Social Mobility

The financial crisis and recession of 2008 resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, stifling upward social mobility; the movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society’s stratification system to another, for millions of American citizens. The loss of millions of jobs, industrial jobs going overseas, the expansion of low-paying service occupations, and the loss of a stable home, have all led to millions of lower class and lower-middle class income families struggling to keep the jobs that they have or to find a job that pays more or has a higher prestige ranking. The lack of these better jobs has led to increased downward vertical mobility; the movement of an individual from one social position to another of a different rank,
First, nearly 58 percent of the population of disadvantaged neighborhoods are Blacks and Hispanics. These neighborhoods have limited education opportunities, grater crime and health risks, reduced access to private investment, and higher costs for goods and services (Schaefer 2015). The median wealth of White households is 18 times that of Latino households and 20 times the median wealth of Black households. Blacks and Latinos are more likely than Whites to be persistently poor and are less likely to leave the welfare rolls as a result of welfare reform (Schaefer 2015). Second, due to the social class system being more rigid for African Americans than Whites, black men with good jobs are less likely to see their children achieve the same status (Schaefer 2015), meaning Blacks are more likely than Whites to experience downward intergenerational mobility; a change of social position of children related to their
Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority. Immediately stereotyping an individual on the basis of such characteristics as race, ethnicity, or religion, is a form of prejudice. Prejudice tends to perpetuate false definitions of individuals and groups. Based on the tendency to assume one’s own culture is superior to all others, or ethnocentrism. Prejudice often leads to discrimination, the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. Racism reinforces prejudice. Racism is the belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. When racism prevails in a society, members of subordinate groups generally experience prejudice, discrimination, and exploitation (Schaefer