Economic Mobility: What Determines A Child’s Success in Baltimore?

Baltimore SkylineAugust 11, 2014 – Segment 2

We speak with Karl Alexander, Research Professor in the Department of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of The Long Shadow: Family Background, Disadvantaged Urban Youth, and the Transition to Adulthood. We talk about a 30-year study in which Alexander and his team tracked 800 children in Baltimore from first grade until their late 20’s to discover what factors determine success. The study found that a child’s fate is often determined by family strength and the parents’ financial status.

We then discuss the findings with Bill Fletcher, Senior Scholar at Institute for Policy Studies; Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Whitehead, Assistant Professor of Communication and Affiliate Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland; Jordan Bloom, Opinion Editor for the Daily Caller and board member of Alumni for Liberty, a project of the Students for Liberty; and  A. Adar Ayira, project manager of the More in the Middle Campaign for Associated Black Charities and facilitator and analyst at Baltimore Racial Justice Action, a program of Fusion Partnerships.

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