Reviewing Concentrated Poverty Literature Through an Anti-Blackness Lens to Reveal a Concentrated Debt

• In Event: Disrupting Race: Disrupting Race to Establish New Norms

Abstract

The relationship between concentrated poverty and educational outcomes and experiences has received substantial attention over the last three decades. The purpose of this paper is to utilize an anti-Blackness lens to critically review contemporary research on concentrated poverty and educational outcomes. We contribute to this literature by arguing that existing research reproduces anti-Blackness because it fails to grapple with what we call a concentrated debt. We conducted a systematic search for peer-reviewed articles from academic databases using keywords related to neighborhood socioeconomic composition and academic outcomes. We discovered four subjugated debts, which include educational, racial capital, placemaking and humanity. We contend that researchers must acknowledge this concentrated debt to better understand Black life, Black education, Black joy and Black possibilities.

Authors

• Richard Lofton, Johns Hopkins University

• Rebeca Gamez, Vanderbilt University

• Zyrashae N. Smith, Johns Hopkins University