‘Abandoned By Everyone Else’: Intergenerational Poverty and Black Political Engagement

African American families are more likely than other racial groups to transmit poverty over generations. At the same time, under-resourced African Americans participate in politics at higher rates than their White counterparts and, at times, middle-class African Americans. Political scientist Christina Slaughter will explore how persistent poverty shapes African Americans’ political engagement, including their perceptions of government effectiveness in redressing racial inequality. She will create an original database, conduct interviews, and analyze data from the National Voter File and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for her study.