transition into adulthood. Based on in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations with them and their immigrant parents, Stagnant Dreamers describes the challenges they face coming of age in the inner city and accessing higher education and good jobs and demonstrates how family-based social ties and community institutions can serve as buffers against neighborhood violence, chronic poverty, incarceration, and other negative outcomes.
Neighborhoods in East and South Central Los Angeles were sites of acute gang violence that peaked in the 1990s, shattering any romantic notions of American life held by the immigrant parents. Yet, Rendón finds that their children are generally optimistic about their life chances and determined to make good on their parents’ sacrifices. Most are strongly oriented towards work. But despite high rates of employment, most earn modest wages and rely on kinship networks for labor market connections. Those who made social connections outside of their family and neighborhood contexts more often found higher quality jobs. However, a middle-class lifestyle remains elusive for most, even for college graduates.
Rendón debunks fears of downward assimilation among second generation Latinos, noting that most of her subjects were employed and many had gone on to college. She questions the ability of institutions of higher education to fully integrate low-income students of color. She shares the story of one Ivy League college graduate who finds himself working in the same low-wage jobs as his parents and peers who did not attend college. Ironically, students who leave their neighborhoods to pursue higher education are often the most exposed to racism, discrimination, and classism.
Rendón demonstrates the importance of social supports in helping second-generation immigrant youth succeed. To further the integration of second-generation Latinos, she suggests investing in community organizations, combatting criminalization of Latino youth, and fully integrating them into higher education institutions. Stagnant Dreamers presents a realistic yet hopeful account of how the Latino second generation is attempting to realize its vision of the American dream.
MARÍA G. RENDÓN is assistant professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine.
Economists Jeffrey Zabel, Keren Mertens Horn, and Henry Pollakowski will examine worker adaptation to changing labor market conditions, following a nationally-representative sample of several million workers who experienced involuntary layoffs. The data come from three confidential sources, which can be merged: (1) the Census’ Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) data, (2) IRS-based data on sole proprietors, and (3) the confidential files from the 2000 Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS).
In October 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that would discourage low-income immigrant families’ and individuals’ from accessing public safety net benefits to which they are entitled.
While immigration hearings are civil proceedings, they are commonly misunderstood as criminal. As a result, immigrants and asylees face harsh sanctions, such as detention, but are not entitled to an attorney if they cannot afford one. Nonprofit organizations attempt to help low-income immigrants but struggle with scarce resources. This raises the question: Does legal assistance to immigrants make a difference in the outcomes of their hearings?
The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program is HUD’s largest low-income housing subsidy program, aiding 2.2 million households. It provides subsidies for renting units on the private market, with the goal of improving access to stable, affordable housing and neighborhoods that have greater opportunities for upward mobility. However, the program too often fails to provide recipients with meaningful choices in housing and neighborhoods, and many recipients cannot find a landlord who will accept their vouchers.
The transition to adulthood between the ages of 18 and 25 is a critical stage for acquiring human capital and setting one’s economic trajectory. Reaching the milestones for a successful transition to adulthood—obtaining stable employment, completing education, and establishing financial independence—has been more elusive for recent birth cohorts, particularly for young adults of color. Public policy expert Christina Gibson-Davis notes that racial and ethnic disparities in parental wealth are an understudied source of inequality in young adulthood outcomes.
