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The Older Population In Massachusetts, 1980-1990, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

Massachusetts and the nation are aging! People 65 and older are growing in numbers more rapidly than other younger segments of the population, and the unprecedented growth of this group has created new demands on and new opportunities for every major sector of American life. But if we are to make constructive plans for an aging society, we must have sound information on the major changes in the make-up of the population.

This report shows how the older populations in Massachusetts and in the United States have changed in the decade between 1980 and 1990. It is designed to serve …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Growth And Geographical Distribution, Ralph Rivera

New England Journal of Public Policy

Massachusetts has undergone radical changes in its racial/ethnic composition in the last ten years. The Latino population, owing to its extraordinary growth rate during the last two decades, is the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the state. Yet relatively little is known about this population because of the "information gap." Based on 1990 census data, this article focuses on the growth and geographical distribution of Latinos in Massachusetts. It considers the undercount of Latinos, the growth of Latinos in the commonwealth from a national perspective, and assesses the increase of Latinos in the New England states. It explores the growth …

A Historic Moment: Black Voters And The 1992 Presidential Race, Clarence Lusane

Trotter Review

November 2, 1991, may well be remembered as a watershed date in the unique and quixotic 1992 presidential race. On that day, stating that he would "not seek the nomination for the Democratic Party," Jesse Jackson backed out of the presidential campaign spotlight and started a chain reaction that has put the black vote in perhaps its least influential position since before 1984.

Extremely low black voter turnout was one of the most significant trends of the 1992 primaries. In the Democratic contests, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton won an impressive percentage of black votes, about 70 percent. However, those votes …

A Moral Appeal To President George Bush, Jesse Jackson

Trotter Review

The following is the text of a letter written by Reverend Jesse Jackson to President George Bush dated May 1, 1991, as a plea for statehood for the District of Columbia, where 650,000 citizens are politically disenfranchised.

Vote Dilution Research: Methods Of Analysis, Sheila Ards, Marjorie Lewis

Trotter Review

Why have issues which disproportionately affect African Americans not been brought to the policy forefront and given attention properly so that effective solutions can be found? Because of their roles as controllers of the government's budget, politicians and other policy makers decide which problems will be addressed. It is important, therefore, that African Americans elect political candidates of their choice. In the past, African Americans largely were outside the arena of public policy setting. Thus, solutions to problems which disproportionately affected African Americans were not pursued.

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

This special issue of the Trotter Review is devoted to a broad range of topics related to race, power, and voting. Although voting is a critically important political tool for black America, the vote does not necessarily guarantee that a group will enjoy power in society. At the same time that we seek greater rates of voter registration and turnout at all levels of the electoral process, we must also continue to struggle towards an agenda that delivers power to the black community.

The issue opens with an explanation of why statehood for Washington, D.C., should be a key item …

Black Women And The American Political System, Dorothy A. Clark

Trotter Review

Black women and politics—it is an association rarely made by the American electorate. As a group, black women have never been prominent players in the nation's political arena. In a system of decision making and power holding designed and dominated by white men, black women are an alien group in the formal political process. Their participation in that process has been limited—indeed often blocked—by a hierarchical system of race, gender, and class oppression that relegates black women to the lowest rungs of the political power ladder.

Race And Presidential Politics '92: The Challenge To Go Another Way, May Louie

Trotter Review

At presidential election time in 1992, America is once again looking at limited political options for national leadership. The Republican party platform is its most conservative ever. The Democratic party ticket is dominated by southern Dixiecrats. And we who have marched and organized, and risked and sacrificed much for racial equality and political empowerment, must now match our sense of foreboding with our determination to meet the challenge before us. Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 nation-shaking, agenda-setting presidential campaigns took us to places we had never been before and gave us a glimpse at the possibility of racial and economic …

Ron Daniels: Profile Of A Presidential Candidate, Harold Horton

Trotter Review

The mass media has said very little about it, but Ron Daniels, an African American, is a presidential candidate. In 1988, Daniels was the southern regional coordinator and deputy campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's campaign. Daniels, a veteran social and political activist as well as former director of the National Rainbow Coalition, declared his candidacy for president at a news conference October 14, 1991.

From 1974 to 1980, Daniels served as president of the National Black Political Assembly and in 1980, he was the chairperson of the founding convention of the National Black Independent Political Party. Daniels was the convener …

Voting Policy And Voter Participation: The Legacy Of The 1980s, Alex Willingham

Trotter Review

It has been widely recognized, at least since the Selma march during the civil rights movement, that the interests of black citizens and other minorities are directly connected to their capacity to participate in the political process and to public policies that protect that option. The clear message of the Selma demonstration was that, for a people constrained by a broad range of oppressive racist structures, voting is a basic resource for protecting all other rights. Further, it was clear that those who control power will restrict access to the ballot as their main line of defense.

