Poverty In Mellissa Fay Greene's 'Praying For Sheetrock'

Mellissa Fay Greene’s book Praying for Sheetrock is a story of poverty. In the book, Black residents of McIntosh County, like today’s society, lived in poverty. Their communities were very bad and their homes were inhabitable. As for the whites, poverty was not an issue. Their communities were opposite, and their troubles were far from what the blacks had to face. So why do people associate black people with the word, “poverty”? Society associates black people with the word “poverty” because stereotypically speaking, they are more often than not unsuccessful compared to white people due to their low income, high death rates, and impaired communities.
Inequality is a very controversial topic, especially nowadays because our society is wrapped

In harsher words, poor. As Emily Badger reports in the Washington Post, "The poverty that poor African-Americans experience is often different from the poverty of poor whites." Inequality is still an issue in today’s society much as it was a long time ago. Poverty exists, and it does in black communities more than white communities. Badger states the differences between black is, “It’s more isolating and concentrated. It extends out the door of a family’s home and occupies the entire neighborhood around it, touching the streets, the schools, the grocery stores”. It is common that people associate African Americans with the word “poverty” because of the neighborhoods and communities that they grow up in or are surrounded by. In addition to that, Badger also facts that, “A poor black family, in short, is much more likely than a poor white one to live in a neighborhood where many other families are poor, too, creating what sociologists call the “double burden” of poverty”. There is a huge disparity percentage of blacks and whites living in concentrated poverty. According to the Century

Whether it’s a crime issue or health issue. Poor black communities often struggle with higher crime rates, fewer grocery stores, a higher proportion of liquor stores and less green space such as parks. Amani Nuru-Jeter, associate professor at University of California Berkeley, states that “In terms of opportunity to lead to the healthy life, the environment doesn’t support that”. In general, the African American population in the U.S. has poorer health. Nuru-Jeter also stated the following, “When we did the statistical analysis, the databases showed us that for one-unit increase in income inequality ... [there] were 400 to 500 fewer deaths among whites and 27 to 37 [more deaths] among African Americans”. In conclusion, living in poverty can lead to more deaths for black Americans as opposed to white Americans. In addition, the environment of poverty is dangerous. Children navigate unpleasant streets to go to underprivileged schools. There is a high risk of gun use and drug abuse. As a result, crime rates rise which typically leads to higher death rates. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder and president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition makes a strong statement saying, “Poor African Americans are penned up, in poor neighborhoods and too often literally in jails and prisons. This is an imposition, not a fate, a policy choice that is morally indefensible and socially