Special Issue 1993

Cover

 
  • Race and Poverty: A New Focus for Legal Services

    The urban minority poor face numerous barriers to economic and social advancement that are unique to their situation. This article examines those barriers and urges the legal services community to recognize, and develop strategies specially tailored to meet, the special needs of this group.

    By John A. Powell

  • Reflections from the Bottom of the Well: Racial Bias in the Provision of Legal Services to the Poor

    Some clients and advocates of color feel that white-controlled legal services programs have avoided meaningful input by and power sharing with clients, have excluded advocates of color from the management and decisionmaking ranks, and have clung to outmoded advocacy strategies and service delivery methods–all of which have fostered racism in the legal services structure. This article discusses how the policymaking bodies in legal services have failed to address this problem.

    By Paul E. Lee and Mary M. Lee

  • A Comprehensive Approach to the Issue of Disparate Special Education Placement Rates of African American and National-Origin Minority Youth

    African American and National-Origin minority youth are labeled as having disabilities and placed in separate classes at higher rates than white pupils. This article examines this disparity and the need, as well as the strategies, for eliminating misclassifications. It also suggests ways to implement more fully the IDEA's core requirement that students with disabilities be educated in regular classes as much as possible.

    By Robert Pressman

  • Housing Mobility and Life Opportunities

    Housing mobility programs enable poor people of color to leave segregated, impoverished, underserved areas for predominantly white neighborhoods with better facilities and resources. Housing mobility has been remarkably successful in enabling people to improve their lives. This article reviews the value of housing mobility, the nature of existing housing mobility programs, and ways in which advocates can participate in creating and implementing these programs.

    By Florence Wagman Roisman and Hilary Botein

  • Race, Poverty, and Lending

    Studies have shown that minorities are denied mortgage and small business loans more often than similarly situated whites. This article looks at several mortgage lending practices and how they affect minority communities. It also discusses the Community Reinvestment Act and offers solutions to remedy the impact of these discriminatory lending practices.

    By James Head and Kelly Mogle

  • Some of the Poor Pay Even More: Is There a "Discrimination Tax" in the Marketplace?

    Poor people who are also racial minorities pay even more for credit and for goods and services than the nonminority poor; this article describes some studies of this phenomenon and possible legal remedies.

    By Kathleen Keest

  • Race Discrimination in America's Health Care System

    Health care delivery in America remains segregated according to race and class; this article reviews racial disparities in health status and access to care, discusses the lack of race-based data on the use of health care services, suggests legal strategies for addressing racial inequities in the delivery of health care, and proposes measures to ameliorate discrimination.

    By Jane Perkins