A. Philip Randolph And Boston's African-American Railroad Worker, James R. Green, Robert C. Hayden

Trotter Review

On October 8, 1988, a group of retired Pullman car porters and dining car waiters gathered in Boston's Back Bay Station for the unveiling of a larger-than-life statue of A. Philip Randolph. During the 1920s and 1930s, Randolph was a pioneering black labor leader who led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He came to be considered the "father of the modern civil rights movement" as a result of his efforts to desegregate World War II defense jobs and the military services. Randolph's importance as a militant leader is highlighted by a quote inscribed on the base of the statue …

The Kindred Bonds Of Mentally Ill Homeless Persons, Richard C. Tessler, Gail M. Gamache, Peter H. Rossi, Anthony F. Lehman, Howard H. Goldman

New England Journal of Public Policy

While the unraveling of the kinship bond has long been suspected to play a role in the epidemiology of homelessness, the connection between kinship and homelessness has been little studied. Based on a normative analysis of the role of family structure in response to adversity, this article explores the impact of the amount and quality of kinship ties on episodes of homelessness experienced by discharged psychiatric patients in Ohio. Survey data derived from personal interviews with both former patients and their kin indicate more strain in relations with kin of the homeless than the nonhomeless. The strain in the kinship …

Policy Shifts In The Massachusetts Response To Family Homelessness, Margaret A. Leonard, Stacy Randell

New England Journal of Public Policy

Massachusetts's response to the tragedy of family homelessness during a period of economic prosperity (1983-1987) is contrasted to a period of economic decline (1988-1992). The article describes the movement toward a structural response in the boom years and its dismantling with the emergence of a "blame the victim" response in the decline years. The roles of state government, advocacy groups, human service providers, private funding sources, academic institutions, and the media, as they influence these responses, are outlined. Interviews with key actors in these groups, group interviews with formerly homeless women, a review of the literature, and the authors' direct …

Tents Along The Merrimack: Homelessness And University-Community Cooperation, Mark D. Levine

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents historical, institutional, and ethical contexts for a university and an industrial, ethnic community's cooperative effort to address local hunger and homelessness. A large portion of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell's students are of working-class and local origin. Neighborhood social problems are in effect their own, and community service may be considered a variant of self-help. Attention is paid the special importance of developing a sense of community across traditional boundaries on and off campus and to the establishment of permanent mutually beneficial structures.

The Grassroots Home: How Local Communities Are Fighting Homelessness, Sheila Rauch Kennedy

New England Journal of Public Policy

In the 1980s federal policy combined with market forces to produce the American tragedy of homelessness. Since that time influential policymakers have debated every aspect of the issue, but avoided the large-scale commitment needed for solutions. Locally, however, grassroots efforts have made these commitments and forged the coalitions needed to address the issue. The solution to homelessness lies in harnessing these same successful public and private resources on the regional and national levels.

Counting The New York Homeless: An Ethnographic Perspective, Kim Hopper

New England Journal of Public Policy

Significant ambiguities inhere in the operational definitions of "site" and "selected components of the homeless population" used in the 1990 S-Night Count. Ethnographic methods offer a useful corrective. This article, covering research that was part of a larger project evaluating the S-Night count, describes a brief ethnographic inquiry into the ecology of public spaces occupied by the homeless poor in New York City. Problems in implementation, surprising ease of access, patterns of mobility and prevailing norms from site to site, and the tenuous character of the street sites are reviewed, as are implications for future enumeration efforts.

The Last Thing We Need Is Another Shelter, Jessica Segré

New England Journal of Public Policy

Segre suggests that family homelessness is merely the latest and most devastating example of America's lack of commitment to children and families. The history of human services for children is presented to show that, both at the community and at the policy levels, this population and its needs have been neglected, subjected to fragmentation, and consistently downgraded on our lists of priorities. The societal values that have led to this situation are discussed and revealed as still reflecting an individualistic, frontier outlook, which is, however, becoming an anachronism. The need for a child/family policy is stressed, as is the urgency …

It'll Take More Than A Miracle: Income In Single-Mother Families In Massachusetts, 1979-1987, Chris Tilly, Randy Albelda

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

Through the 1980s, the Massachusetts economy grew rapidly. Most Massachusetts families benefited from this economic boom, and saw their incomes rise much more rapidly than the U.S. average. But Massachusetts single mothers and their children, who started out with lower incomes than other families, experienced only minimal income growth, and fell further behind other families in the Bay State. In this paper, we analyze income differences among family types in Massachusetts. We pay special attention to the problems of single mothers, and offer a set of policy recommendations to address these problems.

In order to undertake this analysis, we classify …

Medicare Supplemental Insurance: Today's Crisis, Health Care For All, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

The purpose of health insurance is to spread risk. The system works under the assumption that, at any given point in time, only a percentage of the people in a given group will be sick. Regardless of health status, all members of the group will be paying premiums in order to cover the cost of care for those who need it.

As a group, however, seniors represent a high-risk population. They are more likely than younger people to need health care services and tend to require longer hospital stays. Yet, while their expenses are greater, their financial resources are generally …

Latinos In Lynn, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Lowell, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Cambridge, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Chelsea, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Framingham, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Lawrence, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Somerville, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Leominster, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinas And The Massachusetts Employment And Training (Et) Choices Program: Factors Associated With Participation And Outcomes For Boston Latinas In Et, Miren Uriarte

Gastón Institute Publications

This report presents the results of an assessment of the participation and outcomes of Latinos in the Massachusetts Employment and Training (ET) Choices Program. From the start of the ET program, there has been evidence that Latinos participate at rates comparable to that of other groups, but that their outcomes in terms of job placements and wages fall well below the outcome rates of any other group of participants. The main goal of this report is to ascertain the experience of Latino participants in ET and the individual and program factors that present barriers to their successful participation in this …

Latinos In Springfield, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Holyoke, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …