Eisenhower administration. I spent close to a decade trying to understand the unique character of poverty in the United States and i think i think of this research in this book as reflecting processes that are typical of cities throughout the nation. It is baltimore that tells an american story not just an accident of nature but about how our government and our society interacts with impoverished people a a disproportionate number of whom afferent happen to be africanamerican after one what are the demographics . Guest the neighborhoods where i conducted my research are predominantly black, more than one 3rd of young women are in their teens and that had at least one child, income levels never surpass ten to 15000 per year and where most significantly government institutions are repressive. I believe we show for the 1st time the extent to which poverty in the United States is characterized not just by material but also the overwhelming precedent of government officials and the likes of