Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
I didn't want to be isolated in that way. This time around I have friends. I am
totally honest with them. Friends here [in Brookline]. I have friends all around.
But my daughter's friends' parents' I am honest with and have intimate relation-
shipswith.Iexpressmyrealfeelingsaboutthings.Idrawthemclosertome,into
myinnercircle.Icanseethat[myclassstatusandangst]didn'tgetmeanywhere
in terms of my primary goal which is to have my daughter to be happy and not
feel ostracized and for me to be happier too because I don't want that chip on
my shoulder toward people that are my neighbors. It's not helpful for trying to
belong here [Brookline].
In order to facilitate her daughter's access to social capital and upward mobility, Joy
neededtointegrateherselfintheprivilegedcommunityandsocialnetworksavailable to
her.AlthoughJoydidnotfullyconcealherwelfarerecipientorSection8housingstatus,
she utilized the forms of capital available to her, her educational and ethnic capital to
gain access to social capital for herself and her child. As a result, her daughter's peer
network includes children of wealth who frequently offer to take her on paid trips and
cultural excursions.
Conclusion
Historically access to welfare aid programs has been restricted and not democratically
distributedtoallsocialandracializedgroups(Abramovitz1988;Gordon1998;Neubeck
and Cazenave 2001; Ward 2005). The demographic statistics on Section 8 housing
voucher recipients, in particular, reveal that those who qualify for whiteness are more
likely to have access to these resources than those who do not. This may in part be due
to one of the main eligibility requirements for the program: individuals who have a re-
cent history of illegal drug use, alcohol abuse, or violent criminal behavior are deemed
ineligible. Scholars have been quick to note that poor blacks and selected Latino groups
(Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans) are disproportionately incarcerated in the United
States, especially for drug related offenses (Davis 2003; Pattillo et al. 2006 ; Alex-
ander 2012). As such, in Massachusetts and in the city of Boston, whites are more
likely to gain access to Section 8 housing vouchers than nonwhites. This key resource
provides an opportunity for spatial and social mobility to predominantly poor whites,
whichalready benefit fromaracially segregated housingmarket byvirtue oftheir racial
privilege. Rather than residing in one of Boston's low-income, predominantly black or
Latino neighborhoods, impoverished whites are given the opportunity to relocate to one
of Greater Boston's many working-class or middle-class white communities, accessing
all of the social, cultural, and material benefits of that particular community.
