From the Edge of the Ghetto

While there is considerable information on job opportunities and employment patterns, or lack thereof, for African Americans in the new economy, there is virtually no information on how African Americans view the world of work and how they attempt to navigate that world. This work will look at how one group of African Americans conceptualize the world of work, including the types of jobs that may be available and the skills and talents needed to find and do such jobs. Based on interviews with 100 low-income African Americans in a suburb of Detroit, this study will focus on how people on the margins take stock of their situations and attempt to function in them. It will address the questions of what do they think are the “good” jobs, how they assess their own skills, and how they connect the two. It will also explore how these individuals experience social categories such as race, class, and gender and how these impact their understanding of the world of work.