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Fiscal Fragility in Black Middle-Class Suburbia and Consequences for K–12 Schools and Other Public Services.

Fiscal Fragility in Black Middle-Class Suburbia and Consequences for K–12 Schools and Other Public Services.

Authors :
SIMMS, ANGELA
Source :
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences; Feb2023, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p204-225, 22p
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

In the United States, most local jurisdictions are challenged as they seek to maintain fiscal strength. But majority-Black jurisdictions are uniquely burdened due to legacy and contemporary racist and racialized policies and racial capitalism. Leaders in majority-Black locales make harsher budget trade-offs than those in majority-White jurisdictions as they seek to invest in public schools and other public services. I use ethnographic and publicly available data to examine how Prince George’s County, Maryland, a majority-Black and middle-class suburban jurisdiction in the Washington, D.C., region, navigates its financial constraints relative to neighboring counties with smaller Black populations. I conclude that Black jurisdictions’ fiscal limitations stem from White jurisdictions’ not bearing their proportionate share of responsibility for moderate-income and economically distressed households and fallout from uneven regional development, resulting in Black jurisdictions subsidizing White locales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
23778253
Volume :
9
Issue :
2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
162332122
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2023.9.2.09