Hello, all. As we proceed with the season of Lent, I thought it might be nice to reflect on Christian responses to inequality, and the power and responsibility of being part of a community of faith. The following are links to information from the UMC General Board of Church and Society. You might want to take a look at sections on the living wage, worker rights, etc.

http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/c.frLJK2PKLqF/b.2808983/
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/c.frLJK2PKLqF/b.2794235/k.8FD2/Knowledge_Center.htm

And the work of the General Board of Global Ministries: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/hunger/

Also, the inspirational social justice work that one congregation in San Francisco is doing (Glide Memorial): http://www.glide.org/Work.aspx

I look forward to being back in church with you all again on Easter. Best - Amy

Readings for March 29

Hello, all. We're continuing our readings that focus on the intersection between race, gender, and inequality. This week, we specifically look at women and poverty, with three short pieces (about 12 pages of reading, total). I'm including a brief by the Center for American Progress, "The Straight Facts on Women and Poverty": http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/10/pdf/women_poverty.pdf

Also, a 2002 census report on Black Americans, that discusses many social and economic measures, disaggregated by gender and age: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-541.pdf, and a fact sheet put out by the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) titled "Single Older African American Women and Poverty": http://www.wiserwomen.org/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=426&Itemid=0

I hope you enjoy these, and wish I could be there to discuss them with you. Best - Amy

Readings for March 22

Hello, all. In honor of Michele's request to focus on some issues of race and gender, I'm asking that folks read the following report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, titled "Women's Economic Status in the States: Wide Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Region": http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/R260.pdf. I'll send another gender-focused reading next week, that focuses more on the interactions between race, poverty, and gender. The current report should help us think about the general issue of inequality. I hope you find it interesting. Cheers - Amy

New Link and Daylight Savings

Hello, all. I wanted to pass along this link that Charles sent (thank you). Also, a quick reminder that we put our clocks ahead an hour tonight. See you tomorrow! Best - Amy

http://www.dukechronicle.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=723c154a-2346-4f2e-8a9a-be8576f0a5f8

Readings for March 8

Hello, all. This coming Sunday, we will talk about policy issues related to incarceration, and the way that this has disproporitonately affected African American communities and families. First, a slide show on incarceration in New Jersey. On this site, you need to scroll down the navigation bar on the right to find the New Jersey report: http://www.justicemapping.org/expertise

Please also read some of the information on the following website:
http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/. Specifically, please read the information on the tab "The Problem." You may also want to take a look at parts of the "Importing Constitutents" report. (And note that you'll be jumping back and forth between websites of the Prison Policy Institute and the Prisoners of the Census project).

Also, for those of you who ar einterested in reading the National Research Council's report making recommendations for changing the rules of census enumeration, you can go to the following website: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11727. The .pdf file of the executive summary can be downloaded from the "Download Free" box. You can also read the complete report, but as far as I can tell you have to do that online.

Happy reading! And I'll see you on Sunday. Best - Amy

Readings for March 1

Hello, all. So we are moving on to public policy and race for the next couple of weeks. I have here a couple of readings from the Social Security Administration. I'd ask that you read them for Sunday, and I'll talk about some of the ways that the implementation of these programs left out milions of African Americans.

First, a brief history of the SSA and social programs in the U.S. (and if you can bring this one to class on Sunday, we'll go through it and talk about the pieces of the story that they've left out or glossed over):
http://www.ssa.gov/history/pdf/histdev.pdf

And then a piece on the ways that "race neutral" language has differential impacts on members of different racial groups in a more contemporary environment.
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v62n2/v62n2p59.pdf

Thanks so much! I'll see you on Sunday. Best - Amy

Comparison of NJ School District Spending

Thanks to Charles for finding the following website. It includes detailed information on a sample of New Jersey school districts (with information like per-pupil spending and student:teacher ratio), and has overall budget numbers for all districts in the back. Mercer County is on p. 248.

http://www.nj.gov/education/guide/2008/k-12.pdf

And maybe in class on Sunday, some of y'all with more NJ experience than I have can explain how public schools charge tuition. That's listed as a revenue source (and a pretty substantial one for some of the districts). I'm not familiar with that practice at all.

New Jersey Maps: Poverty, Prison & Segregation

Hello, all. I just found a great set of maps online, that do a really nice job of illustrating how poverty, incarceration, and residantial segregation are linked in our state. To get there, click on the link below, and scroll down the navigation bar on the right-hand side. The New Jersey slides are the last highlighted report on the list.

http://www.justicemapping.org/expertise/

We'll come back to these later -- when we're talking more explicitly about incarceration and segregation -- but I thought I'd bring them to your attention in the mean time. Best - Amy

Readings for Feb. 22

Hello, all, and thanks for such a lively discussion in class today. As we prepare to host the Fellowship Lunch next Sunday, I am mindful of how blessed we are -- both because we have the material bounty to provide lunch (for 100 people -- did you see the size of our soup pots!?!?!), and because we have such a vibrant community of faith to share it with.

Our readings for this week focused on what it means to be poor in America -- how we calculate poverty and what kinds of material conditions poor people face -- or don't face -- in this country. For next week, I'm hoping we can focus on our own state and community. Legal Services of New Jersey's report, Poverty Benchmarks 2009, provides a lot of great background information. It's also 137 pages (or at least the .pdf file is!), so perhaps folks can pick and choose the sections that are the most compelling to them, and then we can reweave the broader story on Sunday through a discussion of what we found most interesting about the report. You can find it online here: http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/budget/Benchmarks2009.pdf.

I had mentioned the Self-Sufficiency Standard, which has been calculated on a county-by-county basis for a number of states (maybe all of them?). It identifies the minimum income required to obtain necessities -- food, transportation, health care, housing, child care, etc. -- and reflects what those items actually cost in each county and how those costs might vary for families with different configurations. The Mercer County Self-Sufficiency Standard can be found here: http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/PovertyResearchInstitute/County/2008/Mercer.pdf.

I'll see you all next Sunday. Best! - Amy

Links to readings: week 1

Readings for the 15 February class are as follows:

Executive summary of the Heritage foundation report: "How Poor Are America's Poor? Examining the 'Plague' of Poverty in America" (1st 2 pages -- or read more if you like): http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/upload/bg_2064.pdf

Policy brief from Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project: "Improving the Measurement of Poverty"
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2008/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2008/12_poverty_measurement_blank/12_poverty_measurement_brief_blank.pdf

For background on New Jersey (and we'll look into this more next week): Legal Services of New Jersey's "Poverty Benchmarks 2009"
http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/budget/Benchmarks2009.pdf

Race and Inequality: Preliminary Information

Hello, all! The Contemporary Issues adult Sunday school class at Princeton United Methodist Church will focus on issues of race and inequality from 8 February 2009 through some time in late March or early April. We'll use this format to link to readings, distribute information, etc. Please let me know if you have questions or suggestions. I look forward to seeing you Sundays at 9:30. - Amy